GOLD HILL can easily be found from Shaftesbury’s High Street behind the Town Hall via two alley ways. One being next to the oldest building in Shaftesbury, the 14th-century St. Peter’s Church.

Once at the Top of Gold Hill, the spectacular views you can get from the top of this ancient cobblestone street are the thatched and tiled cottages snaking down the hill and above the rooftops, you’ll catch glimpses of the rolling hills of Blackmore Vale.
When the skies are clear, you can see as far as Glastonbury Tor and Melbury Hill.

Turn around and at the top of the hill, is a cafe located in the old Town Gaol ('The Grate') This was was once the local Prison, named the Shaftesbury Grate (1808 - 1838). In 1808, it was recorded that a Town Gaol was then in use under part of the town's ancient Guildhall, located to the west of St Peter's Church and Golhill cross. In 1818, the prison, also known as 'The Grate', was described as a Lock-up House and was 'an old prison used to lock up vagrants, and other disorderly person apprehended by the Constables, till they have been brought before the Magistrates.'

GOLD HILL MUSEUM

If you were interested in learning more about the history of Gold Hill, then you should definitely pop inside The Gold Hill Museum.

It’s set inside a historic priest’s house that used to be part of St Peter’s Church and is now a modern exhibition that tells the story of Shaftesbury.
You’ll find eight galleries to explore that cover pre-history, the foundations of King Alfred the Great, Shaftesbury Abbey, rural life througoh the centuries and present-day! 

The Gold Hill Museum is usually open from 10.30 am – 4 pm and is FREE entry! Check here for the latest opening times.

Thanks to The Dorset Guide

SHAFTESBURY ABBEY

To the right, looking down Gold Hill are the tall stone wall and buttresses of the remains of the famous Shaftesbury Abbey, established by King Alfred the Great in 888AD. Although the Abbey was dissolved in 1539, these walls remain, towering over the cottages on Gold Hill and are Grade I listed (thought to have been built in the 1360s) and classified as a scheduled monument. Opposite are the gorgeous row of quintessential thatched and tiled cottages that snake around the hill dating back as early as the 1600s.

At the top of Gold Hill, access to the oldest building in Shaftesbury, the 14th-century St Peter’s Church.

SHAFTESBURY TOWN

Explore the historic market town of Shaftesbury
The High Street that has many independant shops to visit into or you can follow the Shaftesbury Heritage Trail around the town if you were keen to learn more about the history.