Shaftesbury Abbey was an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

that housed

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s in

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. It was founded in about 888, and dissolved in 1539 during the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

by the order of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

, minister to King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. At the time it was the second-wealthiest nunnery in England, behind only

Syon Abbey Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th century, on the l ...

History

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

founded the convent in about 888 and installed his daughter Æthelgifu as the first abbess.

Ælfgifu Ælfgifu (also ''Ælfgyfu''; ''Elfgifa, Elfgiva, Elgiva'') is an Anglo-Saxon feminine personal name, from ''ælf'' " elf" and ''gifu'' "gift". When Emma of Normandy, the later mother of Edward the Confessor, became queen of England in 1002, she ...

, the wife of Alfred's grandson, King

Edmund I Edmund I or Eadmund I (920/921 – 26 May 946) was King of the English from 27 October 939 until his death in 946. He was the elder son of King Edward the Elder and his third wife, Queen Eadgifu, and a grandson of King Alfred the Great. After ...

, was buried at Shaftesbury and soon venerated as a saint, and she came to be regarded by the house as its true founder. The bones of St

Edward the Martyr Edward ( ang, Eadweard, ; 18 March 978), often called the Martyr, was King of the English from 975 until he was murdered in 978. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar, but was not his father's acknowledged heir. On Edgar's death, the leade ...

were translated from Wareham and received at the abbey with great ceremony. The

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

of the relics was overseen by St Dunstan and

Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Mercia Ælfhere (died in 983) was Ealdorman of Mercia. His family, along with those of Æthelstan Half-King and Æthelstan Rota, rose to greatness in the middle third of the 10th century. In the reign of Edward the Martyr, Ælfhere was a leader of the ant ...

. This occurred in a great

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

beginning on 13 February 981; the relics arrived at Shaftesbury seven days later. The relics were received by the

s of the abbey and were buried with full royal honours on the north side of the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

. The account of the translation reports that on the way from Wareham to Shaftesbury, a

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

had taken place: when two crippled men were brought close to the bier and those carrying it lowered the body to their level, the cripples were immediately restored to full health. This procession and events were re-enacted 1000 years later in 1981. Reports from Shaftesbury of many other miracles said to have been obtained through Edward's intercession helped establish the abbey as a place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. In 1001, it was recorded that the tomb in which St Edward lay was observed regularly to rise from the ground. King

Æthelred Æthelred (; ang, Æþelræd ) or Ethelred () is an Old English personal name (a compound of '' æþele'' and '' ræd'', meaning "noble counsel" or "well-advised") and may refer to: Anglo-Saxon England * Æthelred and Æthelberht, legendary prin ...

instructed the bishops to raise his brother's tomb from the ground and place it into a more fitting place. The bishops moved the relics to a casket, placed in the holy place of the saints together with other holy relics. This elevation of the relics of Edward took place on 20 June 1001. Shaftesbury Abbey was rededicated to the Mother of God and St Edward. Many miracles were claimed at the tomb of St Edward, including the healing of lepers and the blind. The abbey became the wealthiest

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nunnery A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...

in England, a major pilgrimage site, and the town's central focus. A large

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

, Place Farm was established at Tisbury to administer the abbey’s Wiltshire estates. In 1240 Cardinal

Otto Candidus Otto of Tonengo (c. 1190 – 1250/1251) was an Italian papal diplomat and cardinal, first as deacon of San Nicola in Carcere from 1227 and then as bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina from 1244. Otto had a legal education, and had joined the Roman ' ...

, the

legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

to the

Apostolic See An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism the phrase, preceded by the definite article and usually capitalized, refers to the S ...

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

, visited the abbey and confirmed a charter of 1191, the first entered in the

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

chartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the f ...

. Elizabeth de Burgh, Queen of Scots was imprisoned here from October 1312 to March 1313. By 1340, the steward of the abbess swore in the town's

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Dissolution

At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a common saying quoted by Bishop

Thomas Fuller Thomas Fuller (baptised 19 June 1608 – 16 August 1661) was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his ''Worthies of England'', published in 1662, after his death. He was a prolific author, and ...

conjectured "if the abbess of Shaftesbury and the abbot of

Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...

had been able to wed, their son would have been richer than the King of England" because of the lands which it had been bequeathed. It was too rich a prize for

to pass up on behalf of King Henry VIII. In 1539, the last abbess,

Elizabeth Zouche Elizabeth Zouche (before 1496 – after 1553), was an English abbess. She was the last abbess of Shaftesbury Abbey, a Benedictine nunnery founded by Alfred the Great which was one of the largest and richest in England. She signed the deed of surre ...

, signed a deed of surrender, the abbey was demolished, and its lands sold, leading to a temporary decline in the town. Sir

Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour (c. 15607 November 1639) was the eldest son of Matthew Arundell, Sir Matthew Arundell of Wardour Castle in Wiltshire (ca. 1532/1534 – 24 December 1598), and Margaret Willoughby, the daughter of Sir ...

purchased the abbey and much of the town in 1540, but when he was later

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

his lands were forfeit, and the lands passed to the

earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

then to Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, and finally to the Grosvenors.

Burials

* Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury *

In literature

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

wrote of the Abbey ruins:

Vague imaginings of its castle, its three mints, its magnificent apsidal Abbey, the chief glory of south Wessex, its twelve churches, its shrines, chantries, hospitals, its gabled freestone mansions—all now ruthlessly swept away—throw the visitor, even against his will, into a pensive melancholy which the stimulating atmosphere and limitless landscape around him can scarcely dispel.

A novel based on the dissolution of the Abbey, ''The Butcher's Daughter'', by

Victoria Glendinning Victoria Glendinning (''née'' Seebohm; born 23 April 1937) is a British biographer, critic, broadcaster and novelist. She is an Honorary Vice-President of English PEN and Vice-President of the Royal Society of Literature. She won the James Tait ...

was published in 2018. ''

Matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...

'' is a 2021 historical novel by

Lauren Groff Lauren Groff (born July 23, 1978) is an American novelist and short story writer. She has written four novels and two short story collections, including '' Fates and Furies'' (2015), ''Florida'' (2018), and '' Matrix'' (2021). Early life and ed ...

about Abbess

Mary of Shaftesbury Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, supposed by some historians to be the author

Marie de France Marie de France ( fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court ...

List of Abbesses

The list that follows is clearly incomplete. Unless specified, the dates given are those of mentions in the historic record. * Elfgiva or Æthelgeofu or Algiva, first abbess about 888 *Ælfthrith (948) *Herleva (966; died 982) * Alfrida (1001 or 1009) * Leueua (in the reign of Edward the Confessor) * Eulalia (appointed 1074) *Eustachia *Cecilia (perhaps appointed 1107) * Emma *

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

(1189) *J. (elected 1216) *Amicia Russell (elected 1223) *Agnes Lungespee (elected 1243) *Agnes de Ferrers (elected 1247) *Juliana de Bauceyn (died 1279) *Laurentia de Muscegros (elected 1279; died 1290) *Joan de Bridport (elected 1290; died 1291) *Mabel Gifford (elected 1291) *Alice de Lavyngton (elected 1302; died 1315) *Margaret Aucher (elected 1315, died 1329) *Dionisia le Blunde (elected 1329, died 1345) *Joan Duket (elected 1345, died 1350) *Margaret de Leukenore (elected 1350) *Joan Formage (elected 1362, died 1394) *Egelina de Counteville (appointed 1395) *Cecilia Fovent (1398, died 1423) *Margaret Stourton (elected 1423; died 1441) She was the sister of John Stourton (died 1438) of

Preston Plucknett Preston Plucknett is a suburb of Yeovil in Somerset, England. It was once a small village, and a separate civil parish until 1930, when it was absorbed into the neighbouring parishes of Yeovil, Brympton and West Coker. It was listed in the Dome ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, 7 times MP for

, in 1419, 1420, December 1421, 1423, 1426, 1429 and 1435. *Edith Bonham (elected 1441; died 1460) *Margaret St. John (elected 1460) *Alice Gibbes (died 1496) *Margaret Twyneo (elected 1496; died 1505) * Elizabeth Shelford (elected 1505; died 1528) *

or Zuche, elected 1529 and forced to surrender the abbey in 1539

Shaftesbury Abbey Museum

Shaftesbury Abbey Museum features stonework pieces excavated from the abbey's ruins, including

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

carvings and medieval floor tiles. Exhibits tell the story of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

and its inhabitants. The museum is open from April through October, and the site also features a medieval period garden and orchard.

The Abbey site today

The site of Shaftesbury Abbey is used to host events including open air viewings of films, drama workshops and performances, as well as historical lectures. It is also the home of the music showcase that takes place during the town's "Gold Hill Fair" in early July and provides a platform for local music.Gold Hill Fair: website of Shaftesbury Rotary Club. Accessed 24 January 2019
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References

External links

Shaftesbury Abbey Museum
- official site {{authority control Benedictine monasteries in England Benedictine nunneries in England Anglo-Saxon monastic houses Monasteries in Dorset Grade I listed buildings in Dorset 9th-century establishments in England 1539 disestablishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 9th century Museums in Dorset Religious museums in England History museums in Dorset Shaftesbury Religious buildings and structures completed in 888