GAZATTEER

The great barn at Abbotsbury is the only surviving building of St. Peter’s Abbey in Abbotsbury. The abbey was founded in 1040. At the dissolution of the monastery in 1539 it owned 22 manors. This made it one of the richest abbeys in England and its barn was consequently on of the biggest. It was originally 273 feet long with 23 bays. Most of the walls survive although it is now only roofed over half its length. When it was fully roofed it was the longest thatched building in the world.

The abbey was demolished and its stone and timber sold off by Henry VIII’s agent Giles Strangways whose family still owns the estate.

The barn was re-thatched in 2005/6, using 11,000 bundles of read from the nearby Swanery. The barn is now part of a children’s farm. The barn, Swanery and Sub-tropical Garden are open to the public. The postcode is DT3 4JJ, Dorset. Visit their website www.abbotsbury-tourism.co.uk/ for opening times and costs.