Abson
{{Short description|Village in South Gloucestershire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country= England
|coordinates= {{coord|51.471534|-2.426714|display=inline,title}}
|official_name= Abson
|static_image_name= Abson, South Gloucestershire, Church of St James the Great - geograph.org.uk - 96069.jpg
|static_image_caption= St James the Great Church, Abson
|population= 1,930
|population_ref= (Wick and Abson) (2021)
|shire_district= South Gloucestershire
|shire_county= Gloucestershire
|region= South West England
|constituency_westminster= Thornbury and Yate
|post_town= BRISTOL
|postcode_district= BS30
|postcode_area= BS
|dial_code= 0117
|london_distance_mi= 113
|london_direction=E
}}
Abson is a small village in South Gloucestershire, England, it forms part of the civil parish of Wick and Abson.
Location
Abson is located on a minor road between the villages of Wick and Pucklechurch. It is a mainly nucleated in pattern with some additional outlying farms and settlements. The centre of the village is a small village green and the church.
Abson is part of the Church of England parish of Wick and Abson, and is part of the parliamentary constituency of Thornbury and Yate.
History
The name Abson is a corruption of Abbotston - a place belonging to the Abbot. This was the Abbot of Glastonbury, as the manor of Pucklechurch (including Abson and other surrounding villages) was given to the Abbot after the murder of King Edmund at neighbouring Pucklechurch.[http://www.nascr.net/~bishop_books/pucklechurch.htm Pucklechurch Then And Now] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622171906/http://www.nascr.net/~bishop_books/pucklechurch.htm |date=22 June 2006 }} In the 16th century the village was called Abston, and was since shortened to Abson.Richard Kent (compiler), Doynton Local History Group Booklet #2 (Feb. 1990), p. 12.
Blue Lodge, one of the houses, was once the home of Anna Sewell, author of Black Beauty. Whilst staying there she witnessed a man killed by a cart and this was incorporated into the novel.[http://www.mail-archive.com/icehorses@yahoogroups.com/msg10934.html About Anna Sewell]
The Church
Abson is centred on the church. It is dedicated to St James the Great, and is a Grade I listed building, as are the churchyard walls (with distinctive Bristol Black coping) and many of the graves. The neighbouring farmhouse, stables and barn (which have been converted into homes) are all Grade II listed.[http://www.southglos.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D4103EE8-A346-4243-86AA-F9E65DF0C2FB/0/PTE070174.pdf Listed buildings in South Gloucestershire] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609073601/http://www.southglos.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D4103EE8-A346-4243-86AA-F9E65DF0C2FB/0/PTE070174.pdf |date=9 June 2011 }}
There are two fragments of carved knotwork masonry on the walls as well as a figure thought once to have been a Sheela na Gig, now understood to be a carving of a male figure, high on the East wall.[https://sheelanagig.org/abson Figurines at Abson] This figure is believed to date from Saxon or early Norman times.E Mason & D Mason, Avon Villages (Hale, London, 1982), p. 78.
The church contains an early 17th-century pulpit with a sounding board and 18th-century woodwork.E Mason & D Mason, Avon Villages (Hale, London, 1982), p. 79.
The belltower contains six bells which are still rung by hand.[http://www.bristolrural.co.uk/page05.htm Abson church bellringing]
Location grid
{{Geographic Location
|title = 'Neighbouring villages, and hamlets'
|Northwest = Mangotsfield
|North = Pucklechurch
|Northeast = Hinton
|West = Siston
|Centre = Abson
|East = Dyrham
|Southwest = Bridgeyate
|South = Wick
|Southeast = Doynton
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category-inline}}
{{South Gloucestershire}}