Malmesbury Abbey of St Peter and St Paul

The Saxon bishop St Aldhelm may still be buried here, along with an obscure early Celtic monk called St Maildulf, two of many reasons for a pilgrimage to this fine church‍

Highlights

• ‍‍Burial site of St Aldhelm
• St Maildulf’s town
• Norman buildings and Biblical carvings

One of the first attempts at flying a manned aircraft took place at Malmesbury Abbey, the crazy dream of an 11th-century monk. The story of Eilmer, the would-be aviator, should be an inspiration to anyone who believes that science and religion don’t mix.

Sadly, Eilmer has not yet been elevated to sainthood for his efforts. We’ll come back to him in a minute. Instead, Malmesbury has the marginally more sedate figure of St Aldhelm to thank for its status as a holy place. He was famous for his erudition, although he was not averse to breaking into song or juggling during his sermons to keep his congregation alert.

After his death in 709, he was buried here in Malmesbury, where he served as abbot. His shrine was placed in a church dedicated to St Michael the Archangel, part of the abbey complex. This building was destroyed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and his relics were lost. Only the nave of the main abbey church now remains, a beautiful and lofty structure that serves as Malmesbury’s parish church. It is rich in devotional art, particularly its famous 12th-century carvings of Biblical scenes in the south porch. Six of the Apostles are carved on either side of the porch’s internal walls. The figure of St Peter had its feet removed to prevent people from kissing them, though you would have to be 10 feet tall to reach them. Fortunately, the reformers left the rest intact.

St Aldhelm was an important Saxon church leader, much praised by the Venerable Bede. He organized the monastery at Malmesbury under Benedictine rule, having been appointed in 676. He also served as bishop of Sherborne (page 241).

St Maildulf

Another saint looms over St Aldhelm’s shoulder from the 7th-century shadows, a monk from Ireland called St Maildulf. He might have founded Malmesbury Abbey himself or simply advised St Aldhelm when he moved to the town. Little is known about St Maildulf, but Bede calls Malmesbury ‘the town of Máel Dub’, the Irish form of his name (History v.18). St Aldhelm spoke out strongly against the Celtic tradition, which suggests (to me at any rate) that the Irish monk introduced Celtic rather than Roman practice to the early Christian community here. St Aldhelm was so keen that people should switch to Roman tradition he helped organize a synod to that end at Burford, Oxfordshire, in 685 – a sort of southern counterpart to the Synod of Whitby that took place 21 years earlier. Burford has a famously beautiful church, incidentally, but no remains from the time of the synod, so it is not included in this guide.

Back at Malmesbury, there is nothing to mark the graves of either of its two saints. But the abbey church has at least installed a chapel dedicated to St Aldhelm. And two pilgrim routes, the Athelstan Pilgrim Way and St Aldhelm’s Way, visit the church too.

Another famous figure associated with the monastery is William of Malmesbury. A monk who lived in the 12th century, he is one of the most important historians in medieval England. It is thanks to William we know of Eilmer and his partial success with a primitive form of glider. William records that Eilmer strapped wings to his hands and feet and launched himself off the abbey around the year 1010. This Saxon building has been demolished, but its tower might have been around 20 metres high. Eilmer flew for 200 metres before crash landing – and breaking his legs. Despite being crippled for life, Eilmer never stopped dreaming and calculated that the addition of a tail would have made his flight stable. Modern aviation experts think he might be right. Eilmer’s 15 seconds or so in the air make him the first European to fly with any degree of control. He lived into old age, dying after 1066 despite the injuries from his bid for glory.

There is a series of four windows in the abbey showing the quartet of great sons of Malmesbury: St Maildulf, St Aldhelm, the flying Eilmer, and William of Malmesbury. I had to ask a steward to show them to me because they were not easy to locate.

King Athelstan

One of England’s greatest early kings, Athelstan, was buried at Malmesbury Abbey after his death in 939. He was the first to rule over the whole of Britain and endowed many churches during his reign. His stone monument can be seen in the abbey, but the exact site of his burial is no longer known. Athelstan’s remains were either destroyed at the Dissolution or removed and secretly reburied just before the reformers turned up. The Abbey House Gardens next to the abbey might be his burial place. It could, in theory, hold the saints’ bones too, but we do not know for sure. The gardens are open to the public.

St Aldhelm was himself an enthusiast for cold-water bathing, and a holy well associated with him still exists in the town. It is, however, inaccessible, in a private garden on Gloucester Street, which runs beside the abbey grounds.

Directions

Malmesbury Abbey of St Peter and St Paul

High Street, Malmesbury SN16 9AS

www.malmesburyabbey.com

W3W: perch.cookery.bride

GPS: 51.5845N 2.0986W‍

The abbey grounds can be entered through the High Street, or Abbey Row (the B4040) on the east side of town. It is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm (4 pm in the winter). The Abbey House Gardens are open daily from 1 April to 30 September.

Details of entrance fees and other information are on the gardens’ website: www.abbeyhousegardens.co.uk.