Monument record MDO4625 - Saxon burh (Sceaftesbyrig), Shaftesbury

Saxon burh of Shaftsbury, possibly founded during or shortly before the reign of King Alfred. Asser writing circa 890 refers to the nunnery (or Abbey) next to the burh by its east gate, possibly indicating that the burh was established between the foundation of the nunnery circa 871 to 877 and when Asser was writing after 890.

Centred ST 859228. The Saxon burh of Shaftesbury appears to have been situated west of the abbey church (ST 82 SE 4) on the steep-sided promontory spur. It is recorded in the Burghal Hidage <1.2> with an assessment of 700 hides indicating a wall length of 2,888 ft. and was probably one of Alfred's "de novo" burhs. Asser <1.1> writing circa 890 refers to the nunnery (or abbey) next to the burh by its east gate, possibly indicating that the burh was established between the foundation of the nunnery c.871x877 and when Asser was writing after 890. Alternatively, the burh may have been an earlier foundation. Although there is no direct archaeological evidence, it is assumed that the Burghal Hidage rampart bisected the promontory and various suggestions for the line of the rampart have been asserted.

Taylor <1.3> describes a "low rise in the ground passing through gardens and a school playground" athwart Abbey Lane which might be the result of garden activities according to Penn. The "line of Magdalen Lane" <5> and a line following Lion Walk are also probabilities. (See plan)

The Medieval town grew up outside the abbey gate, either before or after the Conquest when the burh was deserted. Bimport, the spine road (extending from ST 85772276 to ST 86172303) is the only street likely to have early origins, and its name also suggests that it dates from the period of the burh. <2-3>

Centred ST 858229. Late Saxon urban area east of Castle Hill. An open grassed area, including the probable north-west part of the late Saxon burh. Scheduled. <1>

Research on the extent of the burh as stated in Charter 655, dated AD 958, as a grant of King Eadwig suggest that the lands referred to in the charter correspond very closely with those bounded by St Peter's parish. <4>

Asser's `Life of Alfred' states that:

"King Alfred ordered the...monastery to be built near the East gate of Shaftesbury as a residence for the nuns."

This supports the idea that that the monastery was built after the creation of the burh.
It is classified as a major borough and was seen as a suitable refuge for the nuns of Wilton during the reign of Ethelred II. It was a middle-ranking mint from the reign of Athelstan onwards, (see ST82SE57). <5>

King Alfred founded a burh on the limestone spur at Shaftesbury, probably in the late 870s.

Shaftesbury is listed in the Burghal Hidage and is likely to have been one of the new fortified places created by Alfred in the period 878-879. Shaftesbury is listed as having 700 hides, which translates as a wall length of 2887 ft (880m) or 700 men required to defend the fortification.

William of Malmesbury writing in about 1125 mentions the discovery of an inscribed stone from Shaftesbury which states that Shaftesbury was founded in AD880, the eighth year of the reign of King Alfred. <1>

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1972, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume IV (North), 56, 75 (Monograph). SDO99.

The Saxon Borough has no positively identifiable remains. Asser's record that the Abey was established 'juxta orientalem portam Sceftesbury' (De rebus gestis Alfredi, 98, 2) indicated that the bouroudh lay westwards from the abbey church, and military considerations confirm such a location, for it is there that the steep-sided Greensand spur would be most easily defended. Seven hundred hides (Birch, 1335 - the oldest text omits the entry) poit to a wall 960 yards, long (Robertson, A-S Charters, 246-9). The borough probably occupied the end of the spur with a rampart across the neck, perhaps on the line of Magdalen Lane. A slight but continuous rise in the level of the ground immediately N.E. of this lane may be a vestige of the rampart. Camden records 'a tradition that an old citie stood upon the place which is called the castle greene' (Britannia, 215).

<1.1> Historic England, Historic England Archive, De Rebus gestis Regis Alfredi 98 2 (Index). SDO14738.

<1.2> Society for Medieval Archaeology, 1969, Medieval Archaeology: journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology 13, 84-92 (Serial). SWX4024.

<1.3> Taylor, C C, 1970, Dorset (1970), 188 (Monograph). SWX2984.

<2> Department of the Environment, DOE (IAM) Ancient Monuments Record Form, 17.5.77 (Index). SDO17347.

<3> Penn, K J, 1980, Historic Towns in Dorset, 84, 89 (Monograph). SWX1202.

<4> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1990, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1989, 125-7 (Serial). SDO89.

<5> Hill, D, and Rumbole, A, 1996, The Defence of Wessex: the Burghal Hidage and Anglo-Saxon fortifications, 216-7 (Monograph). SWX1416.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 206558 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 4 2024 3:12PM