John Abel

John Abel (c. 1578-1675) was a master carpenter who lived at Sarnesfield in Herefordshire, England. Surviving records show that he was one of the mostly unrecorded craftsmen who were responsible for building elaborate and highly ornamented timber-framed buildings in the English West Midlands in the 16th and 17th centuries. He occasionally also acted as a mason, as at Kington Grammar School. During the Civil War, he constructed a corn mill in 1645 for the besieged Royalist forces in Hereford. His tomb at Sarnesfield describes him as 'architector', and mentions that he was in his 97th year.

List of works

In addition to the following documented works, many others have been attributed to Abel on stylistic grounds, including the late 16th century Hereford Market Hall (demolished 1862).

*Market House, Brecon 1624; demolished
*Grammar School, Kington, Herefordshire, 1625
*Abbey Dore Church, Herefordshire, restoration and reroofing, 1633-34
*Market House, Leominster, Herefordshire, 1633; dismantled and rebuilt as a house called Grange Court, 1861
*Tibberton Court, Herefordshire, new house for William Greene, 1653; demolished
*Market House, Kington, Herefordshire, 1654; demolished 1820

References

*Sir H. Colvin, "A biographical dictionary of British architects", 3rd edn, 1995, p. 47