Abbotsbury. Dorset - St. Catherines Chapel Subtropical Gardens

Postcard

 

• Picture / Image:  Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens - view of St. Catherine's Chapel from the Himalayan Glade (Dorset)
• Publisher:  Abbotsbury Gardens
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes & Key words: 

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Postage & Packing:

UK (incl. IOM, CI & BFPO): 99p

Europe: £1.60

Rest of world (inc. USA etc): £2.75

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal or Google Checkout ONLY please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information:

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St Catherine's Chapel is a small chapel situated above the village of Abbotsbury in Dorset, England at grid reference SY57238482. It is dedicated to Saint Catherine.

It is thought to have been built in the first half of the fifteenth century as a Pilgrim chapel for Abbotsbury Abbey. Its position on the top of a hill about 80 m (260 ft) high, overlooking the coast from Portland Bill to Bridport, meant that it was a prominent feature for seafarers. The construction is notably robust in order to withstand the elements; the walls (made of locally quarried ashlar stone) are 4 ft thick and supported by stout buttresses, and the roof is (very unusually) also made of stone. In the north-west corner is a tower.^[1]

It is best seen from the viewpoint on the B3157 Abbotsbury to Bridport road, with Chesil Beach in the background. The medieval strip lynchets etched into the side of the hill are known locally as the Chapel Rings.

St Catherine's Chapel has a local tradition of 'wishing'. This involves using the niches (one for the knee and two for the hands) in the east jamb of the south doorway to 'post' prayers to the saint asking for her help.

The chapel is frequently visited by women searching for a husband,^[2] St Catherine being the patron saint of spinsters.^[3] A traditional prayer used here by these women says:

A husband, St Catherine,
A handsome one, St Catherine,
A rich one, St Catherine,
A nice one, St Catherine,
And soon, St Catherine.

The chapel appears briefly in the Powell and Pressburger film The Small Back Room.

The chapel was the inspiration behind PJ Harvey's song "The Wind", from her 1998 album Is This Desire?.^[4][5] The lyrics of the song discuss the chapel's location on top of the hill, and end with an inversion of the prayer for a husband mentioned above.^[4] PJ Harvey lives and grew up near Abbotsbury.^[6]