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B E R K S H IR E .

D IR E C T O R Y .]

sid e; the b u ild in g is arranged in two storeys, an open
balustraded gallery givin g access to the room s on the
upper flo or; the alm shouse people receive 8s. and the
two nurses resp ectively 12s. and 10s. 6d. each w eekly,
and there are besides three alm shouses for m arried
couples, each receiving 10s. w e e k ly ; th e incom e of the
ch arity, now exceeding £3*000 a year, provides for
various educational and ch aritab le objects ; the m aster­
ship of the hospital (always regard ed as an office of
g rea t tru s t and im portance) changes annually, and is
usually held by the governors in rotation.
The' H ospital of St. John the B aptist, originally
erected w ithout the A bbey gate, opposite S t. Nicholas
church, is said by Leland to have been founded b y one
of the a b b o ts ; in 1801 it was rem oved b y the Corpora­
tion to new b uildings situated at th e top of the V in e­
yard ; these are of b rick, surrounding th ree sides of an
open cou rtyard and consist of six d w e llin g s ; it was
endowed by S ir John Fountain w ith th e sum of
£ 2»755 2S- '>
the new hospital B ernard Bedw ell esq.
of London, was a liberal co n trib u to r; and in 1826 E.
Beasley added £600 to its en d o w m en ts; the inm ates,
five in num ber, receive 6s. 5d. per week, and are elected
by the trustees of the m un icipal c h a ritie s ; the ancient
hospital now form s p art of th e m unicipal buildings.
T w itty ’s H ospital, situated on the north side of the
churchyard, and consisting of seven dw ellings of brick
in a single block, was erected in 1707 from a sum of
£1,700, given by C harles T w itty, D epu ty A uditor of the
Receipt of the E xchequer, and fu rth er endowed w ith
£600 in 1825 by E . Beasley and w ith other sum s given
by John Bedwell in 1700, S am uel C ripps in 18x9 and by
various donors, for the m aintenance of three m en, three
women and one n u r s e ; th e centre is pedim ented and
bears tablets recording such benefactions, and above is
a square glazed lantern, w ith a g ilt vane ; the Hospital
is under the m anagem ent of the vicar and church ­
wardens, and the inm ates receive about 8s. each weekly.
The Abingdon Joint H ospital for Infectious Diseases
was erected in 1900 at a total cost of £7,000; in 1905 a
new ward block was added at a cost of £2,300; there
re 54 beds ; th e num ber of patients in I1914
9. 4 was 120
120.
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A B IN G D O N .

21

vested in New £ 3 Per Cents, and p rodu cin g £ ¡6 6 91.
5ei n }i823 F. K lein bequeathed ¿ 1,0 3 2 12s. 4d. for the
poor of A bingdon, now p roducing ¿ 2 9 13s._4d. yearly,
which is d istrib u ted in m o n e y , th ere are other c h a n t» »
am oun tin g to £427 17s. yea rly for distrib ution in m oney
and kind and ¿ 7 9 for apprenticing.
A lb ert P ark consists of about 15 acres to the n °rth
of the town ; th e northern portion is laid ou t w ith paths,
well planted w ith trees and shrubs, and furn ish ed w ith
seats ; th e rem ainder serves for purposes of publio
recrea tio n ; and is bounded on the south by a w ide road,
lined w ith trees, and now form in g a fine a v e n u e ; the
park was presented by th e G overnors of C h rist 0
Hospital ch arity in 1864; on the n orth side is a
ment to H .R .H . the Prince Consort, 48 feet high , erected
bv subscription, and inaugurated in 1863, on th e t e r ­
centenary of A bingdon School, from a design b y M r.
G ibbs, of O x fo rd ; i t consists of an octan gular stone
base from w hich rise clustered and banded colum ns
supporting an enriched pedestal whereon is placed a
statue of the P rin ce, 7 feet in h eig h t a ttired m the
m antle and collar of the O rder of th e T h is t le ; a t the
foot of the pedestal are sejan t lions sup po rtin g sfiieias
of the royal arm s and those of the P rin ce, to g eth e r w ith
the arm s of the borough, C h rist’s H ospital and the
Abbev.
, .,
F itzh arris H ouse, the p rop erty and residence of the
Rev. W illiam New com be B lakeney B .A . w as in the
16th and 17th centuries the residen ce of th e Bostock
fam ilv, and subsequently of th e T esd ales; although
m uch m odernized, it s till retain s some in tere stin g
portions of th e early stru ctu re, in clu d in g th e base­
m ent w ith its m ullion ed windows and tw o panelled
rooms w ith rich ly-carved m an tels b earin g th e quartered
arm s of th e Bostocks.
. . , ■» >
The parishes com prised w ith in the M unicipal Borough
prior to 1894 w e r e :— St. H elen W ith in , S t. N ic h o la j
W ithin, and parts of th e parishes of S utton W ick and
Culham , b ut b y “ Th e C ounties of B erks and Oxford
and County Borough of Oxford (C ulham & c.) Confirm a­
tion O rder, 1894,” it was provided th at the p art of the
tion• 1O rder
1894,"
™ f In tVia Vinrnncrll
J oof AbinffQOn
A biaedon
.c
_n

m u a ry i g V
^
l6 ’>edS' ° Pened !
C oun ty “
B erk t, 'sh o u ld be added to th e p arish
The C ottage H ospital, in B ath street, was erected in j of St. N icholas, in the said ^ m f t i o ^ O r d e / 18 0 4 ”
1885-6 on a site given by th e governors of C h rist's | C oun ty of B erks (Abm don) Confl
everal ¿ ari sbes
It w
as p
r u v i u e u th
iu »
m ee ------------------------------------Hospital, at a considerable cost, wholly defrayed by the it
was
provided
ati th
p arts o f * e «e™ ralr P» , 7 t
Helen. S
S t.
(in cludin g
g th a^t P
p art
at.o J.
C. v^iaxjvc
C larke esq.
a picturesque gabled of
of S
S t.
t. Helen,
t. N
N icholas
icholas (1
n — of
j
Hit)
U. KJ.
C04. and
auu is
as «
structure of stone w ith b rick dressings, in the E n glish C ulham added to it by th e before-m entioned O rder) and
Dom estic style, from designs by M r. C h arles Bell, S utton W ick, w hich are w ith in th e A bingdon Urban
irch ite ct, and is arranged in two storeys ; the principal D istrict, should be un ited togeth er and form one parish,
Eront faces south and overlooks a pleasant lawn, planted to be known by th e nam e of th e P arish of Abingdon»
with evergreens and rose trees ; in the w all of the lower and th e p arts of the parishes of S t. H elen and St.
storey are the four foundation stones, laid respectively Nicholas w ith out th e borough should be un ited and
Aug. 11, 1885, by Mrs. J. C. Clarke, Mrs. J. H. C larke, together form one p arish for poor law, school and ratingMrs. Morland and Miss Dodson, and b earing their purposes only, and to be known by the nam e of ot.
names. In 1902 two room s w ere added on the upper Helen W ith out. Th e parish consists of the v illag es of
floor and the operating Toom enlarged at a cost of D ry Sandford & Shippon and some five houses not
£400, as a m em orial to H er late M ajesty Queen V ic ­ included in either of these places.
The population w ith in th e c iv il p arish and m un icipal
toria ; this hospital, m ain ly supported b y volu n tary
contributions, is designed for the benefit of th e sick borough in 1911 was 6,809. Th e area is 730 acres of
land
and 27 of w ater, and assessable value, £28,789;
and suffering in the town of A bingdon and the n eigh ­
bourhood ; the hospital contains 11 b ed s; the num ber of rateable value. £29,130.
Th
e
area of S t. H elen W ith o u t p arish is 2,793 acres
patients in 1914 was 138.
Tom kins’s A lm shouses, in Ock street, erected by the of land and 5 of w a t e r ; assessable valu e, £ 2 ,9 16 ; rate­
late B. Tom kins esq. for e ig h t persons, are b u ilt of able value, £ 3 ,75 0 ; the population in 1911 was 326.
P arish Clerks, St. H elen’s, M eaburn T . T ath am esq.
brick and form three sides of an elongated quadrangle
opening to th e street by iron g a t e s ; th ey are endowed N o rth c o u rt; D epu ty, P ercy J. D yke, 21 W insm ore la n e ;
S
t.
M ichael, R obert A . P errin , 34 Ock s tr e e t; St.
w ith land and m oney (in cludin g a sum of £1,000
recently given by M r. W . F. S m ith , of A bingdon) in ­ N icholas, W illiam Jordan, 29 V in eyard
O F F IC IA L

E S T A B L IS H M E N T S , L O C A L IN S T IT U T IO N S &c.

Post, M. 0 . & T. & Telephonic E xpress Delivery Office,
H igh street.— Joseph Thom as, postmasteT
D ispatch of Letters— W eek Days.
C hief places of Destination.
London, R eading & all p arts, 1 a m
O xford, 2.45 a.m
O xford, W itney, B anbury & L eam in gton , 10.10 a.m . ;
London, R eading & general, x i - 3 5 a .m .; London &
general, 1.30 p.m . ; London (for th rou gh letters), 3.5
p .m . ; O xford, 2,20, 3.5 & 4.30 p.m . ; H am pshire, O x­
ford, N orth of E ngland, N orth W ales, Scotland & Ire ­
land, 6 p.m . ; London, 8 p.m . ; W est of E ngland, South
W ales & all parts. 8.50 p.m . (extra -Jd. stam p, 8.55
p .m .) ; London, Oxford & all parts & foreign m ails,
10.10 p.m . (extra £d. stam p, 10.15 p .m .). Sunday,
all parts, 1 a.m . & 9 p.m . (extra }2d. stam p, 9.5 p .m .)
& O xford, 2.45 a.m

P illar Box, M arket place.— C leared a t 10 & 10.40 a.m
& 1-45. 3 -5 . 5 -50, 6.40, 8.50 & 9.50 p .m .; Sundays,
8.45 p.m
D elivery of letters.
Chief places from w hich M ails are received.
From all parts b y letter-carriers begins a t 6.30 a . m . ;
N orth of E ngland & S co tla n d ; London (m id n igh t
dispatch). 9 a .m .; London (first day m ail), 12.10
p.m . ; London (2nd day m ail), O xford, Reading,
Faringdon & W antage, 5 p .m . ; on Sundays, C h ristm as
day & Good F rid a y there is only one d eliv ery of
letters, 7 a.m
Letters are collected from the Ock street P illa r Box,
W ootton road W all Box, L a d y grove W all B ox , F it z ­
harris W all Box, W est end W all Box, Park W a ll B ox,
Park avenue W all B ox, R adley road W all B ox, R a il­
w ay Station W all B ox, S t. H elen’s W h arf W all B ox &