Abingdon County Hall Museum
 View of the County Hall building that houses the museum. | |
  Location within Oxfordshire | |
| Established | 1678–1683 (building) 1919 (museum collection) |
|---|---|
| Location | Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°40′12″N 1°16′53″W / 51.67°N 1.2815°W |
| Type | Local museum |
| Collection size | Local history |
| Owner | Abingdon Town Council |
| Website | www |
Abingdon County Hall Museum (also known as Abingdon Museum) is a local museum in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. The museum is run by Abingdon Town Council and supported by Abingdon Museum Friends,[1] a registered charity.[2] It is a Grade II listed building.[3]
Building
The building, which was designed by Christopher Kempster in the Baroque style, was completed in 1683.[3][4] It was originally housed a courtroom for the assizes.[5] Nikolaus Pevsner said of the building: "Of the free-standing town halls of England with open ground floors this is the grandest".[6] The building was formerly the county hall of Berkshire; Abingdon was the county town until it ceded that title to Reading in 1867. The hall was built 1678–83 and was most likely designed by the Oxfordshire-born stonemason Christopher Kempster, who trained with Sir Christopher Wren on St Paul's Cathedral.[7] It stands on large pilasters with a sheltered area beneath for use as a market or other municipal functions.[3]
Collections and exhibitions
The museum's collections were started in 1919. The museum has permanent collections and presents temporary exhibitions several times a year. There are also smaller exhibitions on local themes that are changed every month.[8] On 1 December 2011, with the help of British Motor Heritage,[9] the last MGB Roadster sports car off the production line in Abingdon in 1980 was lifted through a window 30 feet up, for display in the museum's main gallery from 2012.[10]
The Monks' Map of the River Thames around Abingdon in the 16th century has been held at the town's Guildhall since 1907.[11] After conservation, it has been redisplayed at the museum itself from its reopening in 2012. A reproduction of the Anglo-Saxon Abingdon Sword, discovered in the river at Abingdon and held by the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, is also on display.[12]
From 2010 to 2012, the museum and building underwent a two-year restoration programme,[13] partly funded by the National Lottery. The museum reopened to visitors on 7 July 2012[14] by Martha Howe-Douglas, an actress in the BBC television series Horrible Histories.[15] A new museum café is located in the basement.[16] The museum was officially reopened by the Duke of Gloucester on 8 March 2013.[17][18]
References
- ^ "Abingdon Museum Friends". Abingdon-on-Thames, UK. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ^ "Abingdon Museum Friends, registered charity no. 1137089". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- ^ a b c Historic England. "County Hall and Market House, Abingdon (1199601)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ^ "The County Hall & Museum Collection". Abingdon County Hall Museum. Archive.org. 3 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Abingdon County Hall Museum". UK: English Heritage. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). "Abingdon County Hall Museum former website". Archive.org. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Abingdon County Hall: Information for Teachers" (PDF). English Heritage/Palladian Press. 2004.
- ^ Abingdon County Hall Museum, Culture24, UK.
- ^ "MGB returns to Abingdon". YouTube. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- ^ "Television news item". YouTube. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ "Monks' map was commissioned by Abingdon landowner". Oxford. BBC News. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- ^ "Abingdon Sword replica; Saxon; England, Oxfordshire, Abingdon-on-Thames". eHive, Vernon Systems. Abingdon County Hall Museum. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ^ Newsletter[permanent dead link],The Friends of Abingdon, Abingdon Museum, page 2, May 2010.
- ^ Wilkinson, Ben (13 June 2012). "Abingdon's County Hall Museum to reopen next month". The Abingdon Herald. UK. p. 1. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ^ "Historic day for museum after major revamp". Oxfordshire Guardian. UK. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Buns in the Basement". Abingdon County Hall Museum, Abingdon-on-Thames, UK. Archived from the original on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Duke arrives for trio of openings". Oxford Mail. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
- ^ "Royal Opening for Abingdon Museum". Tourism South East. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
