England has many beautiful churches and cathedrals, and Northamptonshire, in particular, is noted for the tall spires and deep brown coloured stone of many of its churches. The little church of St John the Baptist, set above the village green and surrounded by golden stone houses, could be considered to be as beautiful as any of its big brothers. The situation is so typically English and, at times, when there are no cars around, the casual visitor may think that the sight is more or less the same as it has been for centuries. They would be wrong. The church that can be seen today is almost entirely Victorian although Christians have been worshipping in Abthorpe for a nearly a thousand years - maybe more.
This lovely village was forgotten for years and was started on the path to resurrection by the villagers themselves, assisted by a wealthy businessman who wrote a very strange will and a lady who helped nearly 100 years after she died. The Abthorpe vicar who had the vision to re-build the church we enjoy today, never actually lived to see the result. The resulting church was designed by one of the pre-eminent Victorian church architects Ewan Christian. Although he was to design 90 churches (as well as restore Southwell Minster and create the National Portrait Gallery in London) this is his only work in the county and for that reason as well it is certainly worth a visit.
A guide is available in the church that details the interesting story of this little gem.