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Abbotsbury Dorset Photographs
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Title: St Catherines Chapel
Place: Abbotsbury
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About: Despite its small proportions St Catherine's Chapel near Abbotsbury manages to dominate the skyline in the local area.
Photograph Added: 8th April 2006
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View area map / aerial photograph.
About Abbotsbury Dorset.
Abbotsbury is located seven and a half miles south west of Dorchester on the B3157. The village lies just behind the Chesil Bank which is nearly sixteen miles of pebble beach stretching from Bridport to Portland. Today this delightful village is famous to visitors for its swannery and tropical gardens.
Abbotsbury has been an important village for over a thousand years and it would probably have become a town had it not been for the dissolution of the monasteries. King Canute’s steward founded an extremely large abbey here with a main church and cloisters surrounded by ancillary buildings. These buildings included dormitories and the refectory where the monks ate their meals. During the reign of Henry VIII the abbey suffered the fate of many at that time and the abbey buildings were acquired by Sir John Strangeways. The Abbey itself is not completely lost as the building was recycled by the locals. People wanting to build their own houses used the old abbey building. Not only did they pinch the stone, almost like a quarry, they took doors, windows and even the odd gargoyle. This has resulted in a lovely continuity in the colour of the stone in the houses and enhanced the appearance of the village.
Abbotsbury must have been a caring village, the high pavements were built in the 19th century to protect pedestrians from the splashes of the stage coaches. Mail coaches often used the coastal route between Weymouth and Bridport and this made the village an important staging point. A lot of the coaches stopped at the Illchester Arms which is indeed a very good example of a 17th century coaching inn.
The bird sanctuary at Abbotsbury is over 600 years old, there is a large colony of Mute Swans at the sanctuary. This swannery is managed but is open to the public and the site has become an important nesting and breeding ground for the swans. From May all through the summer, cygnets can be seen at this sanctuary.
The sub-tropical gardens at Abbotsbury were founded in 1765 by the Countess of Ilchester. It was originally a kitchen garden for the nearby castle. but gardens have now developed into a 20 acre site filled with exotic plants. In 1990 violent storms damaged and destroyed many of the rare specimens and many have since been replaced by younger plants.
Today Abbotsbury has much to offer and it also has a very good supply of tea shops for anyone to enjoy a well earned break.
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