Cerne Abbas
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Cerne Abbas is an old village located in the valley of the River Cerne, between steep chalk downland in the middle of Dorset, England. Grid reference: ST665012. The village had a population of 732 at the 2001 census, a figure which has fallen from 780 in 1998.
Cerne Abbas is a picturesque tourist village with many attractions, including the river, streets lined with stone houses and the Abbey. The most famous attraction is the Cerne Abbas giant, a 180ft naked male figure carved into the chalk hillside. The giant, owned by the National Trust, is thought by many to be an Iron Age fertility symbol but, as it is unlikely that the monks of Cerne Abby would have tolerated such a figure and with no records before the 17th century, this cannot be confirmed. Many scholars now think that it was created in the mid 1600's, and is possibly a cartoon of Oliver Cromwell dressed as the Greek-Roman god Hercules. There is evidence, however, that there were Iron Age settlements on the downs nearby.
The village of Cerne Abbas grew up around the great Benedictine abbey, which was founded there in 987 AD. For more than 500 years, the abbey dominated the area. The abbey 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. At one time, Cerne Abbas had 14 public houses, serving visitors and a population of about 1,500. Waterpower 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. However, in 1919, the village was sold off by the Pitt-Rivers estate, which had owned it, and the village now has a local school, a post office, three remaining historic public houses, tearooms and a number of other shops.
Cerne Abbas features in Thomas Hardy's Wessex as "Abbots Cernel".
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