St. Aldhelm's is 800 years old. Legend has it that in the 12th century, a bride and groom were drowned off the coast here in a shipwreck. The brides father paid for the little building to be constructed so that a light may be lit here to guide other ships around the coast at night. In this telling, it was only later made a chapel. This isn't an unreasonable idea, as there are references in the 17th century to there being a seamark out here. It's also worth noting that the cross on top of the building is a Victorian addition. If it were built as a religious house, it's more likely to have been something like a hermitage or place of contemplation rather than a chapel for worship.
In the 1950s, a burial was discovered nearby, and the foundations of a small structure were discovered. There has been a suggestion that this may have been an anchorite's cell, which would be in keeping with the idea that this remote spot was used for worship by a recluse rather than regular service.
I suspect the truth is a little of all of them. The building of the structure may well have been funded by a grieving father, and it may well have acted as a place of worship before the Dissolution of the Monasteries and a seamark after (Not unlike Greyfriars Tower in King's Lynn).
Another legend says that there was a leper colony out here, which may also have threads of truth wound through it.
Whatever the history here, it's a stunning place to visit! You can follow my walk to get to this chapel in my latest YouTube video and blog.
///pesky.reprints.reassured
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