Cerne Abbas

River Cerne means "the stony stream", with the name Cerne being derived from the Primitive Welsh carn, "cairn, pile of stones". It is suggested that the pronunciation with soft 'c' instead of the more logical "chern" (Old English ċēarn) is due to Anglo-Norman influence.{{Cite encyclopedia |entry= Cerne Abbas |publisher= English Place-name Society |encyclopedia= Survey of English Place-Names |via= epns.nottingham.ac.uk |url=https://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/Dorset/Cerne+Abbas/532852f9b47fc4099d002af7-Cerne+Abbas |access-date= 15 May 2025}}

Abbas is the graecised form of the Aramaic aba ("my father"), as used in the Septuagint and in the New Testament, which resulted in the English word abbot.{{cite encyclopedia |title=abbot |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/abbot |access-date= 31 May 2025}}

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The village of Cerne Abbas grew up around the great Benedictine abbey, Cerne Abbey, which was founded there in AD 987{{cite web|url=http://www.cerneabbashistory.org/vhistory.htm |title=A history of the village of Cerne Abbas |website=Cerne Abbas Historical Society |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827164730/http://www.cerneabbashistory.org/vhistory.htm |archive-date=27 August 2008 }} (Abbas is medieval Latin for "abbot", but with a long 2nd syllable). The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded cultivated land for 20 ploughs, with 26 villeins and 32 bordars.{{cite web|url=http://opendomesday.org/place/ST6601/cerne-abbas/ |title=Cerne [Abbas] |website=Open Domesday |last=Powell-Smith |first=Anna |access-date=13 December 2018}} The abbey dominated the area for more than 500 years. It was surrendered to Henry VIII in 1539 with the Dissolution of the Monasteries and was largely destroyed; a portion of the Abbot's Porch and Abbey guesthouse remain. St Augustine's Well, reputedly blessed by the saint, also remains. St Mary's Church, built by the abbey for the parish in the late 13th century, is in the heart of the parish and retains many original features.

In the centuries after the Dissolution, the village thrived as a small market town. Its wealth was partly generated by brewing, its underground water making it famous for the quality of its beer, which was sold as far away as London and was even exported to the Americas.{{cite web|url=http://www.cerneabbashistory.org/pdfdocs/village_history.pdf |title=A village history |website=Cerne Abbas Historical Society |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211021331/http://www.cerneabbashistory.org/pdfdocs/village_history.pdf |archive-date=11 December 2009 |url-status=live}} At one time, Cerne Abbas had 14 public houses, serving visitors and a population of about 1,500. The availability of water power also gave rise to milling, tanning, silk weaving, glove and hat making and many other small industries.

The coming of the railways in the 19th century bypassed Cerne and the village went into decline. By 1906, the population had halved and many of the houses had fallen into disrepair. In 1919, the village was sold by the Pitt-Rivers estate, which had owned it.{{cite web|url=http://www.cerneabbashistory.org/1919sale.htm |title=Ownership of the village and its sale in 1919 |website=Cerne Abbas Historical Society |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827164742/http://www.cerneabbashistory.org/1919sale.htm |archive-date=27 August 2008 }} The village now has a local school, a post office, three remaining historic public houses, tearooms and a number of other shops.

In Buildings of England, Nikolaus Pevsner claims that the Abbey Farm House, which was rebuilt after a fire in the mid-1700s, was formerly the main gateway to the abbey. When rebuilt, the central window of the former gateway projection was given an unusual "Gothic Venetian" window.{{cite book |last1=Newman |first1=John |last2=Pevsner |first2=Nikolaus |date=1972 |title=Dorset: Volume 44 of Buildings of England|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISBN0140710442 |location=Michigan |publisher=Penguin|page=134 |isbn=0-14-071044-2 }}

In 2023, archaeologists began digging to find the long lost ruins of Cerne Abbey.{{Cite news |date=2023-07-30 |title=Cerne Abbas: Archaeologists dig for medieval abbey |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-66323524 |access-date=2023-07-31}}

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File:Cerne Abbas, parish church of St. Mary - geograph.org.uk - 503227.jpg

Cerne Abbas attracts many tourists, who are drawn by the River Cerne, streets lined with historic stone houses, the abbey, the giant, and various events including a classical music festival. The church of St Mary is of 13th-century origin but was largely rebuilt in the 15th and early 16th centuries and partly reconstructed in the 17th century. Features of interest include the 17th-century pulpit and the great east window which probably came from the abbey.Betjeman, John, ed. (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches; the South. London: Collins; p. 173

{{main|Cerne Abbas Giant}}

The best known attraction is the Cerne Abbas Giant, a {{convert|55|metre||adj=on}} naked figure carved into the chalk hillside. The giant, owned by the National Trust, is thought to be an Iron Age fertility symbol but, as it is unlikely that the monks of Cerne Abbey would have tolerated such a figure, and with no records before the 17th century, this cannot be confirmed. Many scholars think that it was created in the mid-17th century, although there is evidence of Iron Age settlement on the downs nearby.

Each June, the Cerne Abbas Open Gardens can attract over a thousand visitors.[http://www.cerneabbasopengardens.org.uk/Pages/Home/Home.aspx Cerne Abbas Open Gardens], retrieved 29 July 2017 Other events include horticultural shows,[http://cernevalley.co.uk/events/ Cerne Valley Upcoming Events], retrieved 29 July 2017 the annual village fete, the Cerne Abbas Music Festival, and the Wessex Morris Men often perform in the village on bank holidays.[http://www.wessexmorrismen.co.uk/photoGallery.aspx May Day Dawn at Cerne Abbas 2009],

retrieved 31 July 2017{{cite web|url=http://www.cerneabbasstores.co.uk/attractions/4587901942 |title=Attractions |website=Cerne Abbas Stores |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729222957/http://www.cerneabbasstores.co.uk/attractions/4587901942 |archive-date=29 July 2017 | access-date=29 July 2017}} The four-day music festival began in 1990 and hosts classical artists of world renown.{{cite web|url=http://www.cerneabbasmusicfestival.co.uk/history.html |title=History of the Festival |website=Cerne Abbas Music Festival |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913025919/http://www.cerneabbasmusicfestival.co.uk/history.html |archive-date=13 September 2016 |access-date=29 July 2017}}

• Joseph Clark (1834–1926), painter, was born in Cerne Abbas{{cite book|section=Clark, Joseph, (4 July 1834–4 July 1926)|title=Who Was Who Volume II, 1916–1928|year=1992|edition=5th|publisher=A & C Black|isbn=0-7136-3143-0|quote=Member of Institute of Oil Painters, Born Cerne Abbas, Dorsetshire, 4 July 1834}}
• Joseph Benwell Clark (1857–1938), artist, was born in Cerne Abbas and retired here
• Kate Adie (born 1945), journalist, lives at Cerne Abbas{{Cite web |title=Dorset History, Heritage and Media |url=https://wdlh.co.uk/dorset-history-heritage/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=West Dorset Leisure Holidays |language=en-GB}}

• Cerne Abbas features in Thomas Hardy's Wessex as "Abbots Cernel".
• School of the Night, a mystery by Judith Cook set in Elizabethan England, contains scenes set in Cerne Abbas, and mentions the Cerne Abbas Giant.
• Unconquered, a historical novel by Neil Swanson set in pre-revolutionary England and America, describes Abigail Hale's upbringing in Cerne Abbas.
• In John Le Carré's A Murder of Quality, the murder occurs in "Carne Abbas" in "Dorsett".
• Australian authors Kate Forsythe and Kim Wilkins collaborated in 2017 on a book of short stories, The Silver Well, all set in Cerne Abbas. Each story is set in a different time in the village's history, with the book spanning AD 44 and 2017.

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{{Commons category|Cerne Abbas}}

• [https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/property/pop-idyll-whatrsquos-so-special-about-britainrsquos-mostwanted-village-781276.html Independent newspaper article]
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/dorset/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8496000/8496459.stm A day in the life of Cerne Abbas]

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Category:Villages in Dorset

Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Dorset