Out with the old and in with the new – but the Friends of Abingdon charity hasn’t disappeared altogether. It has been reborn as two distinct charities in order to better manage (from both a workload and a financial point of view) their ever-diverging activities. The two new charities are called The Friends of Abingdon Civic Society and The Friends of Abingdon Abbey Buildings Trust.

At the Special General Meeting on 31 July, members of the Friends of Abingdon voted unanimously to confirm the decision to wind up the original charity. They also approved the Trustees’ proposals for allocation of its assets between the two new charities. Existing members will, if they wish, remain members of both charities, but new members will only belong to the Civic Society. Both charities have exciting plans for the future and are developing new Websites which will, in due course, come online.