Minster Church of St Cuthburga, Wimborne Heritage

The Minster is dedicated to St. Cuthburga - sister to King Ina, King of the West Saxons. St. Cuthburga founded a Benedictine Nunnery here in c. A.D. 705. The twin towers of the magnificent Minster Church of St.Cuthburga, founded in AD 705, dominate the town. The oldest part of the Minster is the massive 12th century central tower. The rest of the building dates from the 13th and 14th centuries. The west tower is where you can see the famous Quarter Jack - Originally the figure was of a monk, but in Napoleonic times it was changed to depict a brightly uniformed grenadier, who still strikes the quarter hours.

Visitors to the Minster will be interested to see Wimborne Minster's Chained Library founded in 1686 by the Reverend William Stone, as a free library for the people of Wimborne, one of the first free libraries. The children in the town's orphanages and residents of the workhouse made the chains. These are fine figure of eight chains (similar to those designed by Michelangelo for the Lorentian library in Florence) which are fixed to the fronts of the books by a metal hasp.

Wimborne

Opening Times

The Minster is open to the Public at the following times:

Mondays to Saturdays
9.30 am to 5.30 pm

Sundays -
Mornings - for Services only
Afternoons - 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. Occasional Special Services are held on Sunday afternoons which may restrict access.

The Minster usually closes at 12 noon on the Bank holidays following Christmas, and on New Year’s Day. From Christmas, and during January and February the Minster closes at 4.00 pm.

The Chained Library is open to the Public. Winter Opening - Saturdays only 10.00am to 12.30pm. Please apply to the office on 01202-884753 for other times.

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