(Grade I listed in 1956)
(Grade I listed in 1956)
A late 14th century building ~ according to one local history, it was perhaps put up in expiation for the blood-letting of the Wars of the Roses, but that seems unlikely, if they fell largely in the 15th century. The Hundred Years War might be a better candidate. The chapel is built entirely of stone, including the roof, the only wood in it is in the doors. It was repaired by Mrs Strangways Horner in 1742, by the Earl of Ilchester in 1883, again in the 1960s and 70s, and the roof was replaced with Clipsham stone in 1983.
Why St Catherine ? Apart from being the patron saint of spinners, philosophers, wheelwrights and spinsters, she seems to have an affinity with hill tops: at least four Dorset hills boast a St Catherine connection. In reality (so far as reality counts with lives of saints), she was a 4th century Alexandrian girl, perhaps something of a bluestocking, who successfully confounded the philosophers of her day and fobbed off the advances of the Roman Emperor, only to be martyred by being lashed to a wheel. Even then, she won the day when the wheel shattered, but it was a hollow victory and her body, so runs the legend, was transported by angels to the monastery on Mount Sinai, which therafter took her name.
It is the "spinster" connection that endears St Catherine and her Chapel to Abbotsbury ~ it is said (and firmly believed) that a visit to the Chapel, accompanied by the following prayer, is a sure-fire way of ending one's spinsterhood ~~~
The unique setting and style of the Chapel has more than once attracted artists in many media. Twyla Tharp used St Catherine's for a sequence in a ballet made for TV and shown on "Arena", and in 2000, the Chapel played host to 48 banners (right) made by local businesses and community groups in the village as a Millennium celebration. The banners were later translated into cross-stitch patterns and re-appeared as kneelers in the Parish Church.
It is a regular stop-off point for groups from the Othona community near Burton Bradstock, who end their walks with a song here. The acoustics are excellent, which might explain why some Dutch tourists once waited until the choir inside had finished, only to find the Chapel when they entered ... As the wife remarked afterwards, "I have never seen my husband run so fast."
Though the Estate own the Chapel, English Heritage and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport are its guardians, and their permission ~ subject to very strict conditions ~ was needed for the banners display. For all that, even comparatively recent guidebooks invited visitors to the Chapel to contact the keyholder for access, offering a variety of possible addresses in the village where the key might be found. It is now open daily during daylight hours.
There are occasional services here, growing steadily more popular every year, attracting locals, visitors, and "well-behaved" dogs: the last one each year is always held on St Catherine's Day in November.
~ ~ Postscript ~ ~