Abingdon, a place of many parts, part one

Walking into Abingdon from our mooring we first come to the Crown and Thistle, a 400 year old grade II listed Coaching Inn which takes up a fair stretch of Bridge Street.

Our aim is to discover the medieval wharf and house that you can see in this picture to the left of the church

We thought we could approach the area by turning left here … Turnagain Lane … which was exactly what we did … it was a dead-end!

Park planting outside the Town Hall buildings

The St Helen’s area developed as one of the principal trading wharves on this part of the Thames and the medieval houses that line the tranquil East St Helen street were the homes of the successful merchant and business families of the town.

Eventually we reached St Helen’s Church which we’ll explore later

After walking around the church and almshouses we do eventually reach the wharf

… with excellent views of the River Thames

The Malthouse at St Helen’s Wharf would once have been the busy site of boats loading and unloading over the centuries but was abandoned in 1924

The Swan family taken from above, quite a ‘muddle’ of entwined necks!

… and taken from the slipway.

Walking back towards the town centre

The Old Town Hall, a baroque building stands importantly in the centre of Abingdon and nowadays hold the County Museum.

Back on the towpath under Abingdon Bridge Still Rockin’ can be seen mid picture … a very pleasant couple of hours spent wandering in the sunshine today.