Hidden Chapel - Ashley Chase - Bride Valley - West Dorset
St Luke’s Chapel, northwest of Abbotsbury, built by monks from Netley Abbey on land given to them in 1246 by William of Litton, the order founded 1239 near Southampton, . As dedicated farmers and labourers it is likely that St Luke’s was built for the use of a small Cistercian community who began to work a farm in Ashley as well as to serve the medieval village of Sterte (Sturthill).
According to author C J Bailey in his book The Bride Valley: ‘the chapel of St Luke was served by parsons from 1240 to 1545 when it became so impoverished that the living was left vacant. Whatever the reason, by approximately 1545, both Sterte and the Chapel were abandoned and St Luke’s descended into ruin.’
Hidden Chapel - Ashley Chase - Bride Valley - West Dorset
St Luke’s Chapel, northwest of Abbotsbury, built by monks from Netley Abbey on land given to them in 1246 by William of Litton, the order founded 1239 near Southampton, . As dedicated farmers and labourers it is likely that St Luke’s was built for the use of a small Cistercian community who began to work a farm in Ashley as well as to serve the medieval village of Sterte (Sturthill).
According to author C J Bailey in his book The Bride Valley: ‘the chapel of St Luke was served by parsons from 1240 to 1545 when it became so impoverished that the living was left vacant. Whatever the reason, by approximately 1545, both Sterte and the Chapel were abandoned and St Luke’s descended into ruin.’