John Abel

John Abel
The Grange at Leominster, designed and built by John Abel
Born	1578/9 Sarnesfield, Herefordshire, England
Nationality	English
Occupation	Carpenter

John Abel (1578/9 — January 1675) was an English carpenter and mason, granted the title of 'King's Carpenter', who was responsible for several notable structures in the ornamented Half-timbered construction typical of the West Midlands.

John Abel was born in Sarnesfield, Herefordshire. He was a Catholic recusant, along with his wife Johanna. In 1618 he was brought before a church court to answer for his recusancy and also for his secret marriage to Johanna. The case against him was eventually dismissed, but his name can be found on a list of Catholic recusants from 1640.

Abel married twice, but there is no record of his second wife except on his table tomb in Sarnesfield. He had one son, named John, who later became churchwarden of Sarnesfield.

Very little is known about Abel's work, and some local traditions attribute buildings to him that are impossible in terms of their date. Abel's first known commission was in 1625 when he was contracted to build Lady Hawkins' grammar school in Kington. The contract was to fit into the terms of the will of Lady Margaret Hawkins. It is known that Abel supplied all the materials and that he was paid £240. The house design differs significantly from his later work in that it was built partially of stone. The stone window and ceiling beams of the house still survive, though the rest of the building was demolished.

In March 1633, it is known that Abel was contracted again, this time by John, 1st Viscount Scudamore, to renovate Abbey Dore Church, a former Cistercian monastery in Herefordshire. The work was completed in March 1634, in time for the reconsecration of the building. Though there have been some minor alterations made to his work, the church remains the most intact example of Abel's work available today as well as one of the best preserved examples of Laudian architecture.

There is no record of Abel's work for another eighteen years, until in 1652, he was contracted to create a new building for which he was paid £30. 'The modell of ye New Building' still exists and is currently kept at Tyberton Court, where the work was originally done.