Just a short stroll from the pretty village of Worth Matravers in the Purbecks is the spectacularly sited Chapel of St Aldhelm. It is well worth a visit in any season clinging as it does to the clifftop high above the boiling surf. The chapel has stood in this exposed position for maybe a thousand years, its true function now lost in antiquity. Very probably it combined a religious function with that of a beacon for ships. A brazier was most likely situated at the apex of the roof where the Victorians erected a cross. Inside you'll find a plain, vaulted room which springs from a central column still decorated with ancient graffiti.
Neglected and falling into disrepair, it was restored a hundred and fifty years ago.
In past centuries at Whitsuntide local girls danced in the ribbon bedecked interior and then dropped pins into the several ancient cavities in the central column to bring themselves luck.
From its vantage point there are spectacular views either way along the Purbecks, a view which it shares with the Coastwatch look-out station close by. Worth dropping into if they’re not too busy.
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| A pleasant Sunday walk of about 5.5miles. Pub at Worth Matravers- The Square and Compass where you can worship the local beer and then partake of communion Taken from www.dorsetdorset.co.uk |
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