Panorama of the Shaftesbury Abbey Museum in Shaftesbury. This picture shows the remains of the Abbey, which are contained within the Gold Hill Museum gardens.

Shaftesbury Gold Hill Abbey Museum - Shaftesbury visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Shaftesbury Gold Hill Abbey Museum' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Dorset.

The Shaftesbury Abbey Museum & Garden in Shaftesbury contains the site of one of the most important Benedictine nunneries in Saxon England. One of the main tourist attractions in Shaftesbury in rural Dorset, the museum explores the history of the abbey and the garden contains excavated foundations. The entrance to the museum is of Park Walk which runs along the top of Gold Hill.

Shaftesbury Abbey was built in 888AD by King Alfred and his daughter Aethelgifu was the first Abbess. The abbey grew to be one of the most important in England until it was dissolved 650 years later by King Henry VIII in 1539, at which time most of the abbey was destroyed.

Gold Hill Museum & Garden,
Gold Hill, Shaftesbury,
Dorset, SP7 8JW

Shaftesbury is about 20 miles from Salisbury on the A30. It is 12 miles from Blandford Forum and 16 miles from Sherborne on the A30.