The picturesque village of Dorchester on Thames is home to the largest public building in south Oxfordshire, the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, more commonly known as Dorchester Abbey. Standing on the site of a 7th-century Saxon cathedral, the large church is all that remains of an Augustinian abbey, which was founded in 1140.
The wonderful church might have suffered the fate of other monastic buildings if not for the efforts of a local merchant who purchased the church from the crown and gave it to the village to serve as a parish church.
Directions
From M40 travelling South: No exit junction 7 so Exit at Junction 6 and take B4009 via Watlington to Benson, then A4074 to Dorchester-on-Thames.
From M40 travelling North: Exit at Junction 7 and take A329 via Stadhampton and Warborough to Shillingford, then A4074 to Dorchester-on-Thames.
From M4 travelling West: Exit at Junction 8/9 and take A404/A4130 via Henley on Thames and Nettlebed to Crowmarsh, then A4074 to Dorchester-on-Thames.
From M4 travelling East: Exit at Junction 13 and take A34 to Abingdon, then A415 to Dorchester-on-Thames.
Nearest Train Stations: Didcot Parkway (taxi service available) Oxford (bus and taxi services available)
Nearest Airport: London Heathrow (buses to central Oxford)
Parking
The Abbey has no car park. Please use the free public car park in Bridge End, directly opposite the Abbey. There is limited street parking and visitors are asked not to cause congestion or to inconvenience local residents.
For major events, please follow signs to the parking areas in the Recreation ground at the Oxford end of the village and/or ‘Abbey View’ to the South. Abbey view tends to be used only when the weather is dry.
The Abbey is a 5 – 10 minute walk from the parking.
Should the parking be full or shut due to bad weather, visitors should park on the roads near the Recreation Ground and along the Henley Road as indicated by the green lines on the map.
Abingdon Road, High Street and Henley Road are the bus route through the village and must be kept clear at all times so that the buses can pass. Private coaches may drop passengers in the bus stop at the end of the Rose Walk, and park in the lay by on the Henley Road.
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If you would prefer to book over the phone, call us on 01442 920303.
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