Abingdon various about 1980

Various footage taken around Abingdon probably about 1980. By Bernard Loach using a Super 8mm camera. Two archeaological digs are shown, one in West St Helens street and one in the Vineyard development area. There are also views taken from the top of St Helens Church tower.

[@traceyjane4288]

my home town

[@barnabywild2215]

This is 1987 onwards. It's easy to date because the archaeological excavations began on the Vinyard / Cattle market / railway station area prior to redevelopment for the Waitrose and new council buildings.
As you can tell from the references to previous commerce, Abingdon was once a thriving and self-sustained market town. It had some wonderful architecture and history, being one of the oldest, if not THE oldest continually inhabited towns in England. The vandalism of the town began in 1960 and has continued over the years in a march to become a bland commuter town swallowed up in a sea of new build homes of little character.
It once had a thriving tourist industry and was a nice place to visit. Now people are forced to look at Abingdon courtesy of a series of unnecessary traffic jams and 20 mph speed limits as they meander through to somewhere interesting.

[@Appetite4Rose]

7:09 And that car never did manage to find a gap in the traffic to pull out into Stratton Way…

[@retroclickmedia4422]

Love this, the view from the Church shows the"new" building which used to house the "Busy Bee" newsagents in west St Helens (next ish to the old Electricity Board shop) which I worked on building 1988 / 89 ish so I think the footage is a bit later than '80.

[@steveannells9252]

Note the correct name is West St Helen.

[@DanielGlover]

Old school. Nice things you dad Bernard recorded. Added this as a link and a little tap up at the end of my new updated version of this!. th-cam.com/video/jvjDyzHuR10/w-d-xo.html

[@squeezyjohn1]

Definitely not 1980 ... the mural on the subway towards the end of the video featuring the morris dancers and parachute regiment was only painted in around 1985-86 ... and the planter in the Bury Street development was a fish pond back in 1980.