John Abel (1578/79 – 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. 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. 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. He offered the building to the council if they would re-erect it but they refused. He moved the building himself and rebuilt it in 1856. It remained as a private house until the 1930s, was subsequently used as council offices, and following extension work it reopened as a visitor attraction, cafe, community space, wedding venue and offices. It is widely regarded as one of Abel's finest works and is built in the Renaissance tradition. It is now known as Grange Court. In 2001, a campaign was started to raise money to restore the building to its original state. The building is Grade II listed.
Based on the consistency of Abel's style, scholars tentatively attribute the restoration of Vowchurch in 1613 and Monnington Court on the Wye to him.
Military work
In 1645, during the middle of the civil war, Abel was in Hereford when the Scots besieged it. With Charles I and his soldiers inside the city walls, mills were important to ensure the food supply lasted, and powder mills to make gunpowder. The Roundheads had burnt down the mills the town had previously owned. However, Abel was able to design and build another one. Records differ but because of this the King granted Abel the title of either Master Carpenter or the King's Carpenter.
Sir Barnabus Scudamore went further in his estimation of Abel, saying that he was the only man in England who was able to create powder mills.
Abel is also known to have created a wooden tank called the Sow which Scudmore deployed against the parliamentary garrison at Canon Frome in October 1645. Unfortunately the device was never used in combat as it was surprised by Parliamentarian raiders.
Though historical records clearly show otherwise, legend states that Abel found, felled and used all the timber used in Dore Abbey Church in less than five months. He wrote his own epitaph and built his own tomb. His tombstone read:
In the Victorian era, the tomb was restored by the National Society for Preserving the Memorials of the Dead and the epitaph was slightly altered. In 2001 a campaign was started to restore Abel's tomb.