Milton Abbas and Milton Abbey

This is a planned community that I could live in! The village dates back to 1773 when Lord Milton wanting to be left alone and in solitude, instructed that the village of Middleton, on the grounds of Milton Abbey, be demolished and the new village be built!

A short distance away is the beautiful Milton Abbey. The original church was founded in 934 AD by King Athelstan of Wessex, a grandson of King Alfred. In 964, King Edgar dismissed the secular priests and replaced them with Benedictine monks from Glastonbury who sustained the monastic life for many centuries.

Over time the abbey grew, as did the large market town outside its gates (Middleton). The monks made additions to the church, which included a wooden bell tower and spire, reliquaries, and elaborate shrines and tombs.

After lightning struck the spire during a violent storm in September 1309, the church was consumed by a fire in which the abbey’s documents, books and relics were all destroyed.

A new Abbey Church was soon begun, although never fully completed; it reached its present size principally under the guidance of Abbot William Middleton at the turn of the 15^th century. (More of the history www.milton abbey.org/st-catherines-chapel)

Adjacent to the abbey is Milton Abbey school, an independent school for day and boarding pupils.