Thomas Cromwell and Abingdon

The 28th of July 2020 is the 480th anniversary of Thomas Cromwell’s death. On this day in 1540 he was taken from the Tower, where he had been incarcerated since the 10th of June, to the scaffold on Tower Hill and executed. Since this is the blog of Abingdon Museum, I will take this anniversary

The Islamic Glass at Abingdon Museum

Most of the objects in the museum collections originate in or around Abingdon. One object on display however has come from as far away as Cairo. It is the enamelled glass vessel displayed with other objects from medieval Abingdon. The vessel was not found whole, only fragments of it remain, but they are enough to

Medieval Maths

Have you ever walked down the Checker Walk in Abingdon and wondered where it got its name from? The Checker was one of the buildings of Abingdon Abbey. It was the counting house, the place where the Abbey’s finances were administrated.  The name comes from the accountants’ tools of their trade: a checkered table top,