diff --git a/ethers-contract/src/base.rs b/ethers-contract/src/base.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7946a95d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ethers-contract/src/base.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+use crate::Contract;
+
+use ethers_core::{
+    abi::{Abi, FunctionExt},
+    types::{Address, Selector},
+};
+use ethers_providers::Middleware;
+
+use std::{collections::HashMap, fmt::Debug, hash::Hash, sync::Arc};
+
+/// A reduced form of `Contract` which just takes the `abi` and produces
+/// ABI encoded data for its functions.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct BaseContract {
+    pub(crate) abi: Abi,
+
+    /// A mapping from method signature to a name-index pair for accessing
+    /// functions in the contract ABI. This is used to avoid allocation when
+    /// searching for matching functions by signature.
+    // Adapted from: https://github.com/gnosis/ethcontract-rs/blob/master/src/contract.rs
+    pub(crate) methods: HashMap<Selector, (String, usize)>,
+}
+
+impl From<Abi> for BaseContract {
+    /// Creates a new `BaseContract` from the abi.
+    fn from(abi: Abi) -> Self {
+        let methods = create_mapping(&abi.functions, |function| function.selector());
+        Self { abi, methods }
+    }
+}
+
+impl BaseContract {
+    /// Returns a reference to the contract's ABI
+    pub fn abi(&self) -> &Abi {
+        &self.abi
+    }
+
+    /// Upgrades a `BaseContract` into a full fledged contract with an address and middleware.
+    pub fn into_contract<M: Middleware>(
+        self,
+        address: Address,
+        client: impl Into<Arc<M>>,
+    ) -> Contract<M> {
+        Contract::new(address, self, client)
+    }
+}
+
+impl AsRef<Abi> for BaseContract {
+    fn as_ref(&self) -> &Abi {
+        self.abi()
+    }
+}
+
+/// Utility function for creating a mapping between a unique signature and a
+/// name-index pair for accessing contract ABI items.
+fn create_mapping<T, S, F>(
+    elements: &HashMap<String, Vec<T>>,
+    signature: F,
+) -> HashMap<S, (String, usize)>
+where
+    S: Hash + Eq,
+    F: Fn(&T) -> S,
+{
+    let signature = &signature;
+    elements
+        .iter()
+        .flat_map(|(name, sub_elements)| {
+            sub_elements
+                .iter()
+                .enumerate()
+                .map(move |(index, element)| (signature(element), (name.to_owned(), index)))
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
diff --git a/ethers-contract/src/contract.rs b/ethers-contract/src/contract.rs
index 861c086d..14b5838d 100644
--- a/ethers-contract/src/contract.rs
+++ b/ethers-contract/src/contract.rs
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
-use super::{call::ContractCall, event::Event};
+use super::{base::BaseContract, call::ContractCall, event::Event};
 
 use ethers_core::{
-    abi::{Abi, Detokenize, Error, EventExt, Function, FunctionExt, Tokenize},
+    abi::{Abi, Detokenize, Error, EventExt, Function, Tokenize},
     types::{Address, Filter, NameOrAddress, Selector, TransactionRequest, TxHash},
 };
 use ethers_providers::{Middleware, PendingTransaction};
 
 use rustc_hex::ToHex;
-use std::{collections::HashMap, fmt::Debug, hash::Hash, marker::PhantomData, sync::Arc};
+use std::{fmt::Debug, marker::PhantomData, sync::Arc};
 
 /// A Contract is an abstraction of an executable program on the Ethereum Blockchain.
 /// It has code (called byte code) as well as allocated long-term memory
@@ -160,34 +160,25 @@ use std::{collections::HashMap, fmt::Debug, hash::Hash, marker::PhantomData, syn
 /// [`method`]: method@crate::Contract::method
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct Contract<M> {
+    base_contract: BaseContract,
     client: Arc<M>,
-    abi: Abi,
     address: Address,
-
-    /// A mapping from method signature to a name-index pair for accessing
-    /// functions in the contract ABI. This is used to avoid allocation when
-    /// searching for matching functions by signature.
-    // Adapted from: https://github.com/gnosis/ethcontract-rs/blob/master/src/contract.rs
-    methods: HashMap<Selector, (String, usize)>,
 }
 
 impl<M: Middleware> Contract<M> {
     /// Creates a new contract from the provided client, abi and address
-    pub fn new(address: Address, abi: Abi, client: impl Into<Arc<M>>) -> Self {
-        let methods = create_mapping(&abi.functions, |function| function.selector());
-
+    pub fn new(address: Address, abi: impl Into<BaseContract>, client: impl Into<Arc<M>>) -> Self {
         Self {
+            base_contract: abi.into(),
             client: client.into(),
-            abi,
             address,
-            methods,
         }
     }
 
     /// Returns an [`Event`](crate::builders::Event) builder for the provided event name.
     pub fn event<D: Detokenize>(&self, name: &str) -> Result<Event<M, D>, Error> {
         // get the event's full name
-        let event = self.abi.event(name)?;
+        let event = self.base_contract.abi.event(name)?;
         Ok(Event {
             provider: &self.client,
             filter: Filter::new()
@@ -207,7 +198,7 @@ impl<M: Middleware> Contract<M> {
         args: T,
     ) -> Result<ContractCall<M, D>, Error> {
         // get the function
-        let function = self.abi.function(name)?;
+        let function = self.base_contract.abi.function(name)?;
         self.method_func(function, args)
     }
 
@@ -219,9 +210,10 @@ impl<M: Middleware> Contract<M> {
         args: T,
     ) -> Result<ContractCall<M, D>, Error> {
         let function = self
+            .base_contract
             .methods
             .get(&signature)
-            .map(|(name, index)| &self.abi.functions[name][*index])
+            .map(|(name, index)| &self.base_contract.abi.functions[name][*index])
             .ok_or_else(|| Error::InvalidName(signature.to_hex::<String>()))?;
         self.method_func(function, args)
     }
@@ -283,7 +275,7 @@ impl<M: Middleware> Contract<M> {
 
     /// Returns a reference to the contract's ABI
     pub fn abi(&self) -> &Abi {
-        &self.abi
+        &self.base_contract.abi
     }
 
     /// Returns a reference to the contract's client
@@ -295,25 +287,3 @@ impl<M: Middleware> Contract<M> {
         self.client.pending_transaction(tx_hash)
     }
 }
-
-/// Utility function for creating a mapping between a unique signature and a
-/// name-index pair for accessing contract ABI items.
-fn create_mapping<T, S, F>(
-    elements: &HashMap<String, Vec<T>>,
-    signature: F,
-) -> HashMap<S, (String, usize)>
-where
-    S: Hash + Eq,
-    F: Fn(&T) -> S,
-{
-    let signature = &signature;
-    elements
-        .iter()
-        .flat_map(|(name, sub_elements)| {
-            sub_elements
-                .iter()
-                .enumerate()
-                .map(move |(index, element)| (signature(element), (name.to_owned(), index)))
-        })
-        .collect()
-}
diff --git a/ethers-contract/src/lib.rs b/ethers-contract/src/lib.rs
index 0aedc737..bf04d17c 100644
--- a/ethers-contract/src/lib.rs
+++ b/ethers-contract/src/lib.rs
@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@
 mod contract;
 pub use contract::Contract;
 
+mod base;
+pub use base::BaseContract;
+
 mod call;
 pub use call::ContractError;
 
diff --git a/ethers-contract/src/multicall/mod.rs b/ethers-contract/src/multicall/mod.rs
index d33931e9..cae07d3f 100644
--- a/ethers-contract/src/multicall/mod.rs
+++ b/ethers-contract/src/multicall/mod.rs
@@ -234,13 +234,13 @@ impl<M: Middleware> Multicall<M> {
     ///
     /// ```no_run
     /// # async fn foo() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
-    /// # use ethers::prelude::*;
+    /// # use ethers::{abi::Abi, prelude::*};
     /// # use std::{sync::Arc, convert::TryFrom};
     /// #
     /// # let client = Provider::<Http>::try_from("http://localhost:8545")?;
     /// # let client = Arc::new(client);
     /// #
-    /// # let abi = serde_json::from_str("")?;
+    /// # let abi: Abi = serde_json::from_str("")?;
     /// # let address = "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".parse::<Address>()?;
     /// # let contract = Contract::<Provider<Http>>::new(address, abi, client.clone());
     /// #
diff --git a/ethers-contract/tests/contract.rs b/ethers-contract/tests/contract.rs
index 4dec14ae..4d342353 100644
--- a/ethers-contract/tests/contract.rs
+++ b/ethers-contract/tests/contract.rs
@@ -385,7 +385,8 @@ mod celo_tests {
             .send()
             .await
             .unwrap();
-        let _receipt = contract.pending_transaction(tx_hash).await.unwrap();
+        let receipt = contract.pending_transaction(tx_hash).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(receipt.status.unwrap(), 1.into());
 
         let value: String = contract
             .method("getValue", ())
diff --git a/ethers-providers/src/lib.rs b/ethers-providers/src/lib.rs
index 4cb54a1d..6172fd30 100644
--- a/ethers-providers/src/lib.rs
+++ b/ethers-providers/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 #![cfg_attr(docsrs, feature(doc_cfg))]
-#![deny(intra_doc_link_resolution_failure)]
 //! # Clients for interacting with Ethereum nodes
 //!
 //! This crate provides asynchronous [Ethereum JSON-RPC](https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/JSON-RPC)
diff --git a/ethers/src/lib.rs b/ethers/src/lib.rs
index 3d19be87..195da973 100644
--- a/ethers/src/lib.rs
+++ b/ethers/src/lib.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
     rust_2018_idioms,
     unreachable_pub
 )]
-#![deny(intra_doc_link_resolution_failure)]
 #![doc(test(
     no_crate_inject,
     attr(deny(warnings, rust_2018_idioms), allow(dead_code, unused_variables))