May 888 A.D. Shaftesbury Abbey, Shaftesbury, Dorset, UK—Founded by Alfred on Possibly 7th Century Site, a Saxon Minster; Refounded by Benedictine Nuns during Reign of Edgar
May 888 A.D. Shaftesbury Abbey,
Shaftesbury, Dorset, UK—Founded by Alfred on Possibly 7th Century
Site, a Saxon Minster; Refounded by
Benedictine Nuns during Reign of Edgar;
Dissolved 2 Mar 1539; Granted to
William, Earl of Southhampton, 1547;
Remains Now a Walled Garden; 110 Miles SW of London, About 2000 as the
Crow Flies
Shaftesbury Abbey
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
The Great Seal of Shaftesbury Abbey
Shaftesbury
Abbey was an abbey that housed nuns in Shaftesbury, Dorset.
Founded in 888, the abbey was the wealthiest Benedictine nunnery in England, a major pilgrimage site, and the town's central focus. The
abbey was dissolved in 1539 during the English
Reformation by the order of Thomas Cromwell, minister to King Henry VIII. At the time it was the second wealthiest nunnery in
England, behind only Sion Abbey.[1]
Contents
Early history
Shaftesbury Abbey, angel
Alfred the
Great and his daughter Æthelgifu founded the Abbey in 888 (eight years after
founding the town of Shaftesbury as a burgh),
which boosted the town's growth. The relics of St Edward the Martyr were translated from Wareham and received at the abbey with great ceremony. The translation of the relics was overseen by St Dunstanand Ælfhere,
Ealdorman of Mercia.[2] This occurred in a great procession beginning on February 13, 981; the relics arrived at Shaftesbury seven days
later. The relics were received by the nuns of the abbey and were buried with full royal honours on the north side of
the altar. The account of the translation reports that on the way
from Wareham to Shaftesbury, a miracle 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 ofpilgrimage.
In 1001, it was recorded that
the tomb in which St Edward lay was observed regularly to rise from the ground.
King Æthelred 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. The town was renamed
"Edwardstowe", but it reverted to Shaftesbury after the Reformation. Many miracles were recorded at the tomb of St
Edward, including the healing of lepers and the blind. The abbey became the
wealthiest Benedictine nunnery in England, a major pilgrimage site, and the town's central focus.
In 1240 Cardinal Otto Candidus, the legate to the Apostolic See of Pope Gregory IX, visited the abbey and confirmed a charter of 1191, the
first entered in the Glastonbury chartulary.
By 1340, the steward of the abbess swore in the town's mayor.
Destruction
Shaftesbury Abbey ruins
At the time of the Dissolution
of the Monasteries, a common
saying quoted by Bishop Thomas
Fuller[3] conjectured "if the abbess of Shaftesbury and
the abbot of Glastonbury
Abbey 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 Thomas Cromwell to pass up on behalf of King Henry VIII. In 1539,
the last abbess, Elizabeth Zouche,
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 purchased the abbey and much of the town in 1540,
but when he was later exiled for treason his lands were forfeit, and the lands passed to theearl of Pembroke then to Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, and finally to the Grosvenors.
In 1539, St Edward's relics
had been hidden so as to avoid desecration. In 1931, the relics were recovered by J.E.
Wilson-Claridge during an archaeological excavation of the abbey; their
identity was confirmed by Dr. T.E.A. Stowell, an osteologist. In 1970,
examinations performed on the relics suggested that the young man had died in
the same manner as Edward.[4]Wilson-Claridge donated the relics to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which placed them in St Edward the Martyr Orthodox Church near Brookwood
Cemetery in Woking, Surrey.[4]
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.[5]
Shaftesbury Abbey Museum
Shaftesbury
Abbey Museum features stonework pieces excavated from the abbey's ruins, including Anglo-Saxon carvings and medieval floor tiles. Exhibits tell
the story of the Benedictine convent and its inhabitants. The museum is open from April through October, and the
site also features a medieval period garden and orchard.[6]
The Abbey site today
The site of Shaftesbury Abbey
is now used to host many events including open air viewings of various films,
drama workshops and performances, as well as some historical lectures. It is
also the home of the music showcase that takes place during the town's
"Gold Hill Fair", which takes place in early July and provides a
platform for the best of local music.
The Abbey also recently
showcased a Shakespeare themed talent show run by the local arts centre.
References
1.
Jump up^ William Page & J. Horace Round, ed. (1907). 'Houses of Benedictine nuns: Abbey of Barking', A History
of the County of Essex: Volume 2. pp. 115–122.
2.
Jump up^ "St Edward the Martyr". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 1909. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
4.
^ Jump up to:a b "St Edward the Martyr". Necropolis Notables. The Brookwood Cemetery Society. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
External links
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