A NEW blue plaque in Abingdon honours a man who did more than almost any other individual to preserve the town’s history.

Arthur Edwin Preston (1852-1942) was the first person to be elected Mayor of Abingdon without being a councillor first.

He financed a major archaeological project to establish the position and dimensions of the old Abbey church, now marked out in Abbey Gardens, and paid for a major restoration of the painted ceiling at St Helen’s Church.

Oxfordshire Blue Plaque Board, which unveiled the tribute at his former home in Park Crescent last Friday, said he made an “extraordinary” contribution to the town.

Prof Robert Evans, the board chairman, said: “The appearance and amenities of the town today owe much to his dedication and vision.”

Born at 13 High Street in 1852, he attended Abingdon School, at that time in the Guildhall’s Roysse Room, and went on to take a London University degree. After being call to the Bar, he became a chartered accountant, and worked as borough accountant of Abingdon.

But it was in his years of retirement that Mr Preston was able to best serve the town he loved.

In 1909 he was invited to be mayor of Abingdon, though not yet a councillor – an unprecedented honour – and served three terms.

He went on to serve on both Abingdon Borough Council and Berkshire County Council as an elected member.

Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Board secretary Eda Forbes said: “He was a formidable administrator and an especially effective chairman of the Berkshire finance committee.”

He was master of Christ’s Hospital in Abingdon and chairman of governors at Abingdon School. He was made an Honorary Freeman of the town in 1932.

A passionate antiquarian, he gathered and collated a mass of local information – historical and biographical – and published his researches in various handbooks and pamphlets, his major work being St Nicholas, Abingdon and Other Papers.

Mrs Forbes added: “Much that is known of Abingdon’s history comes from Arthur Preston’s documentation and research.

“He restored the Guildhall buildings and, at his own cost, the Roysse Room and the painted ceiling of the Lady Chapel at St Helen’s.”

He also founded Abingdon Bowling Club and helped start Frilford Heath Golf Club.