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Restoration of the shrine of St Birinus

Each year a charitable cause is supported by a collection during the service in Dorchester at the end of the pilgrimage. This is advertised in the current information sheet. But also, following the ancient tradition of pilgrims, gifts can be given by those who wish to make an offering in honour of St Birinus himself - the real inspiration behind the pilgrimage.

In medieval times, the Augustinian monks who lived in Dorchester used the gift money to develop their abbey church from a Romanesque Norman cathedral into the wonderful gothic ‘shrine church’ we see today.

Where the present, partly reconstructed, shrine monument now stands the monks commissioned a more impressive structure, designed to be a both a fitting memorial to St Birinus and goal for pilgrims. Here, the pilgrims were able to honour the memory of St Birinus at the end of their pilgrimage by offering prayers of thanksgiving to God, and pleas for His Divine grace.

The loss of the elaborate shrine monument following the reformation was intended to obliterate the association of the abbey church with pilgrimage – which was subsequently frowned upon as a superstitious aspect of the ‘old’ religion.

The monks left, and their cloister and domestic buildings were levelled for sale as building stone. The records of the monastery were burnt, together with the carved wooden fittings and embroidered robes of the church. The great carved ‘teaching’ windows of the sanctuary were spoilt by the removal of carvings of Christ and Mary because they were believed to have been worshipped by the common folk.

Fortunately the windows still retain much of their glory as a reminder to us of the creativity inspired by the legacy of St Birinus in former times.

Today the abbey church is very much a place of inspiration and creativity, with music being performed regularly, and a community of artists and craftspeople continually involved in the restoration and improvement of the building. The pilgrimage is a part of this renewed celebration of the creative essence of worship to God.

At the reformation, when the shrine to St Birinus was broken up, finely carved parts of it were carefully protected by being built into a blocked up doorway. These were recovered, and built into the present restored monument in the 1960’s. Subsequently, more parts have been found, giving a better idea of what the shrine would have looked like.

As a result, it has become possible to make a much better reconstruction of the shrine, and pilgrims are invited to give money towards the project. A fund was launched at last year’s pilgrimage, and an opportunity to give will again be provided at the coming pilgrimage.

Below is St Birinus’ shrine in its present form:

The outer structure of the shrine is made from modern-looking undecorated square blocks of stone, but hidden within the tops of the niches, are finely carved sections from the original medieval shrine. Some unused sections of the shrine that have recently been discovered are of fine marble with exquisite decorative carving. The restoration of the shrine will enable the incorporation of these sections, and provide an opportunity for craftspeople to use their skills in reproducing the missing sections.

Below is the recently refurbished shrine of St Alban in St Alban’s Abbey –

It is believed that the original St Birinus shrine would have resembled this in having external carving and buttresses:

St Alban’s shrine is in use here as a place of prayer. It provides an ecumenical focus for devotion and renewal.

The reconstruction of St Birinus’ shrine will be used in the same way by future pilgrims to Dorchester.