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a Historic Market Town in the county of Dorset

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About Shaftesbury

Shaftsbury is Dorset's only hill-top town, with its long history and good views it is particularly attractive to tourists. It started life as a West Saxon fortified town, in the year 880 it was given a nunnery by King Alfred, his daughter, Ethelgiva became the first abbess, and around this grew an Anglo-Saxon town. In 981 Edward the Martyr was buried here. The convent flourished right until the time of the Reformation, when the vast church built with the riches garnered over centuries was destroyed.

In medieval times, Shaftsbury was a place of pilgrimage with many pilgrims visiting the town to worship at the shrine of St. Edward. In the 13th-century Shaftsbury was granted the rights to hold a weekly market, and in the 14th-century this was extended to two markets.

Today, on its high plateau Shaftsbury with its quaint corners and attractive little streets is a magnet for visitors. Its most famous street, Gold Hill slopes steeply down, this is quite possibly the most photographed street in Dorset. At its top is an excellent small museum where visitors can explore the town's unique farming and button manufacturing heritage. There are displays of locally made buttons and many implements used on farms; these include - scythes and Shepherd's crooks. There is a set of Shaftsbury weights and measures from the 17th-century and a fire engine from the mid 18th-century.

St.Peters Church is noted for its crypt and vaulted porch; there is an elaborately carved north parapet, and fine 15th-century stained glass. The excavated remains of the former abbey church lie within a walled garden.

The town's Grosvenor Hotel is a former coaching inn which dates from the 16th-century, although the interior is much altered some of the old features remain, and the exterior radiates all the charm of a by-gone age when it was a busy coaching centre. The arrival of the railways left the town somewhat bereft for a time, but the age of the modern motor car put it once more on the tourist trail.

During the season the town hosts several events including an annual carnival held each October, and the celebrated Gold Hill Fair is in July.

Shaftsbury has splendid views of Blackmoor Vale, and is within easy reach of the Salisbury Plains.

Planning a visit? Please see below for other recommended towns, attractions and recommended hotels nearby.

Distances and directions below are approximate. For true driving distances please visit the AA Route Planner

Recommended attractions near Shaftesbury

Old Wardour Castle	(5.4 miles, 8.7 km, direction NE)	Pictures
Stourhead	(9.0 miles, 14.5 km, direction NW)	Pictures
Fovant Badges	(10.1 miles, 16.3 km, direction E)	Pictures
Alfred's Tower	(10.5 miles, 16.9 km, direction NW)	Pictures
Philipps House & Dinton Park	(10.7 miles, 17.3 km, direction NE)	Pictures
Longleat House & Safari Park	(12.9 miles, 20.8 km, direction N)	Pictures
Badbury Rings	(13.9 miles, 22.3 km, direction SE)	Pictures
Cley Hill	(13.9 miles, 22.3 km, direction N)	Pictures
Sherborne Castle	(14.0 miles, 22.5 km, direction W)	Pictures
Horton Tower	(14.2 miles, 22.8 km, direction SE)	Pictures
Sherborne Abbey	(14.2 miles, 22.8 km, direction W)	Pictures
White Mill	(15.0 miles, 24.2 km, direction SE)	Pictures
Kingston Lacy	(15.2 miles, 24.5 km, direction SE)	Pictures
Wilton House	(15.4 miles, 24.8 km, direction E)	Pictures
Nunney Castle	(16.4 miles, 26.5 km, direction NW)	Pictures

All attractions in Shaftesbury
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Recommended towns near Shaftesbury

Gillingham, a Historic Market Town in the county of Dorset (4.1 miles, 6.6 km, direction NW)
Info | Pictures | Hotels

East Knoyle, in the county of Wiltshire (4.8 miles, 7.7 km, direction N)
East Knoyle is situated where the Wiltshire countryside blends into Dorset. The landscape is quite stunning, it has a dramatically changing face of sweeping pastures and hillsides.
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Shroton, in the county of Dorset (6.4 miles, 10.4 km, direction S)
Interestingly, this enchanting village was the scene of warfare as General Wolfe trained his troops before his assult on Quebec in the mid 18th-century.
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Tisbury, in the county of Wiltshire (6.6 miles, 10.5 km, direction NE)
Tisbury is a picturesque village set amidst delightful Wiltshire countryside where you will find friendly villagers and a calm, peaceful atmosphere.
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Stourton, in the county of Wiltshire (8.7 miles, 14.0 km, direction NW)
Stourton is noted for the church dedicated to St. Peter where you can see many memorials to the famous Hoare banking family and for the house which was the families ancestral home.
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Sixpenny Handley, in the county of Dorset (9.4 miles, 15.1 km, direction SE)
Sixpenny Handley is set in the lovely countryside of Cranbourne Chase.
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Fovant, in the county of Wiltshire (9.7 miles, 15.6 km, direction NE)
Fovant is most noted for its dramatic hillside where huge regimental badges are carved into the chalk downs and clearly seen from the road.
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Blandford Forum, a Historic Market Town in the county of Dorset (10.2 miles, 16.5 km, direction S)
Utterly delightful, a town of matchless elegance, of quintessentially English beauty, are but a few of the attributes to the fine Market town on the River Stour.
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Bryanston, in the county of Dorset (10.4 miles, 16.7 km, direction S)
The town was initially the town of Brian de Lisle, a Baron at the court of King John.
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Poyntington, in the county of Dorset (13.3 miles, 21.4 km, direction W)
This is a delightful small village situated in the picturesque Blackmore Vale where the Dorset and Somerset boundary meets.
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Milton Abbas, a Picturesque Village in the county of Dorset (13.3 miles, 21.5 km, direction S)
Milton Abbas is a superb thatched village which has the distinction of being the first planned village of its kind in England.
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Warminster, in the county of Wiltshire (13.8 miles, 22.3 km, direction N)
This is a former wool and corn town with a fascinating history stretching back to Saxon times. It sits comfortably beneath the chalk downland of the Salisbury Plain at the head of the beautiful Wyle Valley.
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Sherborne, a Historic Market Town in the county of Dorset (14.4 miles, 23.1 km, direction W)
The softly glowing Ham stone of which most of the town properties are built, lends warmth and atmosphere to what is already a unique and attractive place.
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Sturminster Marshall, a Picturesque Village in the county of Dorset (15.0 miles, 24.2 km, direction S)
Sturminster Marshall is famous for its beautiful White Corn Mill and for the magnificent eight arched bridge spanning the River Stour.
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Wilton, in the county of Wiltshire (15.5 miles, 24.9 km, direction E)
Wilton was once a county town, it has also been a bishopric, a Royal residence and is one of the oldest boroughs in England.
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All towns in Dorset
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Nearby travel help

Gillingham (Dorset) Station	(3.8 miles, 6.1 km, direction NW)
Tisbury Station	(6.6 miles, 10.7 km, direction NE)
Bournemouth Airport	(22.3 miles, 35.8 km, direction SE)
M27 Junction 1	(27.1 miles, 43.6 km, direction E)
M27 Junction 2	(29.4 miles, 47.3 km, direction E)
Bristol International Airport	(34.5 miles, 55.5 km, direction NW)
Shaftesbury to London	(96.4 miles, 155.1 km, direction E)

Hotels & Accommodation in Shaftesbury

Hotel Name	Approximate distance from Shaftesbury center
Best Western The Royal Chase Hotel	(0.6 miles, 0.9 km)
The Talbot	(5.3 miles, 8.5 km, direction S)
The Lamb Inn	(6.9 miles, 11.1 km, direction NE)
The Angel Inn	(6.9 miles, 11.2 km, direction NE)
The Half Moon Inn	(9.3 miles, 15.0 km, direction W)
The Anvil Inn	(9.6 miles, 15.5 km, direction S)
Holbrook Country House Hotel	(11.2 miles, 18.0 km, direction W)
Horton Inn	(13.1 miles, 21.0 km, direction SE)
The Bath Arms	(13.2 miles, 21.3 km, direction N)
The Queens Arms	(14.1 miles, 22.7 km, direction W)
All hotels in Shaftesbury