800 years of history: Abington Church in Northampton celebrates rector anniversary with new book by Jane Evans
In 1224, Abington parish in Northampton was given its first rector, Peter of Irchester.
800 years later the Church of St Peter and St Paul has been celebrating the anniversary with a year-long series of special services, concerts and talks, including the production of a new church leaflet and a new book on the history of Abington.
The leaflet gives the visitor a guided tour of the church interior. The book, entitled ‘A Window on to Abington: 1000 Years of History’, covers the whole of the parish.
Written by local historian, Jane Evans, it begins with an account of the Anglo-Saxon village before the arrival of the Normans. ‘Abington’ means ‘the farm of Abba’s people’ (Abba-ing-tun). The parish extended north to Moulton Park and south to the River Nene and Abington Mill.
Two volumes of history, written in the early 1900s, have provided vivid information about the lords of the manor who lived at and built Abington manor house (now the Museum), including the Bernards, who owned the manor from c.1420 to 1669, and the Thursbys – the owners from 1669 to 1841. ‘A Window on to Abington’ recounts some of their stories, including the famous account of Elizabeth Bernard, the granddaughter of William Shakespeare, and the search in Abington for Shakespeare’s missing manuscripts.
The book covers a wide range of themes, for there are several strands of history that are woven together in Abington. There is the interesting architectural development of both the manor house and the church, the changes to the landscape as it evolved into the parkland round the village, the effect of the Reformation on the life of the Church, and some interesting social history about the villagers and church life in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The last half of the 19th century concerns the purchase of the manor by one of the Victorian nouveaux riches, Lewis Loyd, a millionaire banker who rose from humble beginnings in Wales. He leased the house to Dr Octavius Prichard, who opened a mental asylum, to be run on humane lines. When the asylum closed, Lewis Loyd’s granddaughter, Lady Wantage, gave the estate to the Borough Corporation in 1897 - as ‘a people’s park’. The book closes with a description of the grand opening, when the gates were unlocked by the mayor with a ceremonial silver key. Abington was at last restored to the local people, in the form of Abington Park.
Available, price £9.99, at Northampton Museum Shop, Guildhall Road, The Model Shop at 230 Wellingborough Road, The History Book Corner at Chester Farm, and Abington Church.