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St Edward’s Way – A pilgrimage following the footsteps of the elaborate yet mournful ceromony of murdered teenager, King Edward. Travelling from Wareham on the banks of Poole Harbour to his resting place as a Saint in Shaftesbury Abbey.
Distance: 33miles/51km
Terrain: Tracks, paths, fields and roads.
Access: All on a mixture of footpaths and bridleways. Entire route not possible by bike.
Environment: Forest/woodland, heath, chalk down lands and river valleys.
Climb: Average gradients
Dogs: On leads where livestock is present and in accordance with any notices on the walk and The Countryside Code.
1. Wareham to Winterborne Kingston
2. Winterborne Kingston to Shillingstone
3. Shillingstone to Shaftesbury
History
To fully understand the story of St Edward it is necessary to delve back into time to King Alfred the Great. Anglo-Saxon England was vulnerable to frequent attacks by the Vikings, who had nearly conquered the entirety of Wessex, until a decisive victory was won at the Battle of Edington under King Alfred in 878. In 927 Athelstan (King Alfred’s grandson) finally conquered Northumbria and became the first King of England. With no heir, the succession passed to his half-brother Edward. He was killed in a fight and so the crown was inherited by his 16 year old son, Edwig, but the lands split between him and his brother, Edgar; Wessex came under control of Edwig while north of the Thames under Edmund – a north south divide that still exists today, all be it socially! Edwig died at 24 and the country united again under Edgar.
Edgar’s reign was dominated by the Benedictine Reform Movement. In Edgar’s eyes it was a Robin Hood act, taking land from those that were wealthy and donating it to the religious institutions of England. Nevertheless, the taking was done forcibly generating a number of enemies in the process. King Edgar had four children. His oldest was Edward, born around 962, to Aethelfaed a nun at Wilton Abby. Historical tales differ as to whether it was a product of an affair, for which Edgar was duly punished, or whether there was a marriage, but it is recorded that Aethelfaed died shortly after the birth. Edgar also had a daughter, Edith, but his first official queen was Aelfthryth, with whom he had two sons, Edmund, who died in 971, and Aethelred.
In 975 Edgar died and, at aged 13, Edward (King Alfred’s Great-Great grandson) became King. There was only a little dispute over his succession, with Aelfthryth claiming her own son’s right, but within two weeks he had been crowned and Aethelred was given land in compensation. However, the division was also caused by the boys’ characters, rather than just the legitimacy of birth, although it had been an easy argument. The Benedictine Reform Movement was slowly being reversed as those that had land taken made successful efforts in grabbing it back while Edward was distracted with starting his reign as he meant to go on – leading with an iron fist. Those in his circles, in both secular and religious roles, were victim to his frequent outbursts of rage and physical beatings. In comparison Aethelred appeared a kinder and softer soul, still backed by his own formidable mother.
In March 978, aged 16, King Edward travelled down to Corfe Castle to visit his step mother, Aelfthryth, and brother, but from then on records are a little unclear. On his arrival at the Castle gates, now West Street, a group of men went out to meet him, as was usual, but he was asked to wait before entering. While patiently sitting on his horse a man grabbed his left arm while another grabbed his right, leaving the king defenceless. All of a sudden he was hit and he fell to the ground with the successive blows killing him. His body was covered with a rough blanket, and either taken to an old run down cottage or hidden in the well for the night, then quickly buried in Wareham without any royal honour.
The finger of blame has always pointed to Aelfthryth for the sole purpose of her son to become King, which was the outcome. Other possibilities include that it was not her but her followers. Away from Aelfthryth, guilty parties could include noblemen rising up to gain their stolen lands back or enemies created by his aggressive temperament. Another theory is that it was possibly an accident. Nevertheless, he had gained his position as a divine right and therefore to kill a king was seen to be a sin of the first order, deeply troubling the entire country. Viking raids also intensified, suggesting to them that they were all being punished by a godly being.
Medieval kings were considered divine and so he was soon recognised as a saint, encouraged by his own brother Aethelred, but it took a year to be buried honourably. Aelfhere arrived in 979 to find the body intact, lacking any signs of decomposition. He then, along with a great train of carriages and in great ceremony, transported the body to Shaftesbury Abbey. Founded by Edward’s Great Great Grandfather, Alfred the Great, as a nunnery for his daughter, Aethelgifu, the Abbey gained high status as the resting place for the king. Edward’s shrine became an object of pilgrimage and by the time of the Norman arrival, Shaftesbury Abbey was one of the richest nunneries of the country. At times, the town was even called Edwardstowe meaning ‘the Holy Place of Edward’.
During the dissolution, the abbey was razed to the ground but in a panic the shrine of St Edward was moved and hidden. In 1932, amateur historian, John Wilson-Claridge carried out a number of small excavations, some of which produced bones which he claimed to be the saint. In 1963 the bones were examined again the results concluded that they were a man between the age of 17-19 who had been beaten. Carbon dating also placed them in the same 10th century period. The bones now rest in the Orthodox Church of St Edward the Martyr in Brookwood, Surrey with the hope that they might one day return but his feast day is still celebrated on the 18th March.
Route
The almost 33 mile route between Wareham and Shaftesbury Abbey, developed by the Dorset Ramblers, follows that taken by those transporting St Edward the Martyr to his reburial.
It can be broken up into three stages:
1. Wareham to Winterborne Kingston
2. Winterborne Kingston to Shillingstone
3. Shillingstone to Shaftesbury
1. Wareham to Winterborne Kingston
Distance: 9.75 miles/16km
Start Point: Lady St Mary Church, Wareham. (Postcode: BH20 4NA, Grid Reference: SY924871, What Three Words: letter.evolution.cups).
Finish Point: St Nicholas, Winterborne Kingston. (Postcode: DT11 9BJ, Grid Reference: SY862976, What Three Words: nuzzling.thinks.hamper).
Walks that cut the trail: Wareham, Wareham Forest, Anderson and Winterborne Kingston.
Refreshments: A number of options in Wareham, The Silent Woman in Wareham Forest and The Greyhound in Winterborne Kingston
The route starts in the busy town of Wareham before leaving the old town walls, over the River Piddle and into Wareham Forest. Following the Wareham Forest Way it passes the Iron Age hillfort of Woolsbarrow and the Charborough owned Morden Park to cross the A31 to Bloxworth. Skim the manor and Bere Wood to then cross the A35 outside Bere Regis down into the Winterborne Valley. Join the Roman Road of Ackling Dyke to arrive in the village of Winterborne Kingston.
2. Winterborne Kingston to Shillingstone
Distance: 13.3 miles/21km
Start Point: St Nicholas, Winterborne Kingston. (Postcode: DT11 9BJ, Grid Reference: SY862976, What Three Words: nuzzling.thinks.hamper).
Finish Point: Holy Rood, Shillingstone. (Postcode: DT11 0SL, Grid Reference: ST824114, What Three Words: unusually.brain.playroom).
Walks that cut the trail: Anderson, The Crown, Winterborne Stickland, Travellers Rest, Wessex Ridgeway part I and The North Dorset Trailway.
Refreshments: The Greyhound in Winterborne Kingston and The Old Ox in Shillingstone.
Re-join the Roman road out of the village to divert up the hill to the ancient earthwork of Combs Ditch. Follow its edge over the A354 and into the chalkland landscape of a lost estate. Join Lady Caroline’s Drive down into Winterborne Stickland to then join the old routes of the turnpike through Blandford Forest. Descend the steep slope of Okeford Hill to enter Shillingstone.
3. Shillingstone to Shaftesbury
Distance: 10.1 miles/16.25km
Start Point: Holy Rood, Shillingstone. (Postcode: DT11 0SL, Grid Reference: ST824114, What Three Words: unusually.brain.playroom).
Finish Point: Shaftesbury Abbey (Postcode: SP7 8JR, Grid Reference: ST861229, What Three Words: thud.rifled.trump).
Walks that cut the trail: The North Dorset Trailway, Child Okeford, Hambledon Hill, West Orchard and Guy’s Marsh.
Refreshments: The Old Ox in Shillingstone, The Bakers Arms & Saxon Arms in Child Okeford, The Cricketers in Stourpaine, The Talbot in Iwerne Minster, The Fontmell in Fontmell Magna and a number of options in Shaftesbury.
Leave the village using the old Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, with Hambledon Hill in the distance. Leave the railway, cross the Stour at Bere Marsh Farm and head into Okeford Fitzpaine. Skim the edge of Hambledon Hill’s ramparts, passing a stone circle on the way, to then weave between a number of country roads. Pass old forgotten mills sitting on banks of little tributaries of the Stour surrounded on two sides by the high peaks of Melbury Beacon, Fontmell Down, Okeford and Bullbarrow Hills. Pass the architectural wonder at Twyford, with views over the Blackmore Vale before ascending up the hill to Shaftesbury. Take the final climb up the famous Hovis hill of Gold hill before arriving at the ruins of Shaftesbury Abbey.
