DORSET BUILDING STONE
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Cerne Abbas, the Abbey and the village, ST665 014 and surroundings     (Lead Author: JT)

Picture
The Abbey Gate-House. ST 66535 01410: 50.8113 -2.4763. Photo: AH
The abbey at Cerne was founded in the 10th and 11th centuries and in the Domesday Book it is recorded that the abbey owned both Poxwell and Renscombe. Therefore, not only were the local flint and Chalk available for building, the Purbeck Cypris Freestones from Poxwell and the middle Purbeck from Renscombe would have been available.
The Benedictine Abbey of Cerne was established in a fold of the Chalk hills close to a permanent spring of clear drinking water in the late 10th century. The Abbey owned land in both Poxwell and Renscombe. The Abbey itself has been robbed of its stone, except for the hospice and the gatehouse. The stone has been re-used in the buildings in the village. Some of the stone may also have been used in Sydling St. Nicholas, unless it came directly from the Chalk quarry on the east side of Giant Hill. North Barn and the outlying Tithe Barn also survived the depredations of Thomas Cromwell. 
Picture
A block of Cenomanian limestone in the New Inn with ammonite fossil. Photo: JT
Picture
Chalk block in New Inn wall. Photo: AH
Picture
Stone slates (Ham Stone) in Abbey Guest-house. Photo: AH
Picture
Ostracods in Purbeck limestone block. Photo: AH
Picture
General view of Guest-house or hospice ST 66555 01371: 50.8110 -2.4761. Photo: AH
The Hospice has been built of flint and Lower Purbeck Cypris Freestone from Poxwell, with Ham Hill Stone and some Portland Freestone. Photo: JT
When the Abbey was closed during the 16th century most of the stone was re-used for the village buildings. A notice in the churchyard records this re-use. Only the Abbey Farm, North Barn, the Hospice and the Abbots Porch are accessible, as the Tithe Barn has become a holiday home.
Picture
Ham Stone preaching cross. Photo: AH.
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Weathered Upper Greensand in building wall, Long Street. Photo: AH
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North wall of guest-house. Photo: AH
A description of a walk around the village looking at the buildings, and the surrounding countryside where both Chalk and Upper Greensand may have been quarried, can be found by clicking here.
Picture
Another view of the Hospice wall. Photo: JT.
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Long Street, Cerne Abbas. Photo: AH.
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Stone slates used in a village building. Photo: AH
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North Barn was built of Middle Chalk from the quarry on Giant Hill. Photo: JT
The village of Cerne Abbas has a variety of building stones, some originating from the demolition of it's Abbey and subsequent recycling of material in vernacular dwellings
Picture
Upper Greensand and Chert wall.
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Portland Limestone (oolitic). Photo: AH.
References: Barker K ed, 1988: The Cerne Abbey Millennium Lectures. Published by The Cerne Abbey Millennium Committee.
Picture

© DORSET BUILDING STONE
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  • Home
    • About Us
    • Glossary
    • References and Sources
    • Work in Progress
  • Building stones
    • How we study building stones
    • Palaeogene >
      • Heathstone
      • Sarsens
    • Cretaceous >
      • Chalk
      • Flint
      • Upper Greensand
      • Chert
      • Wealden
      • Purbeck >
        • Upper Purbeck (Purbeck Marble)
        • Upper Purbeck (Broken Shell Lst. aka Burr)
        • Middle Purbeck (Upper Building Stones)
        • Lower Purbeck (Cypris Freestones)
    • Jurassic >
      • Lower Purbeck >
        • Cypris Freestones
      • Portland Stone - Dorset
      • Chert
      • Kimmeridge Bay Dolomitic Limestone
      • Corallian
      • Cornbrash
      • Forest Marble
      • Fuller's Earth Rock
      • Inferior Oolite
      • Bridport Sands
      • Junction Bed
      • Blue Lias
    • Dorset Bricks
    • Non-Dorset Stone >
      • Tertiary >
        • Bembridge Limestones - Isle Of Wight
      • Cretaceous >
        • Beer Stone - SE Devon
      • Jurassic >
        • Bath Stone - Somerset & Wilts
        • Blue Lias of Somerset
        • Doulting Stone - Somerset
        • Ham Hill Stone - Somerset
        • Portland Limestone – Wilts (Chilmark)
        • Normandy >
          • Pierre de Caen (Caen Stone)
        • Pas de Calais
      • Triassic: White Lias of SE Devon
      • Carboniferous >
        • Carboniferous Limestones: Polished Black
      • Devonian
    • Building Stone Trails >
      • Devon Trails
      • Somerset Trails
    • Stone Index >
      • Stone Index A-B >
        • Abbotsbury Ironstone
        • Bath Stone
        • Beer Stone
        • Bembridge Stone
        • Binstead Stone
        • Blue Lias Stone
        • Bridport Sandstone
        • Broken Shell Limestone
        • Burr
        • Burton Limestone
      • Stone Index C-E >
        • Caen Stone
        • Carstone
        • Chert
        • Chilmark Lower Building Stone
        • Chilmark Main Building Stone
        • Chilmark Stone
        • Chilmark Upper Buiding Stone
        • Clavellata Beds
        • Cliff Stone
        • Clunch
        • Corallian
        • Cornbrash
        • Cypris Freestone
      • Stone Index F-O >
        • Featherbed Limestone
        • Featherstone
        • Forest Marble
        • Flint
        • Fuller's Earth Rock
        • Grey Chalk
        • Ham Hill Stone
        • Heathstone
        • Inferior Oolite
        • Ironstone
        • Lower Chalk
        • Lower Lias
        • Melbury Sandstone
        • Middle Chalk
        • Middle Lias
        • New Vein
        • Osmington Oolite
      • Stone Index P-T >
        • Portland Cherty Beds
        • Portland Cherty Series
        • Portland Stone
        • Purbeck Marble
        • Purbeck Stone
        • Quarr Stone
        • Rag
        • Sarsen Stone
        • Shaftesbury Sandstone
        • Sherborne Stone
        • Tisbury Stone
        • Todber Freestone
        • Trigonia Beds
      • Stone Index U-Z >
        • Upper Chalk
        • Wardour Lower Building Stone
        • Wardour Main Building Stone
        • Weald Clay
        • White Chalk
        • White Lias
        • Yeovil Stone
  • Churches
    • A-Z of Churches
    • East Dorset >
      • Almer
      • Bournemouth >
        • Talbot Village
      • Canford Magna Chapel
      • Corfe Mullen
      • Christchurch Priory
      • Cranborne
      • Edmondsham
      • Gussage All Saints
      • Gussage St. Andrew
      • Hampreston
      • Kinson
      • Knowlton
      • Morden
      • Pamphill
      • Poole St.James
      • Poole, the Spire Church
      • Shapwick
      • Sturminster Marshall
      • Tarrant Crawford
      • Tarrant Keyneston
      • West Parley
      • Wimborne St.Giles
      • Wimborne Minster Exterior Tour
      • Wimborne Minster Interior
      • Wimborne Minster: Purbeck Marble and Decorative Stone
    • Central Dorset >
      • Bloxworth
      • Bradford Peverell
      • Cerne Abbas
      • Hilton
      • Lytchett Matravers
      • Stratton
      • The Piddle Valley >
        • Affpuddle
        • Alton Pancras
        • Bere Regis
        • Piddlehinton
        • Piddletrenthide
        • Puddletown
        • Tolpuddle
      • Winterborne Tomson
    • North Dorset >
      • Batcombe
      • Belchalwell
      • Blandford Parish Church
      • Blandford St. Leonard's Chapel
      • Blandford St. Mary
      • Blandford Cemetery Chapels
      • Bradford Abbas
      • Chetnole
      • Child Okeford
      • Compton Abbas
      • Farnham
      • Folke
      • Gillingham
      • Hammoon
      • Hazelbury Bryan
      • Holnest
      • Ibberton
      • Iwerne Minster
      • Langton Long
      • Leigh
      • Mappowder
      • Margaret Marsh
      • Marnhull
      • Melbury Abbas
      • Melbury Bubb
      • Pimperne
      • Okeford Fitzpaine
      • Purse Caundle
      • Ryme Intrinseca
      • Shillingstone
      • Sixpenny Handley
      • Stockwood
      • Stourpaine
      • Tarrant Gunville
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      • Wool
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    • West Dorset >
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      • Evershot
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      • Loders
      • Monkton Wyld
      • Netherbury
      • North Poorton
      • Powerstock
      • St. Gabriel’s
      • Shipton Gorge
      • Lulworth Castle
      • Stoke Abbott
      • Symondsbury
      • Wootton Fitzpaine
      • Whitchurch Canonicorum
  • Quarries , Pits and Limekilns
    • Active Quarries
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    • Beacon Limestone Quarries
    • Inferior Oolite
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    • Kimmeridge Bay
    • Portesham
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    • Shaftesbury Sandstone
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    • Upwey
    • Whiteway Hill Quarry
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    • Non-Dorset Quarries and Pits
  • Secular buildings
    • Athelhampton House
    • Blandford Town Hall
    • Cerne Abbas (village and Abbey)
    • Durweston Bridge
    • Ibberton Village
    • Kimmeridge Bay
    • Moignes Court
    • Non-Dorset Buildings
  • Search
  • Contact Us