milton abbey meeting. ixv. 



The Abrey Church. 



Descending the hill and passing through the 

 well-kept grounds, the party entered the Abbey 

 Church. Here they seated themselves, and 

 the Vicar, mounting the pulpit addressed them 

 Aems of the as follows on some points of interest not 

 Abbots of Milton, mentioned in " Hutchins ":— 



Hutchins, the Dorset county laistoriaii, was at one time curate of this church. 

 He thus vn:ote very fully concerning it, and his editors in the later editions have 

 been equally generous. But there are certain points of interest which are not 

 mentioned, even in the latest edition of all, and some of these omissions I propose 

 to bring before the Club this afternoon. Three churches have stood on this site. 

 First of all there was the Saxon church founded in or about the year a.d. 938 by 

 Iving Athelstan, in gratitude to God for the Divine encouragement given to him 

 on Milton Hill. Of the dimensions of this Saxon church we have no account. 

 The chief record relating to it is that it was very rich in shrines and relics. We 

 do know, however, that a very fine Norman Abbey stood on this site. It has 

 been conjectured (and with some reason) that its size was that of the present 

 choir and presbytery. Perhaps it was even longer, for when excavations were 

 being made at the west end of the present church in 1865 a number of large 

 fragments of Norman masonry were dug up (which fragments are now carefully 

 preserved in the north transept). These, in themselves, show that the Nonnan 

 Abbey was a noble building. And in the third and in the sixth bay on the south 

 side of the present presbytery is an openhig, in each case containing the remains 

 of an enriched Norman arch. These are portions of the Norman Abbey which 

 were not burnt down in 1309 with the rest of the building. And the probable 

 reason why there are only four arches on each side of the presbytery, instead of 

 six, is because portions of the Norman Abbey are encased in the present thick 

 walls. That Milton Abbey, at one time in its history, had three spires is well- 

 nigh certain. In the ancient painting of King Athelstan (in the present church) 

 the King is giving to the head of the monastery a church with three spu'es. And 

 in the 13th Century seal of the Abbey, "the Church of Middleton " is again 

 represented with three spii-es. Of the building of the present chui'ch I will say 

 nothing, except that it was started in 132'2, and building operations went on from 

 time to time up to within a few years of the Dissolution. And here it may be 

 recorded that, after the Dissolution, the Abbey Church became the parish church, 

 and so remained until the year 1786, when it became the private chapel of the 

 Lord of the Manor ; but in the year 1865 the late Baron Hambro not only 

 restored the church for the service of God, but vested it in trustees for the 

 benefit of the vicar and parishioners, and Divine service is held here every 

 Sunday throughout the year. 

 And now we turn to some of the chief portions of the church, 



