diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/context/AbstractMessageContext.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/context/AbstractMessageContext.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2aed8c34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/context/AbstractMessageContext.java
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2007 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.ws.context;
+
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+/**
+ * Abstract base class for {@link MessageContext instances}.
+ *
+ * @author Arjen Poutsma
+ */
+public abstract class AbstractMessageContext implements MessageContext {
+
+    /**
+     * Keys are <code>Strings</code>, values are <code>Objects</code>. Lazily initalized by
+     * <code>getProperties()</code>.
+     */
+    private Map properties;
+
+    public boolean containsProperty(String name) {
+        return getProperties().containsKey(name);
+    }
+
+    public Object getProperty(String name) {
+        return getProperties().get(name);
+    }
+
+    public String[] getPropertyNames() {
+        return (String[]) getProperties().keySet().toArray(new String[getProperties().size()]);
+    }
+
+    public void removeProperty(String name) {
+        getProperties().remove(name);
+    }
+
+    public void setProperty(String name, Object value) {
+        getProperties().put(name, value);
+    }
+
+    private Map getProperties() {
+        if (properties == null) {
+            properties = new HashMap();
+        }
+        return properties;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/context/DefaultMessageContext.java b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/context/DefaultMessageContext.java
index ea6e60bb..983a3ada 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/context/DefaultMessageContext.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/springframework/ws/context/DefaultMessageContext.java
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@ package org.springframework.ws.context;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStream;
-import java.util.HashMap;
-import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
 import org.springframework.ws.WebServiceMessage;
@@ -30,23 +28,15 @@ import org.springframework.ws.WebServiceMessageFactory;
  *
  * @author Arjen Poutsma
  */
-public class DefaultMessageContext implements MessageContext {
+public class DefaultMessageContext extends AbstractMessageContext {
 
     private final WebServiceMessageFactory messageFactory;
 
-    /**
-     * Keys are <code>Strings</code>, values are <code>Objects</code>. Lazily initalized by
-     * <code>getProperties()</code>.
-     */
-    private Map properties;
-
     private WebServiceMessage request;
 
     private WebServiceMessage response;
 
-    /**
-     * Construct a new, empty instance of the <code>DefaultMessageContext</code> with the given message factory.
-     */
+    /** Construct a new, empty instance of the <code>DefaultMessageContext</code> with the given message factory. */
     public DefaultMessageContext(WebServiceMessageFactory messageFactory) {
         this(messageFactory.createWebServiceMessage(), messageFactory);
     }
@@ -86,30 +76,4 @@ public class DefaultMessageContext implements MessageContext {
         }
     }
 
-    public boolean containsProperty(String name) {
-        return getProperties().containsKey(name);
-    }
-
-    public Object getProperty(String name) {
-        return getProperties().get(name);
-    }
-
-    public String[] getPropertyNames() {
-        return (String[]) getProperties().keySet().toArray(new String[getProperties().size()]);
-    }
-
-    public void removeProperty(String name) {
-        getProperties().remove(name);
-    }
-
-    public void setProperty(String name, Object value) {
-        getProperties().put(name, value);
-    }
-
-    private Map getProperties() {
-        if (properties == null) {
-            properties = new HashMap();
-        }
-        return properties;
-    }
 }