Sunday Opening Brings Families to the Fair

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This is the second year the annual Michaelmas Fair has started on Sunday, rather than Monday.

It was already in full swing at 3:50 pm when I arrived for the fair blessing service. I was just in time to see the councillors and the Mayor climbing off the galloping horses after the traditional post‑blessing ride.

Abingdon’s impressive town mace was also there.

The service had been at 3:30 pm, and I’d missed it. My apologies to anyone else who followed my timing from the blog What’s On.

The fair stretches from the Market Place to the end of Ock Street and is often described as the longest street fair in Europe.

Earlier in the day, as part of the fair set‑up, there was a lot of heavy work,

and also some pruning. One of the Market Place trees was cut back to make space for Meteorite.

Notices around the site remind visitors just how much work goes into running a fair, from transporting and assembling the rides to safety checks, staffing, insurance, and cleaning. The notices went on to say that every visit helps keep the fair moving.

In previous years the fair has been erected on Sunday morning and then sat idle for the rest of the day before properly starting on Monday. This year the operators must be pleased: they’re getting three days instead of two. The day was sunny, and the fair busy. What was different was the number of young families, all together, out enjoying the sunshine on the Sunday afternoon. Often parents are at work during the daylight hours on Monday and Tuesday.

I may have missed the fair blessing but — no matter — the fair was blessed with good weather and plenty of visitors.

What was happening in Abingdon town centre this Saturday morning

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The Salvation Army were holding a jumble sale this morning. Tables were full of low‑priced items, starting from 10p, with donated clothes, books, games, and a bric‑a‑brac stall. The A‑board outside let me know it was happening. I’d missed it on the blog’s ‘What’s On’ yesterday.

The window display at the Helen & Douglas House charity shop has a wedding theme, with brides dressed in white.

On the Market Place there was a visit from Guide Dogs, with two Labradors and a couple of gazebos offering merchandise and information. Collectors with tins were taking donations and handing out stickers.

Traffic moved in a slow queue through town from Bridge Street and West St Helen Street, and at St Helen’s Church Revd Dr AKMA and a man in a kilt with bagpipes were waiting for the bride to arrive. Her car eventually made it through the queue of vehicles, and the piper piped a welcome.

What’s On in Abingdon – Early October 2026

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Here are some of the events and activities coming up in Abingdon over the next couple of weeks that I have noticed.

Saturday 3 October – Oxford Gospel Choir Concert – St Helen’s Church, 7.30pm

The Oxford Gospel Choir will be performing at St Helen’s Church in aid of Family of Hope, a school in Uganda for children with special educational needs. Tickets: £10, available at the door.

Saturday 3 October – Sewing Repair Cafe

Also taking place on Saturday 3 October is a sewing repair workshop at Unit 25, Bury Street. A chance to bring along those clothes and textiles and learn some repair skills rather than sending them to landfill.

Sunday 4 – Tuesday 6 October – Abingdon Michaelmas Fair

The Michaelmas Fair returns to Abingdon from Sunday 4 to Tuesday 6 October, bringing the usual fairground activity to the town centre and along Ock Street.

There will also be fair-related traffic restrictions from Sunday 4 to Wednesday 7 October, so motorists may want to allow extra time for journeys through the town.

The Fair Blessing Service will take place in the Market Place at 4pm on Sunday 4 October. (Sorry this was at 3:30pm)

Sunday 4 October – Animal Blessing Service – St Michael’s Church, 2pm

St Michael’s will hold an animal blessing service at 2pm on Sunday 4 October, celebrating St Francis’ Day and Animal Welfare Sunday. Well-behaved animals are welcome, provided they are on leads or in appropriate carriers. If your animal wouldn’t be comfortable attending, you can still have them blessed by bringing along a photograph.

Wednesday 7 October – Abingdon Town Council Meeting – Guildhall, 7pm

Town council meetings are normally held in the Old Magistrates’ Court and are open to the public. I sometimes go along to see what’s being discussed and, where appropriate, write about them for the blog.

Saturday 10 October – 50 years of Abingdon Library at The Charter

Abingdon Library has been in its current building at The Charter for 50 years. On Saturday 10 October the library will be marking the anniversary by sharing some photographs from its history. The library opened at The Charter on 11 October 1976.

Saturday 17 October – 10 Circuits of Abingdon Airfield

Robin is taking on a cycling challenge on Saturday 17 October – ten circuits of the old RAF Abingdon airfield at Dalton Barracks.

The challenge is in support of the Newman Holiday Trust, which has helped Robin’s family over the past few years, including providing a six-day residential holiday at Bloxham this year. Robin wants to give something back to the charity. While he still has a specially adapted bike on loan from Charlotte’s Tandems, he will attempt the ten circuits with Andrew and Helena.

You can find out more and support Robin’s fundraising on his JustGiving page https://justgiving.com/page/robinday2026

More on the new 1926 Church Hall

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In the feature on Abingdon in September 1926, I reported that the new church hall opened that month, but commenters wondered where it was. Elizabeth sent me a picture that she took – used in Abingdon Past and Present. It answers the question. The picture was taken in 1988, the year before the hall was demolished to make way for the Abbey Close extension from the Vineyard.

As you can see from this roughly drawn map, the church hall, the cattle market and, beyond that, the railway all stood in the way of the Abbey Close extension.

In the Oxford Journal, I found pictures of the hall under construction. This picture from December 1925 is when the foundation stone was blessed by the Archdeacon of Berkshire. The inscription on the stone is not easy to decipher and this is guesswork. It may say, ‘This hall was dedicated … Glory of God …  ????? … Ven Richard Wickham Legg ?? … Archdeacon of Berks.. Anno MCMXXV.’

When I first wrote about the Church Hall back in 2014, Dick Barnes said: “The Church Hall was sited in the Parish of Abingdon St Nicolas, although the legally separate parish of Abingdon St Helen was largely responsible for building and administering it. The dedication tablet over the entrance stated that it was for the benefit of ‘The Parish’.” 

Acknowledgments: Abingdon Past and Present by Elizabeth Drury and Judy Thomas; the Oxford Journal, accessed through Oxford Library.