Abingdon Abbey ruins and churches, Abingdon

Start of a one-day pilgrim route to Oxford’s cathedral

Highlights

• Abbey of St Edmund and other saints
• Medieval church artworks

Abingdon merits inclusion for the great reforming bishop St Edmund who was born here around 1175. Not to be confused with St Edmund the royal martyr (page 159), this bishop was a scholar, reformer, and politician. He studied theology at Oxford and helped pioneer a more intellectually rigorous way of reading the Bible, known as Scholasticism. He is considered by some to be the first academic to become a saint, a debatable point if you know your early church history. He is, however, unarguably the first with an MA from Oxford University.

Although he died and was buried in France in 1240, St Edmund was much celebrated in his hometown after canonization in 1246. A chapel marking the place of his birth was built and dedicated on 30 May, which is remembered as his saint’s day in Abingdon (elsewhere it is 16 November, the date he died). The chapel was on St Edmund’s Lane, but all trace has vanished. St Edmund’s tomb can still be seen in the apse of Pontigny Abbey, which is in Burgundy.

The date of Abingdon Abbey’s foundation is subject to debate, but it is thought to be 7th century. It was certainly important long before the Conquest, and the town name records its presence.

The main abbey church, which was once larger than the current Westminster Abbey, has all but disappeared. The ruins now decorate the lawns of Abbey Gardens, a tranquil town-center park. The trees and flower beds are dotted with both abbey ruins and more modern folly structures.

St Nicolas' Church

While in town, have a look in St Nicholas’ Church, which is next to the abbey gardens. There is a lovely stone carving of the Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary and St John, as well as another figure thought to be St Nicholas himself. The carving is tucked out of sight in the vestry, and the attendant who showed it to us said it was 11th century. St Edmund himself worshipped in this church as a child, and his mother was originally buried here.

Other saints associated with the abbey include St Ethelwold, Bishop of Winchester, who restored the community in the 10th century, and St Elstan, a later abbot whom he trained. A bizarre tale is told about this pair: St Ethelwold decided to test his pupil’s obedience, by asking him to put a hand in some boiling water and pull out a dumpling. St Elstan duly did so, and his hand emerged miraculously unscathed. St Elstan was later venerated at the abbey, as were dozens of smaller relics from other saints and a fragment of the True Cross.

While in Abingdon

St Helen’s Church is by the river on the south side of town, 400m from the abbey ruins. It has some unlikely legends attached, such as the claim that it was founded in the 4th century by St Helena, mother of Constantine the Great. But it certainly has a very fine 14th-century painted ceiling in the Lady Chapel, showing Christ’s family tree. There is a lily crucifix painted here too at one end, showing Christ on a cross composed of flowers, similar to Godshill’s mural on the Isle of Wight.

Directions

Abbey Gardens, behind St Nicholas’ Church, Market Square, Abingdon OX14 3JL

www.stnicolasabingdon.org.uk

W3W: mixed.spot.refers

GPS: 51.6702N 1.2809W

St Nicholas’ Church (sometimes spelled Nicolas) is in the middle of town and usually open 10:30 am to 12:30 pm.

To find the abbey gardens, walk down the passageway beside the church and you will see the park gates straight ahead.

St Helen’s Church aims to open daily 11 am–1 pm from Easter to mid–Sep, located on the south side of town down East St Helen Street: www.abingdon-st-helens.org.uk