Shaftesbury Abbey

Shaftesbury Abbey

Shaftesbury Abbey was a Benedictine nunnery (and a major pilgrimage site) from its foundation in 888 by King Alfred the Great and his daughter Æthelgifu, until its dissolution in 1539. It was reputed to have been one of the most wealthy nunneries in England.

Sources:

• Newman, J. and Pevsner, N., The buildings of England: Dorset. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972, pp. 362-63.
• Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset, Vol. 4, North Dorset. London: HMSO, 1972, pp. 61-63: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=128142
• VCH Dorset, Vol 2: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40143
• Shaftesbury Abbey Museum and Gardens website: http://shaftesburyabbey.org.uk/

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Maintained by Michael Day, Last updated: 14 September 2014.