Church Of St Edburga

The Church of St Edburga in Abberton is a parish church built in 1882 by W.J. Hopkins for William Laslett of Abberton Hall. The church is constructed of snecked, rock-faced stone with freestone dressings, a timber-frame porch, and tile roofs.

The building is designed in the Decorated style of the early 14th century. The plan includes a nave and chancel under a single roof, a west tower, a south-west porch, and a north-east vestry. The two-stage west tower features a south-east turret, angle buttresses, a freestone parapet (replacing an earlier broach spire), a small clock face, and a three-light west window to the lower stage. The upper stage has two-light openings with Y-tracery. The steeply gabled south porch is built on a dwarf wall and has bargeboards with pierced quatrefoils; the south doorway is ornamented with a continuous filleted roll mould. The nave's north and south walls contain three simple pointed windows, while the north side has a two-light Decorated window at the east end. The chancel has angle buttresses, and its cusped windows are linked by continuous sill and impost bands, the latter appearing as hood moulds above the windows. It contains a single-light north window, a single-light south window, and a two-light south window, alongside a three-light east window identical to the west window. The vestry has a half-hipped roof and a three-light, straight-headed window.

Inside, the interior walls are brick-faced with modest polychrome bands and friezes. The ceiling is keeled and boarded, divided into panels by moulded ribs with foliage bosses. A cusped arched brace on tall, corbelled shafts marks the transition between the nave and chancel. These braces were carved by Martyn & Emms.

The church contains a Norman font, similar to the font at Wyre Piddle, with arrowhead moulding around the rim and chevrons lower down. The benches have square, moulded ends. A mid-19th century reredos has been re-erected at the west end; it consists of three panels, the central one displaying painted Victorian Royal Arms, with painted texts in the side panels. Memorial tablets, including those to Samuel Lesingham (died 1827) by Lewis of Cheltenham, and Lucy Sheldon (died 1839) by Preece of Worcester, are also present, ornamented with draped urns.

The church’s history indicates that a 12th century font, 19th century reredos, and memorial tablets and ledgers were salvaged from a previous church. The original broach spire was removed in 1962, due to its position in the flight path of RAF Pershore, and replaced with the current parapet.