Shaftesbury Abbey was an abbey that housed nuns in Shaftesbury, Dorset. A Nun is a Woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life Shaftesbury is a Town in North Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 Miles west of Dorset ( (or archaically, Dorsetshire) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast Founded in the year 888, the abbey was the wealthiest Benedictine nunnery in England, a major pilgrimage site, and the town's central focus. Benedictine refers to the Spirituality and Consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in An abbey (from Latin abbatia derived from Syriac abba "father" is a Christian Monastery or The abbey was destroyed in 1539 by the order of Thomas Cromwell. The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the formal process between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl of Essex (c 1485 &ndash 28 July 1540) was an English statesman who served as King Henry VIII 's chief minister

The Great Seal of Shaftesbury Abbey.

Early History

Alfred the Great and his daughter Ethelgiva founded the Abbey in 888 (8 years after founding the town of Shaftesbury as a burgh), which boosted the town's growth. Alfred the Great (also Ælfred from the Old English Ælfrēd ˈælfreːd (c This article is about the year AD 888 For other uses see 888 (disambiguation. A Burgh (ˈbʌʀə is an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland, usually a Town. The relics of St Edward the Martyr were translated from Wareham and received at the abbey with great ceremony. Edward the Martyr or Eadweard II (c 962&ndash 18 March 978) was King of England from 975 until he was murdered in 978 The translation of the relics was overseen by St Dunstan and Earl Ælfhere of Mercia. In Christianity, the translation of Relics is the removal of holy objects from one locality (such as a Tomb) to another (usually a Reliquary in Dunstan (c909&ndash 19 May 988) was an Abbot of Glastonbury, a Bishop of Worcester, a Bishop of London, and an ^[1] This occurred in a great procession on February 13, 981 and arrived at Shaftesbury seven days later. A procession (via Middle English processioun, French procession, derived from Latin processio, itself from procedere, to go forth advance Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Events By Place Europe The great Viking explorer Eric the Red-haired leaves Norway to survey an island west of Iceland There the relics were received by the nuns of the abbey and were buried with full royal honours on the north side of the altar. A Nun is a Woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life An altar is any structure upon which Sacrifices or other offerings are made for religious purposes or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place On the way from Wareham to Shaftesbury, a miracle had taken place; two crippled men were brought close to the bier and those carrying it lowered the body to their level, where upon the cripples were immediately restored to full health. This procession and these events were re-enacted 1000 years later in 1981. Many other miracles are said to have been obtained through Edward's intercession.

In 1001, it was recorded that the tomb in which St Edward lay was observed regularly to rise from the ground. King Ethelred instructed the bishops to raise his brother's tomb from the ground and place it into a more fitting place. Ethelred II ( c. 968 – 23 April 1016 also known as Æthelred II, Aethelred II, Ethelred the Unready, Æthelred the Unready The bishops then took away the relics from the tomb, and placed them in a casket 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. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun.

Shaftesbury abbey was rededicated to the Mother of God and St Edward. The town itself was then apparently renamed "Edwardstowe", only reverting to its original name after the Reformation. The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope 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. Benedictine refers to the Spirituality and Consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in An abbey (from Latin abbatia derived from Syriac abba "father" is a Christian Monastery or

In 1240 Cardinal Otto Candidus, 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. Cardinal Otto Candidus was a legate of the Apostolic See of Pope Gregory IX of the thirteenth century active in England. A Papal Legate – from the Latin authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the Pope to Foreign nations or to some part of the Catholic Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was Pope from March 19, 1227 to August Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a Dry point on the Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. Chartulary (ˈkaɹʧʊˌlɛɹi renders two Latin words for a collection of charters viz By 1340, the steward of the abbess swore in the town's mayor. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government

Destruction

It was said at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries that "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" such were the lands that it had been bequeathed. The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the formal process between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded Glastonbury Abbey, founded in the seventh century was a rich and powerful monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. It was too rich a prize for Thomas Cromwell to pass up. Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl of Essex (c 1485 &ndash 28 July 1540) was an English statesman who served as King Henry VIII 's chief minister 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 Arundel 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 Pembroke then Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, and finally to the Grosvenors. Thomas Arundel (1353 - 19 February 1414 was Archbishop of Canterbury in 1397 and from 1399 until his death an outspoken opponent of the Lollards Exile means to be away from one's home (ie city state or country while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened by prison or death upon return In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. Anthony Ashley Cooper 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (28 April 1801 &ndash 1 October 1885 styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851 was an English Politician and The title Duke of Westminster was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Richard Grosvenor the 3rd Marquess of Westminster

In 1539, St Edward's relics had been hidden so as to avoid desecration. Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character -- or the disrespectful or contemptuous treatment of that which is held to be sacred by a group or individual In 1931, the relics were recovered by Mr. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 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. ^[2] Mr. Wilson-Claridge donated the relics to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which placed them in a church in Brookwood Cemetery, in Woking, Surrey. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей ru Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey Brookwood Cemetery is a burial ground in Brookwood Surrey, England. Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. ^[2]

Thomas Hardy wrote of the Abbey ruins:

References

External links

• Museum on the Abbey site