Shaftesbury Abbey, Shaftesbury

St Edward’s Way runs from Wareham to this former abbey, a three-day walk

‍Highlights

• Burial site and lead coffin of a royal Saxon saint
• Ruins of medieval abbey with museum

There are precious few saintly relics that survived the Reformation, such was the passion during the 16th century for digging up these venerable bones and scattering them unceremoniously. It took the quick thinking of a devout nun at Shaftesbury Abbey to save St Edward King and Martyr for posterity. You can visit his ruined shrine chapel today and see where his holy body was hidden nearby.

Shaftesbury Abbey and its shrine were destroyed in the Dissolution. The ruins lay unused for centuries, except as a quarry for the town’s stone buildings. The rest crumbled into the hillside and vanished beneath undergrowth, until an excavation was carried out in the 1930s.

Much to the delight of the archaeologists, a small lead casket was unearthed on the north side of the buildings. It had been carefully hidden and contained bones that matched the historical evidence relating to St Edward and the manner of his death in 978 at Corfe. His shrine was located a few meters from the hidden remains, so it is logical to assume that this is his body. The relics are now at an Orthodox monastery near Woking, Surrey.

The abbey grounds today have the air of a much-loved English country garden, but their spiritual significance is fully understood by the managers and volunteers who work in the museum beside the abbey grounds.

The high altar has been reinstated and is used for occasional open-air services. It is designed along the lines of a medieval shrine, although St Edward’s actual relics are unlikely to return here from Woking. The gardener on duty when we visited wistfully acknowledged this to be a remote prospect.

The lead box which held St Edward’s body is on display in the abbey museum. In the absence of the original relics, they could perhaps place the lead casket back inside the high-altar shrine for the duration of a service. According to the theory of relics, the casket is a second-degree relic – an object that has been in direct contact with the saint’s actual relics.

Even so, enough survives to attract visitors who are drawn to saintly traces. You can touch the stone recess where the saint’s body lay hidden for centuries and walk into the side-chapel which housed his shrine in medieval times.

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When in Shaftesbury‍

The church of St Peter’s is a two-minute walk from the abbey ruins. It is in the town centre and has a few fragments from Saxon days still visible and an ancient downstairs chapel with several modern icons on the wall. It stands at the top of Gold Hill, the iconic steep road.

Directions‍

Shaftesbury Abbey Museum & Garden

Park Walk, Shaftesbury SP7 8JR

www.shaftesburyabbey.org.uk

W3W: tools.punctured.hatter

GPS: 51.0050N 2.1986W‍

The abbey complex is on Park Walk, signposted from the town centre. It is open daily from April to the end of October, 10 am–5 pm, entry £4 adults, £3 concessions, under 16s free.

The St Edward’s Way from Wareham is signposted all the way; details on britishpilgrimage.org.