On entering the Abbey through the south porch, you first come through the new glass draught lobby, etched by Jane McDonald, and then into the People's Chapel, so-called because it was added to the original building in 1340 for use as a parish church. Look at the newly restored 14th century frescoes on the east wall and the effects of light and shadow on the stonework. When the church is full, as at Easter and Christmas, the sacraments are served from the altar in this Chapel, as well as in the Chancel. The Chapel is also a good location for small musical groups and dramatic presentations.
Cast about 1170, this is one of the best preserved lead fonts in England, and the only one belonging to a monastic church to survive the Reformation. It features 11 figures (presumably the apostles with Judas left out!) seated under an elaborate arcade.
Stand now in the west end of the nave and look towards the east. Immediately you will be struck by the contrast between the simplicity of the unadorned Norman wall on your left and the lofty arches of the People’s Chapel on your right. Note too the splendour of the Great East Window, a masterpiece of medieval and Victorian craftsmen, filling the whole of the east end. See how the strength of the central pillar (added in medieval times to reinforce the tracery) stands in stark contrast to the delicate and airy tracery and colourful glass. Much of the glass is early 14th century and was collected from other windows in the church about 1814. The rose window was designed by William Butterfield who restored the church in 1846-53. In front of the altar there is the brass of Abbot Bewfforeste (ca. 1510), wearing the vestments of an Augustinian monk, who gave the Abbey the carved choir stalls.
The window on the north wall of the chancel is a Tree of Jesse, a unique form of 'multi-media' combining tracery, sculpture and stained glass (all 14th century) in a single theme. It shows how Christ was descended from King David's ancestor Jesse, the surprisingly natural figure apparently slumbering on the windowsill at the foot of the tree. The figure of Christ at the top was severely damaged in Cromwellian times.
Sedilia
Against the south wall of the chancel are the 14th century sedilia, the three seats reserved for the Bishop and senior clergy. No longer used, they have magnificent canopies decorated with fine tracery and small figures of saints. Inside are three tiny round windows, decorated with 3-petal flowers and a ball, and filled with stained glass, one representing the distribution of the sacraments at the Eucharist. Also there are small but very realistic carvings of the seven deadly sins, presumably meant as a constant reminder of the temptations of this world.
In the late 13th century a new chapel was built along the north wall of the chancel. This is now used for private prayer and for the 8.00 am Holy Communion service on Sunday mornings. In the centre of the east window, itself a fine example of the strongly geometric designs typical of Early Decorated tracery, is the earliest piece of glass in the Abbey (ca. 1250) depicting Birinus being blessed by Archbishop Asterius of Milan before his mission to Britain.
The original canopied shrine was demolished in 1536 but most of the intricately carved vaulting was found in a blocked-up doorway in the 1870s. This was reassembled in the rather severe 1964 reconstruction of the shrine in the Lady Chapel. The shrine was never completed but one of the future tasks of the Dorchester Abbey Preservation Trust is a sensitive re-assessment and completion of this project so that the shrine can be used as a focus for ecumenical worship.
Although he cannot be identified with certainty, it seems most likely that this knight is William de Valance the Younger (died 1282), and not Sir John de Holcombe (died 1270) as was formerly believed. His effigy is one of the best pieces of 13th century funerary sculpture in England. Unusually life-like, in the act of drawing his sword, with every detail of his clothing and armour there for you to see and touch, this knight probably went on one of the Crusades to the Holy Land. When first made the sculpture would have been brilliantly coloured in blue, red and green, and traces of these colours can still be seen in the folds of the cloak.
Nearby in the Lady Chapel are other effigies which have recently been restored: John de Stonor (died 1354), Lord Chief Justice of England under Edward III, whose descendants still live nearby in Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames; a knight in plate armour ca. 1400, probably a member of the Segrave family; and a bishop in the style of the early 14th century.
High up in the tower, but not open to the public, are the bells. There are eight bells in all, the oldest cast in 1375, the youngest in 1867. The tenor bell (the largest) weighs more than 16 cwt (ca 840 kg) and carries the Latin inscription 'Protege Birine quos convoco tu sine fine Raf Rastlwold' (Do thou, Birinus, protect for ever those whom I summon. Raf Rastwold (the donor of the bell)). (See also Bellringers)
The pentice
The pentice was built against the north wall of the Abbey in 2001 to house the central heating plant, disabled toilet facilities and the Cloister Gallery. Designed by Peter McCurdy (who built the Globe Theatre in London) and Martin Ashley Architects, it captures the atmosphere of a medieval cloister through its massive framework of English oak, York stone floor and Gothic openings into the Cloister Garden. It houses the Cloister Gallery display of medieval worked stone which tells the story of the Abbey.
Outside, carved in stone above the west door, you will see the head of Edith Gratia Stedman OBE, a remarkable American lady, formerly the Head of the Appointments Bureau of Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Mass., who formed the American Friends of Dorchester Abbey with sponsors headed by the then American Ambassador to Great Britain. During the 1960s and 70s her efforts raised funds for the restoration of the Great East Window in memory of Sir Winston Churchill, the establishment of the Museum, and creation of the Cloister Garden and restoration of the Guest House. There is a memorial to her in the St Birinus Chapel, and the lych-gate was restored in her name.
In the cloister garden there is a memorial to the 7th Photo Recon Group which was located at the USAF base in neighbouring Berinsfield during World War II.
There is even a connection with the American Presidency! Martha Dandridge, whose first husband died when she was in her twenties leaving her a wealthy widow, became the second wife of President George Washington. Two of her children by her first marriage were educated in the Grammar School (formerly the Guest House) next to the Abbey, and there are memorial stones to members of the Dandridge family in the Abbey.
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