Monument to the 7th Earl of Abingdon
Churchyard of the Church of Our Lady and St Edmund, 1 Radley Road, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3PL
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1484416
- Date first listed:
- 22-Aug-2025
- List Entry Name:
- Monument to the 7th Earl of Abingdon
- Statutory Address:
- Churchyard of the Church of Our Lady and St Edmund, 1 Radley Road, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3PL
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1484416
- Date first listed:
- 22-Aug-2025
- List Entry Name:
- Monument to the 7th Earl of Abingdon
- Statutory Address 1:
- Churchyard of the Church of Our Lady and St Edmund, 1 Radley Road, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3PL
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Churchyard of the Church of Our Lady and St Edmund, 1 Radley Road, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3PL
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Oxfordshire
- District:
- Vale of White Horse (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Abingdon on Thames
- National Grid Reference:
- SU5004997594
Summary
A monument to Montague Arthur Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon (1836-1928). Designed and carved by Eric Gill.
Reasons for Designation
The monument to the 7th Earl of Abingdon, in the churchyard of the Church of Our Lady and St Edmund, Abingdon is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* the monument is a good example of early C20 funerary art by the noted artist Eric Gill including sculpture and lettering designed by him which shows the development of his style;
* it has undergone little if any alteration.
History
Eric Gill, a Catholic convert, initially trained as an architect under WD Caröe, but abandoned this to become a monumental stone mason and letter cutter. While based in Wales he designed his famous typefaces: Perpetua (1927) and Gill Sans (1928). The commission from the Bertie family for Lord Abingdon's monument appears to date from immediately after Gill's move from Wales to High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in October 1928 since he made two drawings for the headstone on 8 November 1928 (see SOURCES, Collins).
Lord Abingdon was a landowner who lived at Wytham Abbey, Berkshire. He was High Steward of Abingdon and Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire and a Justice of the Peace. His military career culminated in him being appointed Honourary Colonel of the Royal Berkshire Militia.
Details
A gravemarker and funerary monument to the 7th Earl of Abingdon (1836-1928). Designed and carved by Eric Gill.
MATERIALS: Portland stone.
The rectangular area of the grave plot is defined by a headstone, footstone and raised curb with a flat top and raised square sections to each corner. Headstone and footstone have a segmental, arched top with small scrolls to each end. The south face of the headstone is carved with a high relief of Christ on the cross and the tomb chest has a flat top and faceted sides with inscriptions lettered in Gill Perpetua for the 7th Earl (1836-1928) on the west face and Gwendoline, Countess of Abingdon (1865-1940) on the east face.
Sources
Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Bradley, S, Tyack, G, The Buildings of England: Berkshire (2010), 100
Gill, Eric, Autobiography (1940),
MacCarthy, Fiona, Eric Gill (1989),
Collins, Judith, Eric Gill, The Sculpture (1998), 165 (cat. no 192)
Websites
Architectural History Practice report Taking Stock Portsmouth Diocese, accessed 25/10/2022 from https://taking-stock.org.uk/building/abingdon-our-lady-and-st-edmund/
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 14-Dec-2025 at 12:10:49.
Download a full scale map (PDF)© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2025. OS AC0000815036. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2025. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
End of official list entry