Walking the path of pilgrims to a hilltop chapel
A Boxing Day walk follows a path to a hillside chapel which has stood sentinel for centuries above a sea-lapped shore
“There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more”
Lord Byron, ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’
AS STARLIGHT FADES, the sky is flushed a rosy-pink, bathing a hill above the village of Abbotsbury in Dorset. On its crest, a small chapel stands in splendid isolation; its golden stone reflecting the opalescent lustre of the early morning.
The merriment of Christmas has faded with the dawn, and as quiet descends, a Boxing Day walk to this hillside beacon offers the opportunity to unwind after a day of cheerful indulgence and savour the radiance of the season.
Known as St Catherine’s Chapel, the building was constructed during the latter part of the 14th century as a place of pilgrimage for the monks of the nearby Benedictine monastery, Abbotsbury Abbey. Largely preserved, it is one of only a few chapels located outside the boundaries of the monasteries that built them.
The walls are heavily buttressed to support the barrel-vaulted roof, made from local golden ashlar buff limestone, which is known to withstand the harsher elements. A stair turret rises above the roof from the north-east corner, giving the building an impression of grandeur only heightened by its imposing position.
From the village, the walk to the chapel is just 10 minutes, and as the summit is reached, the view widens out over the shingle barrier of Chesil Beach to the shimmering
sea beyond, tinged soft pink by the warming glow. The remains of the abbey can also be glimpsed; destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century.
The survival of the chapel is most likely due to its elevated position, approximately 262ft (80m) above sea level. In later years, it was used as a coastal beacon, with flames flickering on the turret to navigate troubled ships to safety.
Exploring the interior, shafts of winter light filter through a large arched window on the eastern side, which would have originally been filled with stained glass. Where the barrel vaults meet are intricate carvings of animals and foliage.
In the southern doorway, niches in the wall also allude to the chapel’s dedication, St Catherine, the patron saint of virgins. According to legend, Catherine was carried by angels to Mount Sinai; the place where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments, after she was publicly executed by Roman Emperor Maximus I in the 3rd century AD, for protesting against the persecution of Christians.
Until the late 19th century, it was tradition for the young, single women of the village to make the pilgrimage to St Catherine’s Chapel, placing their hands and a knee in the recesses of the wall, known as wishing holes, to pray for her aid or to help them find a suitable husband.
Today, the chapel is considered a local landmark and is now in the protection of English Heritage.
From its lofty position, it is easy to see why monks used this place for peaceful contemplation. The prismatic blush of the sky is slowly brightening; the sun throwing its golden light over the hills. Soon, heavy heads will stir in the slumbering village below. But, for now, there is a feeling of quiet solitude, and the beauty of winter’s dawn can be savoured a little longer. On a hillside woven with history and legend, all is calm, and all is bright.