Abington Park

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Park in the United Kingdom

title: "Abington Park" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["buildings-and-structures-in-northampton", "tourist-attractions-in-northampton", "regimental-museums-in-england", "fashion-museums-in-the-united-kingdom", "local-museums-in-northamptonshire", "museums-established-in-1899", "1899-establishments-in-england", "parks-and-open-spaces-in-northamptonshire"] description: "Park in the United Kingdom" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abington_Park" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Park in the United Kingdom ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox museum"]

FieldValue
nameAbington Park
imageNorthamptonabingtonpark.jpg
captionEdwardian postcard of Abington Manor with the church of St Peter and St Paul on the right
map_typeNorthamptonshire
map_captionNorthamptonshire
coordinates
established1897
locationAbington, Northampton
website
::

| name = Abington Park | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image =Northamptonabingtonpark.jpg | imagesize = | caption =Edwardian postcard of Abington Manor with the church of St Peter and St Paul on the right | alt = | map_type =Northamptonshire | map_caption =Northamptonshire | map_alt = | coordinates = | established = 1897 | dissolved = | location =Abington, Northampton | type = | collection = | visitors = | director = | president = | curator = | owner = | publictransit = | car_park = | network = | website = Abington Park, in the Abington district of Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, has lakes, aviaries, and a museum, as well as trees and grassy open spaces.

Origins

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Elizabeth_Hall,_granddaughter_of_William_Shakespeare.jpg" caption="Elizabeth Bernard, granddaughter of William Shakespeare, lived in the Manor House in the mid-seventeenth century"] ::

The park contains the ruins of the former village of Abington, the site of a medieval manor house with a mill attached, mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086. The Abington gallows used for the five hangings in 1612 following the Northamptonshire witch trials, amongst the first in England to use trial by ducking stool, are believed to have been situated at the crossroads in Abington Park. The village was enclosed and depopulated when the manor was enlarged and parklands created by the Thursby family in the late 17th century.

Abington Park Manor House

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Abington_Park_Museum.jpg" caption="Abington Park Museum in May 2023"] ::

The museum was originally a manor house built at the turn of the 16th century. The Great Hall, now called the Oak Room because of its oak panelling, dates back to 1500. It was once home to William Shakespeare's granddaughter, Elizabeth Bernard née Elizabeth Hall, who was buried in 1670 in the adjacent late 12th-century church of St Peter and St Paul. Her second marriage was to Sir John Bernard or Barnard, the MP for Huntingdon from 1660, who successively enlarged the house in the 1660s. It passed to the Thursby family in 1669 and was further enlarged and remodelled in the classical Georgian style between 1738 and 1743 by William Thursby. While owned by the Thursbys, the actor David Garrick planted a mulberry tree in the grounds in 1778, in recognition of his friendship with Anne Thursby. In 1821, during repairs to the church, all but the main tower of the church was blown down in a storm; the Thursbys rebuilt the main body of the church, which retains few of its original features.

In 1841 the manor was sold and its contents auctioned off. It was converted into a private lunatic asylum, called Abington Abbey Retreat, in 1845. The first director was Thomas Octavius Prichard, who was succeeded in 1847 by his cousin Thomas Prichard. when it moved to premises in the Grosvenor Shopping Centre in the centre of Northampton.

The Park

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Abington-Park.jpg" caption="Abington Park"] ::

Abington Park has a bandstand which is suitable for hosting a selection of brass band, concert band, folk or jazz music. It was the venue for the annual 'Folk in the Park' festival until it moved to Delapré Park. The park also contains two lakes and a model boating lake, connected by a stream. The largest of the lakes was remodelled in the 1920s. There is also a play park, a cafe, tennis courts, outdoor table tennis, and a rose garden, as well as the church of St Peter and St Paul.

References

References

  1. [https://abingtonpark.org/discover/history/ Abington is unique among the many green open spaces of Northampton in that the estate within which it stands was bequeathed to the people of the town by Lady Wantage in 1897]
  2. L'Estrange Ewen, C.. (2003). "Witchcraft and Demonism". Kessinger Publishing.
  3. Salzman, L. F.. (1937). "A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 4".
  4. (31 October 2006). "Pair's witch project". Northampton Chronicle and Echo.
  5. (1987). "The Dating by Dendrochronology of Three Northamptonshire Halls". Vernacular Architecture.
  6. Higgins, Sophia Elizabeth. (1903). "The Bernards of Abington and Nether Winchendon; a family history, Vol. I". Longmans, Green and co.
  7. (1831). "The history of Northampton and its vicinity: brought down to the present time". J. Birdsall.
  8. Parker, John Henry. (1849). "Architectural notices of the churches of the archdeaconry of Northampton: Deaneries of Higham Ferrers and Haddon".
  9. "History of Abington Park Manor House". Waymarking.
  10. Hickman, Clare. (2014). "Cheerfulness and tranquility: gardens in the Victorian asylum". Elsevier BV.
  11. "Museum of Leathercraft". Heritage Lottery Fund.
  12. "Museum of Leathercraft timeline". Museum of Leathercraft.
  13. (11 August 2012). "Tickled Pink heads up Folk In The Park". Northamptonshire Telegraph.
  14. "Abington Park". Northampton Borough Council.

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buildings-and-structures-in-northamptontourist-attractions-in-northamptonregimental-museums-in-englandfashion-museums-in-the-united-kingdomlocal-museums-in-northamptonshiremuseums-established-in-18991899-establishments-in-englandparks-and-open-spaces-in-northamptonshire