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The striking half-ruin of a Norman abbey presides over the small hilltown of MALMESBURY , one of the oldest boroughs in England. Lying eleven miles south of Cirencester, it's not part of the Cotswolds geologically, though the town's early wealth was based on wool. Malmesbury certainly lacks the tweeness of the Cotswold towns to the north, but its new housing estates and modern developments cannot detract from the splendour of the abbey, a majestic structure with some of the finest Romanesque sculpture in the country. The #92 bus service connects Cirencester and Malmesbury every one or two hours (not Sun). The High Street leads up to the octagonal Market Cross , built in around 1490 to provide shelter from the rain. Nearby, the eighteenth-century Tolsey Gate leads through to the Abbey (daily: April-Oct 10am-5pm; Nov-March 10am-4pm), founded in the seventh century and once a powerful Benedictine foundation, but burnt down in about 1050. The twelfth-century building which replaced it was damaged during the Dissolution, and other parts collapsed at a later date, so that the nave is the only substantial Norman part to have survived. Taking pride of place is the south porch, where a multitude of sadly worn figures in three tiers surround the doorway, depicting scenes from the Creation, the Old Testament and the life of Christ, while inside the porch the apostles and Christ are carved in a fine deep relief. The tympanum shows Christ on a rainbow, supported by gracefully gymnastic angels. Within the main body of the church, the pale stone brings a dramatic freshness, particularly to the carving of the nave arches (look out for the Norman beak-heads) and of the clerestory. To the left of the high altar, the pulpit virtually hides the tomb of King Athelstan , grandson of Alfred the Great and the first Saxon to be recognized as king of England; the tomb, however, is empty, the location of the king's remains unknown. The abbey's greatest surviving treasures are housed in the parvise (room above the porch), reached via a narrow spiral staircase right of the main doorway, where pride of place is given to four Flemish medieval Bibles , written on parchment and sumptuously illuminated with gilt ink and exquisite miniature paintings. Malmesbury's tourist office is in the town hall off Cross Hayes car park (Mon-Thurs 9am-noon & 1-4.50pm, Fri closes 4.20pm, Sat 10am-noon & 1-4pm; tel 01666/823748, ). There are a number of accommodation choices right in the centre of town: the Old Manor House on Oxford St, above the material shop, has nicely old-fashioned rooms (tel 01666/823494; under GBP40) and on High Street, the pricier Kings Arms (tel 01666/823383, ; GBP50-60) has more standard facilities. For food the Whole Hog , a stone-walled tearoom-cum-pub overlooking the Market Place, is inexpensive, and Summer Cafe on the High Street, is better for teas and coffees and also does good sandwiches.
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