Minster Church of St Cuthburga - Wimborne, Dorset, UK.
N 50° 47.946 W 001° 59.300
30U E 571293 N 5627972
The Minster Church is dedicated to St Cuthburga, She founded a Benedictine Nunnery around 705 AD. The nunnery was destroyed by the Vikings in 1013. The Minster Church was rebuilt on the ruins. located in the Heart of Wimborne, Great Britain.
Waymark Code: WMMD3P
Location: Southern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/02/2014
Views: 4
From whichever direction Wimborne is approached the two great towers of the Minster can be seen. Christian worship has taken place at this location for over 1300 years.
The visible architecture is mostly Norman, built after 1180, but there are some remains of the nunnery ruins, from AD-705, in particular the staircase tower, and the transept walls, appear to be of Saxon construction.
From the Church Web site:
"The Minster is dedicated to St Cuthburga, sister of Ina King of Wessex. She founded a Benedictine Nunnery here around 705 AD; there may also have been a monastery. Nuns from Wimborne were sent to Germany with St Boniface of Crediton (c. 680-755) to help convert the pagan tribes. As a result, Wimborne still has a special link with the town and Benedictine nunnery of Ochsenfuhrt. In 871, Alfred the Great buried his brother Ethelred here (not the later King of England Ethelred), after a battle near Cranborne. The Nunnery, possibly already in decline, was destroyed in a Danish raid in 1013." Text Source: (
visit link)
From the Visit Dorset Web site:
"Wimborne Minster is a Saxon church with Norman and Gothic architecture. It is famous for its unique chained library as well as the tombs of King Ethelred (the brother of Alfred the Great), John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and his Duchess (the maternal grandparents of King Henry VII of England" Text Source: (
visit link)
Hours of Operation:
Morning Prayer is said on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8.30am (entry by vestry door)
Evening Prayer is said Monday-Friday at 5pm in the Minster.
The Minster is open Daily for Visitors & private silent prayer. Mostly between 9.30am and 5.30 pm.
Admission is Free - Donations are appreciated.