Dorchester AbbeySummary
One of the
earliest Christian sites in Britain, Dorchester Abbey stands on the site of a
7th century Saxon cathedral. The large church is all that remains of an Augustinian
abbey, which was founded in 1140. Dorchester
Abbey Photo Gallery >> Beginnings
The picturesque village of Dorchester on Thames is home to the largest public
building in south Oxfordshire, the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, more
commonly known as Dorchester Abbey. This quiet Thames village was the site of
one of the earliest successful Christian missions; in 635 AD Pope Honorius I sent
Bishop Birinius to convert the people of Wessex to Christianity. Just south of
Dorchester at Church Nob, Birinius preached to King Cynegilis.  The
bishop proved to be persuasive, and Cynegilis was baptised - perhaps in the Thames
- and he granted Birinius land at Dorchester to build a cathedral church. In those
days a cathedral was not a grand structure like the later medieval cathedrals
that survive today; Birinius's church would have been a very simple affair of
wood. The most likely site of this early church is the site now occupied by the
abbey. Birinius was buried at Dorchester in 650 AD.
Saxon
period
The bishopric was split, and transferred to Lindsey and Leicester,
but in 870 AD Leicester was under threat from Danish attack and the bishopric
returned to Dorchester. To get some sense of how important Dorchester was, the
diocese administered by Bishop Wulfwig in 870 stretched from the River Thames
to the Humber River near modern Kingston upon Hull.  Norman
period
The first Norman bishop, Remigus, rebuilt the Abbey church,
and some of the work begun by Remigus can still be seen. However, the fortunes
of Dorchester was about to take another turn. The village remained a quiet backwater,
and the growth of other urban areas made a move of the bishopric inevitable. Sometime
between 1070 and 1086 the bishopric moved to Lincoln and Dorchester reverted to
a simple parish church. In 1140 Dorchester was refounded as an Augustinian monastery,
and pilgrims flocked to Dorchester to see the relics of St Birinius.
This
was a time of prosperity for Dorchester, and the church was extended greatly,
with the present tower and aisles added, a shrine for the saint's relics, a People's
chapel, and a great Jesse window. The monastery was dissolved by Henry VIII in
1536 and the relics of St Birinius were scattered. Post
Dissolution
The wonderful church building might have suffered the
fate of other monastic buildings if not for the efforts of a local merchant, Sir
Richard Bewfforeste, who purchased the church from the crown and gave it to the
village to serve as a parish church. The other monastic buildings were lost, save
for the abbey guesthouse, which now serves as a local museum. What's
it like to visit?
See images in our Dorchester
Abbey Photo Gallery >> Entry
Free, donation requested. Free public car park within a few hundred yards of the
abbey in Bridge Street. Details
Dorchester, Abbey of St Peter & St Paul
Dorchester on Thames
Oxfordshire
England
Location: In the centre of Dorchester village
Website: Dorchester, Abbey of St Peter & St Paul
OS SU580942
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