St Peter
Besford, Worcestershire
As well as its cathedral Chester has at least six ancient churches, several of them now no longer serving as churches.
Pershore Abbey celebrates its Benedictine heritage particularly through its welcome of visitors and pilgrims. We hope your visit to the Abbey will be both rewarding and memorable.
Pershore Abbey is an amazing survivor. The church we see today is the triumphant remnant of a much larger building, which was an important Benedictine monastery in medieval times.
Fire, storms and an earthquake battered the Abbey over the centuries. Henry VIII came closest to destroying it during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Most of the Abbey was demolished, but the people of Pershore saved part of it to be their parish church. Despite all these troubles, the Abbey has continued to be a sacred place of contemplation and celebration, the spiritual heart of Pershore.
The Abbey Church of the Holy Cross, Pershore (its full name) has been a centre for Christian Worship for over 1300 years. The present Abbey celebrated its Millennium in 1972.
What remains of the Abbey is the best part: the monks' Quire (which is now the nave) with its unique ploughshare vaulting, the combined triforium and clerestory, and the magnificent tower with its lantern and free standing ringing platform.
Still one of the finest example of Norman and Early English architecture in the country, Pershore Abbey is very much a broken building: Henry VIII destroyed the nave at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries; the north transept collapsed in the middle 1600s.
But, in spite of its brokenness, the Abbey symbolises a place where, through the love of Christ, a community can become whole.
We hope that, as you visit the Abbey and contemplate its glorifying of the majesty of God, you will find in its peacefulness an inspiration for your spiritual journey and pilgrimage through life. God bless you on that journey.