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The centre of the town is dominated by the gracious dignity of the County Hall built between 1678 and 1682 by Christopher Kempster. It is one of the finest examples of the architectural style of Christopher Wren. The cellars were used as a warehouse, the lower colonnade as a market and the upper floor as a courtroom. Nowadays this fine building is home to the Abingdon County Hall Museum and is well worth a visit. The museum is open daily, 10.30 am to 4.00 pm (telephone 01235 523703 to check with regard to opening at Christmas/Bank Holidays).

St Nicolas’ Church, at the east side of the Market Place, was built in the12th century for the lay servants of the Abbey. It contains a Jacobean pulpit and the tomb of John and Jane Blacknall, built in 1687 where for many years, in accordance with the wishes expressed in their will, loaves were placed upon the tomb each month to be distributed to the poor of the town. This custom has now ceased. Alongside this church runs Abbey Close, which used to pass beneath the Abbey Gateway built around 1460. After the dissolution of the monasteries the Borough bought the room above the archway and used it as the Borough prison for almost 250 years. In 1811 a new County Gaol was built in Bridge Street and all the prisoners were transferred there.

To the right of the Gateway is Roysse Court, the Guildhall and its cluster of ancient buildings. Some of these buildings housed a school re-established by John Roysse in 1563; others served as St John’s Hospital for travellers and the poor. The Council Chamber of 1731 and the Roysse Room are of particular interest. On view in the Guildhall are many excellent paintings, the Corporation Plate and a collection of 18th century pewter. All these may be seen by arrangement with the Guildhall office (entrance off Abbey Close, telephone 01235 524085).

Next to Roysse Court is the Crown and Thistle, an old coaching inn dating from 1605. Its name commemorates the Union of England and Scotland under James I.

At the bottom of Bridge Street is the Old Gaol, built in 1811 by Napoleonic prisoners of war. It housed all prisoners for the County of Berkshire for 56 years. In 1874 it was sold to a corn merchant who used it as his store for almost a hundred years. Facing the Old Gaol is Thames Street at the far end of which is the narrow entrance to the few surviving buildings of the Old Abbey. The first room was once the Abbey Granary. Beyond this are the Checker, a fine 13th century room and the Long Gallery with its splendid oak beamed roof. These buildings are open to the public at certain times.

The Upper Reaches Hotel, by the bridge, is built on the site of the monastic watermill. The stream to bring water from the Thames to the mill was dug by the monks in the 10th century and corn was ground there almost continually up until 1967. Inside the hotel the watermill can still be seen as a feature of the restaurant.

Abingdon Bridge is nearly 590 years old and is really three bridges linked together: Abingdon Bridge proper (nearest the town, with its 15th century arches spanning the backwater), Burford Bridge (over the main stream of the Thames, the name being a corruption of Borough Ford Bridge), and Maud Hales Bridge (over the marshy ground to the south). The first two bridges were built by the Fraternity of the Holy Cross, a medieval guild, and linked to Culham Bridge by a raised causeway still used as a footpath today. Hales Bridge is an example of 15th century flood arches erected and named after William and Maud Hales in 1430. The cricket ground nearby also bears this name.

From the rear of the County Hall running towards the river is East Saint Helen Street, containing fine examples of Abingdon’s domestic architecture from the 15th century onwards. Framed at its end is the imposing tower and spire of Saint Helen’s Church. Dating back to the 10th century, the church was enlarged during the next three centuries as Abingdon grew and prospered. Now wider than it is long, its features include a 200 year old candelabra, the tomb of John Roysse (who refounded Abingdon’s Grammar School in 1563) and the 14th century painted wooden ceiling in the Lady Chapel.

Flanking Saint Helen’s Churchyard are three almshouses: the Long Alley, built in 1446, Twitty’s in 1707 and Brick Alley in 1718. These homes have been skilfully renovated and are still in use today, administered by the Master and Governors of Christ’s Hospital, a charitable trust created by Royal Charter in 1553. Christ’s Hospital is a Freeman of the Town.

Behind the church runs St Helen’s Wharf and this leads to a small iron bridge over the River Ock. The bridge was erected in 1824 by the Wilts and Berks Canal Company whose waterway joined the Thames nearby.