St Catherine’s Chapel

This place is usually open now.

St Catherine’s Chapel is a beautiful 14th Century building set high on a hilltop overlooking Chesil Beach, the village of Abbotsbury and the ruins of Abbotsbury Abbey. Now under the guardianship of English Heritage, the chapel was built as a place of pilgrimage and retreat by the monks of Abbotsbury Abbey. The chapel’s position is in isolation on the hilltop, 80 metres above sea level and was repaired in 1742 and the late 19th century, but is largely unaltered.

The chapel is situated between 3 of the best attractions in Dorset – Abbotsbury Swannery and Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens, and you can walk up the hill to take in the views from the chapel and have a look inside. It is a fairly steep incline of approximately half a mile. One of the best places to view the chapel from, is on the Jurassic Coast Road at the viewpoint, just before descending down the hill into the village. Dogs are welcome on leads and cattle are usually grazing in the field around the chapel.