- Abbotsbury Abbey
The Abbey of
St Peter was aBenedictine Monastery in the village ofAbbotsbury inDorset ,England . The abbey was founded in the11th century byKing Canute 's steward Orc and his wifeThola . Canute's successor,Edward the Confessor , was impressed with the abbey and granted Orc the rights to the shore ofThe Fleet and any shipwrecks in the area. Orc and Thola died childless and left the monastery to the church, a gift confirmed by William I after theNorman Conquest . The abbey prospered and became the centre of power in the area, controlling eightmanor house s and villages.During the
14th century theBlack Death killed many villagers and theAbbot , and the village was repeatedly attacked from the sea, reducing the power of the abbey. In1538 Henry VIII dissolved the Monasteries and Abbotsbury Abbey was ruined as a condition of its sale so that its stone could be reused. The Great Barn, which at 272ft by 31ft is the largestthatch ed building in the world, and St Catherine's Chapel were spared, the latter used as a lookout across the sea. Both are Grade Ilisted building s andScheduled Ancient Monuments . The dissolution left the village impoverished.Sir
Giles Strangways , the commissioner who had dissolved Abbotsbury, bought the Abbey buildings, manor houses,water mill s andAbbotsbury Swannery and much of the Abbey's land for £1,906, 10s. Much of the land still belongs to Strangways' descendant, theEarl of Ilchester .External links
* [http://www.abbotsbury.co.uk/history.htm History of Abbotsbury]
References
* Pitt-Rivers, Michael, 1968. "Dorset". London: Faber & Faber.
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