A MULTI-million pound scheme to transform a historic abbey is underway.

The £10m project will convert Stapehill Abbey into flats and houses, with a further 27 properties to be built in the grounds and the formal gardens restored.

A much-loved local landmark, the 19th century abbey has been closed for several years.

The painstaking work is due to take some three years.

Developers at company Ankers and Rawlings have committed to retaining many of the abbey's original features.

As a result, specialist contractors have been hired to fully restore many of the timbers, windows and bricks at the site.

Many of the artefacts found, including panelling and pews, will be re-used as part of the scheme.

Scott Rawlings of the development company said: "This for everyone at Ankers and Rawlings is a truly exciting project and one of the most interesting and challenging that we have ever undertaken.

"It's a huge commitment.

"Some days, around 50 people will be working at the site.

"The opportunity to refurbish such an interesting and historical local building to a unique standard is one we are really enjoying."

Nigel Price of agents Goadsby said: "We are thrilled to be instructed by Ankers and Rawlings on what I believe is one of the most exciting developments I have ever seen in the Ferndown and Wimborne area.

"While no prices have yet been released, we have been amazed by the initial response,"

Restored portions of the abbey will include the twin chapels, which date back to 1847.

The abbey was home to the Holy Cross Abbey order of Cistercian Trappist nuns from 1802 to 1991.

The founding group of women was led by Madame Augustin de Chabannes, a professed sister of the Parisian Abbey of Saint Antoine.

She had been imprisoned in the Bastille, narrowly escaping the guillotine when the Bastille was stormed, and fleeing to Switzerland and a brief respite at La Val Sainte, before joining the monastic odyssey, which took the refugees across Europe in search of asylum.

Stapehill Abbey was acquired by Stapehill Abbey Enterprises in 1990 and operated as a tourist attraction, craft centre and rural life museum until 2010.

Planning permission for the conversion was granted in 2014, and it also received the backing of English Heritage.