Shaftesbury, Dorset, England
Shaftesbury Abbey was founded by Alfred the Great and Ethelgiva, his daughter, in 888. It was a Benedictine community for women. Ethelgiva was the first Abbess of Shaftesbury. Others were Mary Plantagenant who was the sister of Henry II; Margaret St. John, relative of Henry VII; and Agnes Ferrar.
The Abbey maintained links with the Royal house and sometimes as many as 350 people lived in the community. It was the most important one in the country. There were three royal mints that made pennies bearing the town's name. The mints were founded by AEthelstan. Soon this Benedictine Abbey was the wealthiest in all of England.
The Abbey had gardens which provided herbs for the nuns to use for culinary and medical purposes for the community. St. Benedictine believed in self-sufficiency and he endorsed manual labor.
There is a shrine to St. Edward here as King Edward was laid to rest here in 979. He had been murdered at Corfe Castle in 978. King Canute's heart is buried here as he loved this Abbey. His body is buried at Winchester.
Elizabeth Zouche became Abbess of Shaftesbury in 1539 and she surrendered the abbey which was demolished and the land sold. The foundations of the Abbey church and the massive ramparts on Gold Hill are all that remain of the original building.
Alfred the Great founded a fortified settlement in Shaftesbury in 880. This then dates shaftesbury to Anglo-Saxon times. This settlement was used as a defence against the Danish invaders.
