Abbotts Ann
Abbotts Ann is a village in the parish of the same name, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Andover, Hampshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census, including Little Ann and Red Post Bridge, was 2,566.[1]
History
The village name Ann was derived from the Celtic river name 'Anne' meaning 'Ash Tree Stream' (now known as the
First mentioned as Anna when reportedly granted to the New Minster of Winchester by
In 1806, Robert Tasker settled in Abbotts Ann and later took over the blacksmith's business. Tasker and his brother developed the first iron plough,[
Between 1915 and 1924 the Red Rice Estate, which included Abbotts Ann and much of the surrounding countryside, was sold. In 1934 the Government bought Little Park for the new Land Settlement Association, creating the largest influx of population into the village since AD500.[citation needed] The settlers came mainly from northern England and Wales, and those who stayed on made a permanent contribution to the village.[citation needed] Of the 517 houses in the village, in 2000, 107 had been built in the previous 20 years.
St Mary the Virgin, Abbotts Ann
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/St_Mary%27s_Church%2C_Abbots_Ann.jpg/220px-St_Mary%27s_Church%2C_Abbots_Ann.jpg)
The presence of a church in Abbots Ann is first recorded in a charter granted by Edward the Elder in 901. By the 14th century a second, "more substantial", church had been erected on this site.[2]
In 1710 Thomas "Diamond" Pitt, the grandfather and great-grandfather of the Prime Ministers William Pitt the Elder and William Pitt the Younger, purchased the estate of Abbots Ann, the manor house and the church. In 1716 Pitt – who had made a huge fortune from his sale of a 410 carat (82g) diamond, purchased for £20,400 (equivalent to £4,182,000 in 2023) [3] and sold to the French regent, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, for £135,000 (equivalent to £25,935,050 in 2023) [3] – paid for the demolition of the existing church and the construction of the present parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Abbotts Ann.[4]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Virgins%27_Crown%2C_Church_of_St_Mary_the_Virgin%2C_Abbotts_Ann_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1161322.jpg/250px-Virgins%27_Crown%2C_Church_of_St_Mary_the_Virgin%2C_Abbotts_Ann_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1161322.jpg)
Virgins' crowns
The church has one of the largest collections of virgins' crowns in existence, and Abbots Ann is the only parish in England which perpetuates the custom of awarding them.[5] The crowns "may be requested by the relatives of the deceased person, who must have been born, baptised, confirmed and have died, unmarried, in the parish, and must have been of unblemished reputation."[6] The crown is made of hazelwood and decorated with paper rosettes, with five paper gloves or gauntlets attached to it to "represent a challenge thrown down to anyone to asperse the character of the deceased."[5]
At the funeral the crown is "suspended from a small white wand and carried by two girls aged between twelve and sixteen and dressed in white with folded handkerchiefs on their heads at the head of the funeral procession, laid on the coffin in the church and afterwards in the churchyard until the body is committed to the ground."[5] It is then hung from a hook in the church gallery. If unchallenged after 3 weeks, the crown is hung from a hook near the ceiling of the church, with an escutcheon recording the name and date.[6]
The oldest crown dates from 1740, and the most recent from 1973.[5] Writing in 1992, local historian and author Pamela J. King observed that "With today's increasingly mobile population very few people are likely to spend all their lives in one parish and this ancient custom may disappear."[6]
Present
Today the village contains a village shop run by volunteers (which itself contains a post office – one of many recently threatened with
Abbotts Ann Players
The Abbotts Ann Village Players is a community amateur dramatics society inside the village of Abbotts Ann it performs most of its performances inside the Abbotts Ann
![]() | This section may contain information not important or relevant to the article's subject. (March 2020) ) |
Further reading
- King, Pamela J. (1992). Abbotts Ann in Hampshire. G.E. King. ISBN 978-0-9520123-0-6.
- Morris, Rosie (2011). "Maidens' Garlands: A Funeral Custom of Post-Reformation England". In King, Chris; Sayer, Duncan (eds.). The Archaeology of Post-Medieval Religion. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. pp. 271–282. ISBN 978-1-8438369-3-3.
References
- ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". NeighbourhoodStatistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ King, Pamela J. "History of St. Mary's Church". St. Mary's Church, Abbotts Ann. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "The History of St Mary's Abbots Ann". Southern Life (UK). Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d "The Virgin Crowns of Abbots Ann". Southern Life (UK). Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ^ a b c King, Pamela J. "The Virgins' Crown". St. Mary's Church, Abbotts Ann. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
External links
- "Abbotts Ann". Community website.
- "Abbotts Ann Village Design Statement". A description of the natural and man-made features of the village.
- "Abbotts Ann Parish Profile 2020". Test Valley Borough Council's Parish Profile.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)