Lying on the Dorset-Somerset
border, Sherborne once occupied a strategic
location and was the Saxon capital of Wessex. It
still has reminders of its importance in the shape
of an abbey and two castles. The novelist Thomas
Hardy re-named it ‘Sherton Abbas’ in his book
‘Woodlanders’.
|
Sherborne Castle and Lake - Photo:
John Allan
CCL |
Sherborne Abbey dates back
to the 8th century and was used as
a cathedral. It had to be rebuilt in the 15th
century and contains the remains of two of
Alfred the Great’s brothers as well as Thomas
Wyatt, the 16th century poet.
Sherborne School has occupied part of the
abbey since 1550.
A local 12th
century castle was offered to Sir Walter
Raleigh as a gift by Elizabeth I. Although he
graciously accepted this prize he quickly
built a more comfortable version of it - an
Elizabethan manor house now known as Sherborne
Castle. |
The ruins of an historic
palace, now owned by English Heritage, lie close
by. It was built by the Bishop of Salisbury,
Chancellor of England, but was destroyed in 1645
during the Civil War.
