DID you know that the first attempt to civilise Germany was a flop and that 30 nuns from Wimborne had to be wheeled in to make a proper job of it?

Or that a former Archbishop of Canterbury who sent Protestant martyrs to the stake started his ecclesiastical career as a teenaged Dean of the Minster town?

Wimborne is to celebrate 1,300 years as a seat of Christianity next summer in a series of events to include drama, music, poetry, exhibitions and academic lectures.

TS Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral will be performed in the Minster and musical dates include a 60-strong gospel choir from Ochsenfurt, Wimborne's German twin town.

The Methodist Church is bringing down a national collection of modern masters, including work by Graham Sutherland, Patrick Heron and Elisabeth Frink.

And a spectacular modern cope commissioned by George Carey for his enthronement as Archbishop of Canterbury will be the centrepiece of an exhibition of church vestments staged by Friends of the Minster.

Rector John Holbrook said he was excited at the prospect.

"I have never been part of a church with its own saint," he said.

St Cuthburga founded a Benedictine convent and St Boniface recruited 30 of its nuns to help him Christianise the pagan tribes of Germany after his first attempt failed.

"The second time it worked so the sisters must have made a difference," said John

"This is a mission church which inspires people. The history and the holiness of the place - you can almost touch it.

"My overall dream is that we might draw inspiration from the stories."

Planned lectures include one on Cardinal Reginald Pole, who became Dean of Wimborne when he was just a lad. His rise was meteoric - he was made Archbishop of Canterbury two days after he was ordained.

With Queen Mary Tudor, he tried hard to make England Catholic again following Henry VIII's changes.

"He sent hundreds of Protestants to the stake - no one quite understands what drove him," John said.

Wimborne is hoping a gentler churchman will honour them with his presence next year. The current Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has been invited.

First published: September 1