Shaftesbury, a delightful old borough in North Dorset, only 1 mile from Wiltshire and 5 miles from Somerset, probably best known for Gold Hill. This ancient cobbled street, running beside the walls of King Alfred's abbey, features on countless chocolate boxes and calendars, and made famous in the Hovis advert some years ago (complete with a northern accent!!!) Shaftesbury sits on a spur, overlooking the Blackmore Vale, Thomas Hardy's "Vale of Little Dairies". Shaftesbury was known as Shaston in his novels, and Jude the Obscure was set here.
This history of Shaftesbury goes back to Saxon times (although there were undoubtedly settlements here before that), it became wealthy & famous by the establishment of a Benedictine abbey by King Alfred (he of the burnt cakes). His daughter became the first abbess. The burial there of the Saxon King Edward, murdered by his mother and declared a martyr, drew pilgrims from
far and wide, making Shaftesbury Abbey the richest in England. The abbey was destroyed in Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. From Castle Hill you can see the monument erected in the 19th century to mark the spot where Alfred raised the army that eventually defeated the Danes.
In the 1930s bones, believed to be those of King Edward the Martyr, were found in the abbey ruins. These bones are now kept in a bank vault in London by the family of the then owners of the abbey ruins.
The population of the Town has increased to around 5,500, there having been much recent housing development to the east of the town. Development to the west of the town is severely restricted, because of the desire to protect the slopes, and the dramatic views of the town as you approach from the south and west. The High Street remains a flourishing, old fashioned street, with excellent shopping and old fashioned service.
Despite the newer housing developments the old Town retains a very special historic character much valued by locals and visitors alike.