Sherborne Abbey, Dorset - 2010 - a photo on Flickriver

Sherborne Abbey, Dorset - 2010

The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin at Sherborne, Dorset, is usually called Sherborne Abbey. It has been a Saxon cathedral (705–1075), a Benedictine abbey (998–1539) and is now a parish church. Sir Walter and Lady Raleigh attended services here during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

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There may have been a Celtic church on the site. When the Saxon Diocese of Sherborne was founded in 705 by King Ine of Wessex, he appointed Aldhelm as first Bishop of Western Wessex, with his seat at Sherborne. Aldhelm was the first of twenty-seven Bishops of Sherborne.

The twentieth bishop was Wulfsige III (or St. Wulfsin). In 998 he established a Benedictine abbey at Sherborne and became its first abbot. In 1075 the bishopric of Sherborne was transferred to Old Sarum, so Sherborne remained an abbey church but was no longer a cathedral. The bishop (in Old Sarum) remained the nominal head of the abbey until 1122, when Roger de Caen, Bishop of Salisbury, made the abbey independent.

The Benedictine foundation at Sherborne ended with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, when the abbey surrendered to King Henry VIII. Various properties at Sherborne were bought from the king by Sir John Horsey who then sold the abbey to the people of Sherborne, who bought the building to be their parish church, which it still is. The original parish church alongside the abbey was demolished, though the foundations are still visible. In 1550, King Edward VI issued a new charter to the school that had existed at Sherborne since 705, and some of the remaining abbey buildings were turned over to it.

The Abbey has several distinct architectural styles. Saxon features remain in some parts of the Abbey, mainly around the Western door. Roger of Caen knocked down the bulk of the Saxon church and replaced it with a much larger, Norman church. The Lady Chapel and Bishop Robert's Chapel were added in the 13th century in the Early English style, and in the 15th century, the choir section was rebuilt in the Perpendicular style, including the fan-vaulted ceiling Sherborne is still famous for. The vaulting is believed to have finished in 1490. During this renovation a town riot caused a fire that damaged much of the work, causing delays. Traces of the fire can still be seen in the reddening of the walls under the tower.

The North Choir Aisle contains two tombs believed to be those of King Æthelbald of Wessex and his brother King Ethelbert of Wessex, elder brothers to Alfred the Great. Inside the Wykeham chapel is the tomb of Sir John Horsey and his son. Horsey had bought the church after the Dissolution of the Monasteries and sold it to the townspeople. Also in the Chapel is the plainly marked tomb of the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt.

The South Transept contains the impressive baroque memorial to John Digby, 3rd Earl of Bristol, made of marble and designed by John Nost. St Katherine's Chapel contains the 16th century tomb of John Leweston and wife Joan.

Taken on: July 9, 2010

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Sets appears in: • Sherborne Abbey 2006 and 2010

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