Shaftesbury Abbey is a fragment of what it used to be. But the history that surrounds us is inevitably fragmentary.

Documentary records are inevitably incomplete, all buildings change over time, and their relics are usually broken and dispersed – to the great advantage of museums. Nevertheless, though they can be ‘lost in plain sight’, or misattributed, piecemeal survivals from the past can be full of invaluable information when we inspect them closely.

This talk discusses the information that can be gleaned from historic fragments from the abbey and beyond.

Dr Jonathan Foyle is a lecturer at the University of Bath, specialising in Building Conservation and Architectural History. His early career included eight years as Curator of Historic Buildings, Historic Royal Palaces. This led to a broadcasting career, contributing to Time Team, and presenting series such as BBC’s Climbing Great Buildings and Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer?

An eloquent and charismatic speaker, Jonathan has been a great friend to Shaftesbury Abbey over the years, advising and collaborating on the SAVED excavation project and the recent installation of the fragmented St Gregory Mass sculpture in the Abbey Museum.

Age 16+

Tickets: £15. Friends of Shaftesbury Abbey and under 18s £13.

Talk by Peter Wood – a first-person reenactor – about Shaftesbury in the English Civil War.

Meet Master James Wood, late of the King’s Army, proud of his past service, but fearful for the future.

Tickets: £12. Members & Friends £10. Under 18s free.