Local History Group

The Local History Group (LHG)

35 Ock Street picture The Local History Group provides a forum and meeting point for members with a particular interest in the local history of Abingdon and its region.

Sub-groups are formed from time to time for specific purposes. One that is currently active is the Abingdon Buildings and People group, which manages the History Section of the Abingdon Town Council website: http://www.abingdon.gov.uk/partners/history.

Meetings are (usually in the Spring and Autumn) on the third Tuesday in the month at 35 Ock Street, Abingdon OX14 5AG at 7.30pm. They are also available in real time on Zoom.

We welcome anyone with a question about Abingdon local history as we usually have a knowledgeable audience who can answer them. There is also the opportunity to share anything you have done about Abingdon or the surrounding area with those present.

Please let me know so that I can make sure we allocate you some time.

All AAAHS Members and guests are welcome.

Picture © M Brod 2013

Next Local History Group (LHG) meeting:

The next LHG meeting will be in Spring 2024 at 7.30pm at 35 Ock Street, Abingdon OX14 5AG and also, simultaneously, on Zoom for those who are unable to attend in person (TBC).

These meetings are informal and we do not have an agenda of what we will talk about as that is up to you, so we do rely on participation. Often a question or picture will start a discussion that can take us in all sorts of interesting directions.

The usual message is that the meeting is about what you want to talk about, so I need some input from you. No false modesty about how no one will be interested in what you have been looking at or how silly your question might be. It will help me organise things if you contact me if you wish to talk about anything. I give warning that I might have to repeat the short talk I gave on Abingdon Heritage Day, if no one comes up with anything better! I do hope to see you then.

For those attending in person, who have something they wish to show, please contact me in advance as the ZOOM technicalities make it more complicated for me. If you are ZOOMing it and wish to make a presentation, please let me know so I will make sure you get time to do it.

A reminder, perhaps with some content information, will be emailed out along with the ZOOM information nearer the time. Non-Members can contact me for the Zoom link.

If you have changed your email address, or are not a member and wish to have a ZOOM invitation sent, please contact me ASAP here: local@aaahs.org.uk

John Foreman

AAAHS Local History Group Convenor

Previous Local History Group Meetings

Meeting held on Tuesday 17th October 2023 in person and on Zoom

(Talks on: T A Haynes, Plumber, Abingdon and Black and White images of Abingdon from Facebook)

Meeting held on Tuesday 11th April 2023 in person and on Zoom (No theme)

Meeting held on Tuesday 25th October 2022/Tuesday 8th November 2022 in person/Zoom and then on Zoom only.

(No theme: Included Glynn, Footpaths and a possible future LHG project)

(Initial meeting abandoned because of Zoom link failure and continued later)

Meeting held on Tuesday 22nd February 2022 on Zoom.

(Bath Street, Attitudes to illegitimacy ~ 1800, Louis Davis)

Meeting held on Tuesday 9th November 2021 (Kinsey, Viney's and smallpox vacinations)

Meeting held on Tuesday 15th June 2021 (Theme: 'House Names')

Meeting held on Tuesday 18th May 2021 (Theme: 'Inscribed Dates')

Meeting held on Tuesday 20th April 2021 (Theme: ' Interesting Images')

Meeting held on Tuesday 16th March 2021 (Theme: ' Pubs and pub landlords and landladies')

Meeting held on Tuesday 16 February 2021 (Theme: 'Celebrations' including the 'Oddfellows Annual Fetes')

Meeting held on Tuesday 19 January 2021 (Theme: 'Disasters')

Meeting held on Tuesday 21 December 2020 (Theme: 'Christmases Past')

Meeting held on Tuesday 17 November 2020 (Theme: 'Resources for local history research')

Meeting held on Tuesday 20 October 2020

Meeting held on Tuesday 18 February 2020

Meeting held on Thursday 30 May 2019

John Foreman writes: So far we have Manfred and Jessica Brod in perhaps their final attendance here. Manfred will be rounding off some of his research. To quote: “the significance of the Berkshire nabobs in the 1780s and 90s.” Nabobs is an interesting word that we do not hear much nowadays https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nabob. Also the intriguing “the connection between a couple of political meetings at the Abingdon Guildhall in 1780 and the future sex-life of the future George IV”!

Jessica Brod will introduce a short film made by Michael Harrison about the development of the Abingdon shopping precinct starting in the 1960s. She also has two short presentations, one about an annotated Abingdon map and the other about whitebait.

I have some old slides to show and possibly some film if I can get it sorted in time.

David Clark will be doing a presentation on an old map of the Caldecott estate dating from before the house was built. Some of us have seen the map at the museum and it is very interesting.

As you have seen we have a lot to talk about but more is always welcome. Do come and bring your curiosity!

Meeting held on Tuesday 19th February 2019.

John Foreman writes: We have two confirmed presenters: Roger Thomas will be talking about ‘Aspects of the early topography of Abingdon’ I believe this will be about what Abingdon looked like in the late Saxon period, but I might be wrong. We also have Manfred Brod talking about ‘Abingdon politics from the 18C.’ We have learnt from his previous presentations around this subject a little of the bribery and shady dealings that have laid the foundation for politics today.

I do hope we have more to talk about and that is down to you bringing along anything you have been working on or just want to know more about.

Meeting held on Tuesday 30th October 2018.

Manfred Brod talked about the Abingdon food riots of the 18^th century, which were quite lively. Jackie Smith spoke about 'Daughters of the Empire' and the Norman (family) and Sandys connections. John Foreman asked why the Farringdon Road is where it is and not on the route we would go today. This evoked many ingenious theories. Bob Frampton talked entertainingly on the history of the Abingdon Fair, fairs in general and the influence of technology on their development.