AN INVENTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONUMENTS
IN NORTH-EAST ESSEX.
ACCREDITED TO A DATE ANTERIOR TO 1714,
arranged by Parishes.
(Unless otherwise stated, the dimensions given in the Inventory are internal. Monuments with titles
printed in italics are covered by an introductory sentence, to which reference should be made. The key
plans of those churches which are not illustrated by historically hatched plans are drawn to a uniform
scale of 48 ft. to the inch, with the monumental portions shown in solid black.)
1. ABBERTON. (D.d.)
(O.S. 6 in. xxxvi. N.E.)
Abberton is a small parish 4 m. S. of Colchester.
Ecclesiastical
(1). Parish Church of St. Andrew stands near
the N. end of the parish. The walls are of mixed
rubble with dressings of limestone; the tower is
of red brick. The roofs are tiled. The Nave and
probably a chancel were built or rebuilt about the
middle of the 14th century. Early in the 16th
century the West Tower was added. The South
Porch was added probably in the 18th century.
The church was restored late in the 18th or early
in the 19th century (when the chancel was rebuilt
on the old foundations) and again subsequently.
The Church, Plan
Architectural Description—The Chancel (19 ft.
by 15½ ft.) is modern, but the lower courses of the
walls are those of the mediaeval building. The
plastered, two-centred chancel-arch is of uncertain
date.
The Nave (29½ ft. by 18 ft.) has in the N. wall
a mid or late 14th-century window of two plain
pointed lights in a two-centred head; further W.
is the late 14th-century N. doorway, now blocked
and with chamfered jambs, two-centred arch and
moulded label. In the S. wall is a window similar
to that in the N. wall; further W. is the late
14th-century S. doorway, with moulded jambs,
two-centred arch and label with defaced head-stops.
The West Tower (8½ ft. square) is of red brick,
with some diapering in black brick, and is of early
16th-century date; it is of three stages, with a
modern parapet. The two-centred tower-arch is
of four chamfered orders; the responds have plain
splays. The W. window is of stone and of three
cinquefoiled lights, with vertical tracery in a two-centred head with a moulded label; the W. doorway, below it, is of brick with chamfered jambs
and two-centred arch. The second stage has in
the W. wall a single-light window, with a four-centred head. The bell-chamber has on each side
a window formerly of three lights and with a four-centred head; the mullions have been destroyed.
Fittings—Bell: one by Miles Graye, 1663.
Chest: In S. porch, small, iron-bound, with two
locks, probably 16th-century. Communion Table:
with turned legs and moulded rail, early 17th-century. Door: In doorway to turret staircase,
of overlapping battens, early 16th-century. Font :
plain octagonal bowl, with moulded lower edge,
stem and hollow-chamfered base, probably 15th-century. Monuments: In churchyard—(1) to
George Kercley (?), 1701, head-stone with skull and
cross-bones; (2) to G.K., 1707, head-stone. Plate :
includes an Elizabethan cup, with a band of
incised ornament.
Condition—Fairly good, some ivy on tower.
Secular
(2). Homestead Moat, at Abberton Hall, N. of
the church.