Abingdon, mun. bor., Abingdon St Helen and Abingdon St Nicholas pars., Berks, and Culham par., Oxfordshire, on river Thames, 6 miles S. of Oxford and 60¼ miles W. of London by rail -- mun. bor., 300 ac., pop. 5684; P.O., T.O., 2 Banks. Market-day, Monday. In 680 it became the seat of a monastery, and in 1645 Lord Essex herd the town successfully against Charles I. It has mfrs. of woollens, carpets, and sacking; and there are cattle and corn markets. The grammar-school is endowed. The bor. returned 1 member to Parliament until 1885.

(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))