Cerne Abbas Explained

Official Name:Cerne Abbas
Unitary England:Dorset
Lieutenancy England:Dorset
Country:England
Region:South West England
Static Image Name:Cerne_Abbas_church_and_Royal_Oak.jpg
Static Image Width:200
Static Image Caption:The village centre
Population:820
Population Ref:[1]
Os Grid Reference:ST662012
Map Type:Dorset
Coordinates:50.8095°N -2.481°W
London Distance:112.5 miles
Post Town:Dorchester
Postcode Area:DT
Postcode District:DT2
Dial Code:01300
Constituency Westminster:West Dorset

Cerne Abbas is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England.[2] It lies in the Dorset Council administrative area in the Cerne Valley in the Dorset Downs. The village lies just east of the A352 road 10km (10miles) north of Dorchester. Dorset County Council estimate that the population of the civil parish in 2013 was 820.[1] In the 2011 census the population of the civil parish, combined with the small neighbouring parish of Up Cerne, was 784.[3]

In 2008 it was voted Britain's "Most Desirable Village" by estate agent Savills.[4] It is the location of the Cerne Abbas Giant, a chalk figure of a giant naked man on a hillside.

History

The village of Cerne Abbas grew up around the great Benedictine abbey, Cerne Abbey, which was founded there in AD 987[5] (Abbas is Medieval Latin for "abbot"). The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded cultivated land for 20 ploughs, with 26 villeins and 32 bordars.[6] The abbey dominated the area for more than 500 years. It was surrendered to Henry VIII in 1539 with the Dissolution of the Monasteries and was largely destroyed; a portion of the Abbot's Porch and Abbey guesthouse remain. St Augustine's Well, reputedly blessed by the saint, also remains. St Mary's Church, built by the abbey for the parish in the late 13th century, is in the heart of the parish and retains many original features.

In the centuries after the Dissolution, the village thrived as a small market town. Its wealth was partly generated by brewing, its underground water making it famous for the quality of its beer, which was sold as far away as London and was even exported to the Americas.[7] At one time, Cerne Abbas had 14 public houses, serving visitors and a population of about 1,500. The availability of water power also gave rise to milling, tanning, silk weaving, glove and hat making and many other small industries.

The coming of the railways in the 19th century bypassed Cerne and the village went into decline. By 1906, the population had halved and many of the houses had fallen into disrepair. In 1919, the village was sold by the Pitt-Rivers estate, which had owned it.[8] The village now has a local school, a post office, three remaining historic public houses, tearooms and a number of other shops.

In Buildings of England, Nikolaus Pevsner claims that the Abbey Farm House, which was rebuilt after a fire in the mid-1700s, was formerly the main gateway to the abbey. When rebuilt, the central window of the former gateway projection was given an unusual "Gothic Venetian" window.[9]

In 2023, archaeologists began digging to find the long lost ruins of Cerne Abbey.[10]

Tourist attractions

Cerne Abbas attracts many tourists, who are drawn by the Cerne river, streets lined with historic stone houses, the Abbey, the Giant, and various events including a classical music festival. The church of St Mary is of 13th-century origin but was largely rebuilt in the 15th and early 16th centuries and partly reconstructed in the 17th century. Features of interest include the 17th-century pulpit and the great east window which probably came from the abbey.[11]

Cerne Abbas Giant

See main article: Cerne Abbas Giant. The best known attraction is the Cerne Abbas Giant, a 55-metre (180 ft) naked figure carved into the chalk hillside. The giant, owned by the National Trust, is thought to be an Iron Age fertility symbol but, as it is unlikely that the monks of Cerne Abbey would have tolerated such a figure, and with no records before the 17th century, this cannot be confirmed. Many scholars think that it was created in the mid-17th century, although there is evidence of Iron Age settlement on the downs nearby.

Events

Each June, the Cerne Abbas Open Gardens can attract over a thousand visitors.[12] Other events include horticultural shows,[13] the annual village fete, the Cerne Abbas Music Festival, and the Wessex Morris Men often perform in the village on Bank Holidays.[14] [15] The four-day music festival began in 1990 and hosts classical artists of world renown.[16]

Notable people

Literature

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parish Population Data. 20 January 2015. 27 February 2015. Dorset County Council. dorsetforyou.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20160118210006/https://www.dorsetforyou.com/344882. 18 January 2016. dead.
  2. [british national grid reference system|Grid reference]
  3. Web site: Area: Cerne Abbas (Parish). Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics. ONS. Neighbourhood Statistics. 17 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402135645/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11121756&c=Cerne+Abbas&d=16&e=62&g=6418362&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1389992932934&enc=1. 2 April 2015. dead.
  4. News: Cerne Abbas voted Britain's most desirable village . . 14 February 2008 . 6 April 2010 . London . Hilary . Osborne.
  5. Web site: A history of the village of Cerne Abbas . Cerne Abbas Historical Society . https://web.archive.org/web/20080827164730/http://www.cerneabbashistory.org/vhistory.htm . 27 August 2008 . dead.
  6. Web site: Cerne [Abbas] ]. Open Domesday . Powell-Smith . Anna . 13 December 2018.
  7. Web site: A village history . Cerne Abbas Historical Society . https://web.archive.org/web/20091211021331/http://www.cerneabbashistory.org/pdfdocs/village_history.pdf . 11 December 2009 . live.
  8. Web site: Ownership of the village and its sale in 1919 . Cerne Abbas Historical Society . https://web.archive.org/web/20080827164742/http://www.cerneabbashistory.org/1919sale.htm . 27 August 2008 . dead.
  9. Book: Newman . John . Pevsner . Nikolaus . 1972 . Dorset: Volume 44 of Buildings of England. Michigan . Penguin. 134 . 0140710442 .
  10. News: 2023-07-30 . Cerne Abbas: Archaeologists dig for medieval abbey . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-07-31.
  11. Betjeman, John, ed. (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches; the South. London: Collins; p. 173
  12. http://www.cerneabbasopengardens.org.uk/Pages/Home/Home.aspx Cerne Abbas Open Gardens
  13. http://cernevalley.co.uk/events/ Cerne Valley Upcoming Events
  14. http://www.wessexmorrismen.co.uk/photoGallery.aspx May Day Dawn at Cerne Abbas 2009
  15. Web site: Attractions . Cerne Abbas Stores . https://web.archive.org/web/20170729222957/http://www.cerneabbasstores.co.uk/attractions/4587901942 . 29 July 2017 . dead . 29 July 2017.
  16. Web site: History of the Festival . Cerne Abbas Music Festival . https://web.archive.org/web/20160913025919/http://www.cerneabbasmusicfestival.co.uk/history.html . 13 September 2016 . dead . 29 July 2017.
  17. Book: Clark, Joseph, (4 July 1834–4 July 1926). Who Was Who Volume II, 1916–1928. 1992. 5th. A & C Black. 0-7136-3143-0. Member of Institute of Oil Painters, Born Cerne Abbas, Dorsetshire, 4 July 1834.
  18. Web site: Dorset History, Heritage and Media . 2023-04-30 . West Dorset Leisure Holidays . en-GB.