Malmesbury, Wiltshire

Malmesbury Abbey

I hadn’t been to Malmesbury for a long time. It is a delightful little town which seems to have escaped the worst effects of the economic downturn. It is bustling and vibrant. There is also an excellent fish and chip shop there with crisp battered fish and wonderful chips. But to the Abbey!

Essentially what we see today is the nave of the former abbey. In it’s heyday it would have been vast. Today there is much of interest. The Abbey is open every day and there are some friendly and helpful stewards on duty. When I asked about numbers visiting one of these was able to produce a book in which the daily count is entered. She told me that in August 2012 they had had just short of 30,000 people through the door. This is a very well visited church, and deservedly so. The needs of the visitor and tourist and well thought out. There is a cafe run in the church which was busy at the time of my visit. There are lots of history displays including some Medieval manuscripts in lit display cabinets. They have spent money here in order to cater for their visitors. The old church silver is also displayed properly. There are several types of guide leaflets and booklets available as well as some on local history. Even a very good children’s visual history – a very rare find. An art display was in part of the church at my visit and this seemed to be gaining a lot of interest. Music was being played quietly in the background.

Quiet prayer…

There is a chapel for quiet prayer with a votive stand and a prayer request box. King Athelstan’s tomb is made quite a bit of as well.

I rate Malmesbury Abbey as excellent. A lot of effort has gone into making this a good place to visit. Highly recommended.