Listed Building record MDO11564 - The Minster Church of St Cuthburga, High Street, Wimborne Minster

An important collegiate church, of Saxon origin the main fabric now of twelfth century and late medieval date, considerable nineteenth century restoration.

"In the extensive repairs of the Minster, completed in 1857, there was discovered under the pillars of the nave, bases of columns at regular intervals, a considerable length of very early and perfect tesselated Roman pavement, and a large pediment, clearly indicating the site of a Roman Temple, immediately over which the central tower now lifts its head". <2> The church was founded before AD 705 as a Benedictine Nunnery founded by St. Cuthberga. It was destroyed by the Danes in the early 11th century and refounded by Edward the Confessor as a college of secular canons with a dean. It was dissolved in the reign of Edward VI and some portion of it was restored by charter by Queen Elizabeth. Mentioned in Domesday as a collegiate church. The present church is partly Norman. <1> <3-5> A piece of tessellated pavement and other Roman remains lie under the floor of the Minster. The abbey Church of the Benedictine Nunnery was doubtless on the site of the present minster. <7> Apart from St. Cutherberga's Collegiate Church, The Minster, nothing remains of the collegiate or conventual buildings. The site of these buildings is not known. The church is in use for Divine Service. Roman remains from this site are exhibited in the church library. <8> The existence of a Roman tessellated pavement beneath the nave was confirmed during renovations in 1961. It was not possible to determine the nature of the building. <9> The Saxon foundation was apparently a double monastery with a cloister of monks entirely separate from the nun's cloister, but both presided over by the abbess. The present church is largely of 12th century date with 13-15th century and later alterations. A considerable amount of the pre-Conquest building survives including rubble masonry and string-courses of Saxon date in the west walls of both transepts. The core of the tower is probably also of this date. <11-13> <15> Listed as the possible site of a Roman villa. The pavement from the site has recently been reinterpreted as being Anglo-Saxon. In 1961 tesserae were rediscovered underneath the nave, these had been originally uncovered in 1857. <14>

Record last edited

Jul 5 2024 11:20AM