John Abbott was one of the 20 members of the 1825 Select Vestry for the parish of Tor, and is also listed for the years 1829, 1833 and 1835. The first recorded elected governing body of Torquay, the Select Vestry was established under an Act of Parliament which provided that such Vestries should consist of not more than 20 and not less than five substantial householders and occupiers nominated and elected by the ratepayers. It is believed that the first Select Vestry was elected in 1820, although the earliest Select Vestry to be recorded was in 1825. Among other tasks, the members were concerned with the relief of paupers and the conduct of the workhouse, and arranged the construction of ‘a lock-up house for securing vagrants’. The Select Vestry was replaced in 1835 by the Board of Improvement Commissioners, and John Abbott’s name appears once, as a commissioner for 1837.