St Aldhelm's chapel

Had a wonderful hike along the Dorset coast!!Weather was a bit iffy but we did have a few hours of dryness!!!This is the inside of a really fabulous chapel!!!Info overload coming up again!!! St. Aldhelm's Chapel

Situated on the tip of St. Aldhelm's (or St. Alban's) Head, this small chapel dedicated to St. Aldhelm is in the parish of Worth Matravers. It's early history is obscure. It's architecture is Norman in style; later documents suggest that it existed in the thirteenth century. There is an interesting legend about its origins recounted in the chapel guide:

It is said that in 1140 a bride and groom were sailing around the headland watched by the bride's father. A storm suddenly arose, the boat capsized and both were drowned. The desolate father is said to have built the chapel to their memory; and a light was always to be kept burning to warn other sailors.

Whether this story is true or not, most authorities accept that this small vaulted building was some kind of chantry. By the 17th and 18th centuries, the chapel was beginning to become derelict. It was restored in the 19th century, and re-opened as a chapel in 1874.:-)This is the outside!!!