Remains of Shaftesbury Abbey, Shaftesbury, Dorset
The Remains of Shaftesbury Abbey are on a site adjacent to Park Wall, where the foundations of the greater part of the Abbey Church have been excavated. Many remains have been discovered. These include bones thought to be those of King Edward the Martyr, to whom the Abbey was dedicated. The Abbey was a Benedictine Nunnery, founded by King Alfred in 888. His daughter was the first Abbess. The number of nuns at Shaftesbury was limited to 100 in 1218 and 120 in 1326. At the Dissolution on 23rd March 1539, the abbey was surrendered by the abbess and 56 nuns to the King's Commissioner. In 1544 much of the abbey property was bought by Sir Thomas Arundel but a sketch of 1553 proves that the abbey's church was already in ruins by then. The two hospitals at Shaftesbury and the hospital of St. Katherine at Bradford-on-Avon were under the patronage of the abbey.
