  We present the new HST near-infrared polarimetry, broad and narrow-band
imaging, and MERLIN 4.5GHz Multi-Frequency Synthesis radio imaging of 3C 293, a
unique radio galaxy whose host is an obvious merger remnant, in an
exceptionally under-dense region of space. We have discovered near-infrared,
optical, and ultra-violet synchrotron emission from the jet. In the optical,
the jet is mostly obscured by a dust lane, but three knots are clear in our HST
NICMOS images at 1.6 and 2.0 microns, clearly aligning with features in the
radio. The outer jet knot is highly polarized (~15%) at 2 microns, confirming
the synchrotron emission mechanism. The radio-IR spectral index steepens
significantly with distance from the nucleus, as in 3C 273 and in contrast to M
87. The inner knot is visible (with hindsight) on the WFPC2 and STIS images
obtained for the earlier 3CR HST snapshot surveys. There is no [Fe II] emission
seen associated with the jet, constraining the role of shock-induced ionisation
by the jet. Overall there is a strong implication that the NIR jet emission is
indeed synchrotron.
  From our NIR images, the core of the galaxy is clearly identifiable with the
main feature in the western extension of the radio ``jet'' image, although no
unresolved AGN component is identifiable even at K-band, consistent with an
FRII-like nucleus obscured by an optically thick torus. The galaxy appears to
have a single nucleus, with any multiple nuclei falling within the central
</~100 pc.
