A wander around Abingdon, Oxfordshire (looking for signs old and new)

A different destination for today's wander. Looking to go somewhere different from home, but not travelling too far, we decided to stop off at Abingdon in Oxfordshire for a few hours. Our wander started with a short and muddy walk along the Thames path, which was pleasant enough, but soon we ended up in the town, with scenery more fitting for my blog.

Starting off with what I originally thought was a bit over over-officious policing of the waterway, but then realised it had a more humourous tone to it.

Sign at Abingdon lock, River Thames, Oxfordshire

Sign at Abingdon lock, River Thames, Oxfordshire

In to the town now and pleasing to find not only an old sign / ghost sign on the Oxfam shop, but also two doorway mosaics there too. The sign reads

LANGFORD & SONS CORN & COAL MERCHANTS

Old sign for Langford & Sons Corn & Coal Merchants, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Doorway mosaic, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Doorway mosaic, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Following the doorway mosaic at the Corn and Coal merchants, I found another just a little further down the road. This shop threshold also had some ornate tile work.

Doorway mosaic, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Ornate tile work, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Good to see the sign for the FREE LIBRRAY is still in situ, even if the library itself is long gone.

Old sign for former Free Library, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Old sign for former Free Library, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

A short visit to the town, which we rounded off with a quick visit to the museum. These two pictures are from the roof terrace which is open upon request for a small fee.

View from the rooftop of the Abingdon Museum, Oxfordshire

Zooming in a little and the horizon is pretty much filled with what remains of Didcot Power Station.

Didcot Power Station from the rooftop of the Abingdon Museum, Oxfordshire

That's all for today. Thanks as always for reading. Comments welcome.

A lunchtime wander around Notting Hill, London

For my lunchtime wander today, I decided to drift off towards Holland Park and Notting Hill. Again this is somewhere I've been before but not for a while now, and as with many places I visit there are always either new sights to see and photo, or vistas I have previously missed.

One thing I do particularly like about this area of London is the curved buildings on many of the street corners, mainly I suspect as a result of the roads not being a grid system like some other parts of London.

This first building has all the hall marks of being a pub at one time in its life. From similar buildings I have seen, I can imagine a sign with the pub name at the very top of the building and a list of various ales on the long grey plastered section. It looks like it may have had an entrance too which has now been covered. Worried that I may be completely wrong, I decided to conduct some internet research and came across this wonderful site called Lost Pubs in London which revealed that this indeed used to be a pub, called The Unicorn but has been a residential dwelling for some years now.

The former Unicorn Pub, corner of Princedale Road and Penzance Place, Notting Hill, London

I was also curious about what this building, also in Penzance Place, could have been, but was not able to uncover any information.

Unidentified pink building, Penzance Place, Notting Hill, London

Again I'm quite sure what is now The Cross was something in a former life but despite doing, admittedly only a little, research I was unable to uncover anything on this one either.

The Cross, Portland Road, Notting Hill, London

Fortunately what is now The Cowshed was easier to discover its former function. This was also a former pub, called The Portland Arms.

The former Portland Arms pub, Portland Road, Notting Hill, London

The area in and around Clarendon Cross has some wonderful shop fronts or which these are only a couple.

L Maison shopfront, Clarendon Cross, Notting Hill, London

Summerill and Bishop, shopfront, Clarendon Cross, Notting Hill, London

This area also boasts something of a more industrial past, with a pottery and this former brick works, now a residential dwelling. The name of the building is clear to see, but look about half-way down and there are also the words BUILDERS and CONTRACTORS in the brickwork.

The former Clarendon brick works, Notting Hill, London

The former Clarendon brick works, Notting Hill, London

As I made my way back down Portland Road, I spotted this old shop sign above a restaurant, for James Bricknell, decorators.

Old sign, Portland Road, Notting Hill, London

Finally on this wander, I found this wonderful, and very much in use, butchers. 

Lidgate butchers, Holland Park Avenue, London

It's hard to make out in this picture but the LIDGATE is actually a mosaic.

Mosaic, Lidgate butchers, Holland Park Avenue, London