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Abingdon County Hall Museum
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, a registered charity. It is a Grade II listed building. Building The building was built as a county hall for Berkshire, Abingdon being Berkshire's county town; it was to serve as the principal sessions house and administrative home for the Justices of the county. The county hall was designed in the Baroque style by Christopher Kempster who trained with Sir Christopher Wren on St Paul's Cathedral. It stands on large pilasters with a sheltered area beneath for use as a market or other municipal functions and was completed in 1683. Nikolaus Pevsner said of the building: "Of the free-standing town halls of England with open ground floors this is the grandest". It housed a courtroom for the assizes until 1867 when Abingdon ceded that role to Reading Assize Courts. Following the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historically the county town of Berkshire, since 1974 Abingdon has been administered by the Vale of White Horse district within Oxfordshire. The area was occupied from the early to middle Iron Age and the remains of a late Iron Age and Roman defensive enclosure lies below the town centre. Abingdon Abbey was founded around 676, giving its name to the emerging town. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Abingdon was an agricultural centre with an extensive trade in wool, alongside weaving and the manufacture of clothing. Charters for the holding of markets and fairs were granted by various monarchs, from Edward I to George II. The town survived the dissolution of the abbey in 1538, and by the 18th and 19th centuries, with the building of Abingdon Lock in 1790, and Wilts & Berks Canal in 1810, was a key link between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that it uses these properties to "bring the story of England to life for over 10 million people each year". Within its portfolio are Stonehenge, Dover Castle, Tintagel Castle and the best preserved parts of Hadrian's Wall. English Heritage also manages the London Blue Plaque scheme, which links influential historical figures to particular buildings. When originally formed in 1983, English Heritage was the operating name of an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government, officially titled the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, that ran the national system of heritage protection and managed a range of historic properties. It was created to combine the roles of existing bodies that had emerged from a long ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world; it has buildings in every style of English architecture since late Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, information technology and science. History The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in the Saxon period. Originally of strategic significance due to its controlling location on the upper reaches of the River Thames at its junction with the River Cherwell, the town grew in national importance during the early Norman period, and in the late 12th century became home to the fledgling University of Oxford. The city was besieged during The Anarchy in 1142. The university rose to dom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of Oxford in 1677. It is also the world's second university museum, after the establishment of the Kunstmuseum Basel in 1661 by the University of Basel. The present building was built between 1841 and 1845. The museum reopened in 2009 after a major redevelopment, and in November 2011, new galleries focusing on Egypt and Nubia were unveiled. In May 2016, the museum also opened redisplayed galleries of 19th-century art. History Broad Street The museum opened on 24 May 1683, with naturalist Robert Plot as the first keeper. The building on Broad Street (later known as the Old Ashmolean) is sometimes attributed to Sir Christopher Wren or Thomas Wood. Elias Ashmole had acquired the collection from the gardeners, travellers, and collectors Joh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abingdon Sword
The Abingdon Sword is a late Anglo-Saxon iron sword and hilt believed to be from the late 9th or early 10th century; only the first few inches of the blade remain attached to the hilt. The sword was found in 1874 at Bog Mill (possibly Buggs Mill, on the River Ock), near the town of Abingdon on the River Thames in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) in England. It is held in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, north of Abingdon. The Abingdon Sword has silver mounts inlaid with niello in the Trewhiddle style. The sword's guard has interlaced animal motifs. Ornamentation includes symbols of the Evangelists. The pommel of the sword has two animal heads for decoration. A reproduction of the Abingdon Sword has been on display at Abingdon County Hall Museum since it reopened in 2012. The style of the guards and pommel also suggest the sword dates from the late ninth to tenth century. Description The upper and lower guards are curved and contain various interlaced designs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online news coverage. The service maintains 50 foreign news bureaus with more than 250 correspondents around the world. Deborah Turness has been the CEO of news and current affairs since September 2022. In 2019, it was reported in an Ofcom report that the BBC spent £136m on news during the period April 2018 to March 2019. BBC News' domestic, global and online news divisions are housed within the largest live newsroom in Europe, in Broadcasting House in central London. Parliamentary coverage is produced and broadcast from studios in London. Through BBC English Regions, the BBC also has regional centres across England and national news c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn. The river rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, and flows into the North Sea near Tilbury, Essex and Gravesend, Kent, via the Thames Estuary. From the west it flows through Oxford (where it is sometimes called the Isis), Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor. The Thames also drains the whole of Greater London. In August 2022, the source of the river moved five miles to beyond Somerford Keynes due to the heatwave in July 2022. The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway, derived from its long tidal reach up to Teddington Lock. Its tidal section includes most of its London stretch and has a rise and fall of . From Oxford to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Monks' Map
The Abingdon Monks' Map (commonly known as The Monks' Map) is a 16th-century map of the River Thames around the town of Abingdon, Oxfordshire (formerly in Berkshire), England. It is held in the collection of the Abingdon County Hall Museum. The map covers the stretch of river between Abingdon and Radley. It is long and wide, consisting of four pieces of vellum that are glued together. History The map was preserved in the archives of the Verney family, having been inherited by Mary Blacknall (1616–1650), who married Sir Ralph Verney, 1st Baronet, of Middle Claydon (1613–1696). In 1907, it was given to the Corporation of Abingdon and was framed and held in the Guildhall at Abingdon. The map was restored for a reopening of Abingdon Museum, where it was put on display in 2012. As part of the investigation during this process, the map was x-rayed at the National Gallery in London. Monks map Blacknall Map Another smaller map of the river, known as the Blacknall Map ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culture24
Culture24, originally the 24 Hour Museum, is a British charity which publishes websites, ''Culture24'', ''Museum Crush'' and ''Show Me'', about visual culture and heritage in the United Kingdom, as well as supplying data and support services to other cultural websites including Engaging Places. It operates independently, and receives government funding. Organisation Culture24 is based in Brighton, southern England, and has ten employees. The Culture24 Director is Jane Finnis, who contributed a chapter to ''Learning to Live: Museums, young people and education'' and in March 2010 was named as one of 50 "Women to Watch" in the United Kingdom cultural and creative sectors by the Cultural Leadership Programme. Past Culture24 chairman include John Newbigin, who was named as one of Wired Magazine's top 100 people shaping the digital world in May 2010. The charity was founded in 2001 as the ''24 Hour Museum'', when the website of the same name became an independent company. The o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime, and was head of state of 15 realms at the time of her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female monarch in history. Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother). Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, making the ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth the heir presumptive. She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reading Crown Court
Reading Crown Court is a judicial facility in Reading, Berkshire. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building, which was designed by the county surveyor, John Clacy, in the Baroque revival style and built at a cost of £21,644, was completed in 1861. It became the main venue for the assizes from 1867 when Abingdon County Hall ceded that role to Reading. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto The Forbury with the end bays projected forward; the central section of five bays featured a three-bay portico with Doric order columns; there were round headed sash windows flanked by Ionic order columns on the first floor. The complex included the county police station which was built behind the courthouse. Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888, which established county councils in every county, it also became the meeting place for Berkshire County Council. The administrative staff and committee rooms of the county ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assizes
The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes exercised both civil and criminal jurisdiction, though most of their work was on the criminal side. The assizes heard the most serious cases, which were committed to it by the quarter sessions (local county courts held four times per year), while the more minor offences were dealt with summarily by justices of the peace in petty sessions (also known as magistrates' courts). The word ''assize'' refers to the sittings or sessions (Old French ''assises'') of the judges, known as "justices of assize", who were judges who travelled across the seven circuits of England and Wales on commissions of "oyer and terminer", setting up court and summoning juries at the various assize towns. Etymology Middle English < |
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