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| Abbey life |
I spent a few days here teaching Easter revision at Sherborne international, an associate organisation of its illustrious neighbour, Sherborne School, and took the time to explore this delightful town. Hived up in the girls boarding house (they were on holidays of course!), the view from the bedroom looked straight out over towards the famous abbey, whilst across the yard was an old building that provided lodgings for Alan Turing when he was a scholar at Sherborne School in the inter war years. A blue plaque on the wall records this little bit of history. Sherborne is a bit of a centre for world renowned educational establishments with Sherborne boys school, Sherborne girls school and the preparatory school as well. Sherborne school itself is popular for filmmakers who chose it for filming Goodbye Mr Chips in 1969, and more recently for The Imitation Game and Wolf Hall.
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| Sherborne School |
The town sits in a valley surrounded by gentle Dorset hills and notably bounded by the railway line on the south side. Approaching the town from the south the road follows the hillside and provides a fine view down over the town to the north. Here lies an area of common land tracing both the rail line and the river, and of course you would be seen as a naked rambler if you did not have the requisite dog to accompany you. Once over the level crossing the road passes a modern Sainsbury's to the right, built with materials a cut above your average Sainsbury's to blend in with the general honey coloured ambience. After that you're right into the bosom of the town.
The abbey is a large and fine specimen, mainly 15th century, honed in that fine yellow stone that makes you think twice whether you're really in Dorset, hemmed in from the north by Sherborne school and its ancient courtyards, and bordered by an open area of grass, seating and pathway to the south. I was rather amused to see the Sherborne food bank in the abbey, an empty container which I thought reflected the obvious prosperity of this area! As for the abbey itself, none other than Simon Jenkins in his book, ‘England's Thousand Best Churches,’ says of the fan vaulting, ‘I would pit Sherborne’s roof against any contemporary work of the Italian Renaissance.’ And Sir Walter Raleigh worshipped here as well.
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| Sherborne Abbey |
If you fancy a museum tour after visiting the abbey, Sherborne museum sits in the little lane, Church Lane, that runs from the Abbey to the Conduit at the bottom of Cheap St. After the museum stop, passing under the Bow Arch you move from ecclesiastical to commercial territory onto Cheap St and the Parade where regular markets are held. Here is the Conduit, the monks lavatorium or wash house originally sited inside the cloisters but moved to this point after 1539 and the dissolution of the monasteries.
The main thoroughfare, Cheap St, swathes north - south through the town with the usual concoction of bookshops, chemists, cafes and chains purveying their business from medieval type buildings of higher than average attractiveness. About two thirds of the way down, a right turn into the wonderfully named Half Moon St takes you past the abbey to your right and on out of town, in fact past the girls boarding house. On this road are a couple of watering holes opposite the abbey and an Indian restaurant on the right just before you get to the abbey and worth a visit. I dined there like a king on my first night.
Sherborne railway station at the bottom or south end of the town borders Pageant Park, a salubrious green space making any arrival think they have arrived in an English spa town. These gardens were funded by the great pageant of 1905 held to celebrate the 1200th anniversary of St Aldhelm, Sherborne’s first bishop. An attractive piece of greenery to draw one into Sherborne’s charm.
Sherborne is fortunate enough to be graced with not one but two castles, the Old and the New, both with Sir Walter Raleigh connections. How many towns can boast that? The Old Castle is much more of a ruin, although quite a respectable one as ruins go. Both castles are within walking distance of the town centre to the east and south east. The old castle is more or less straight out of the town centre along Newland, the main road east, then up a little side road, Castleton Rd flanked at the end by some ancient residences. Then up a track to the kiosk where you pay your entrance fee to English Heritage (£4.30 for an adult).
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| Old Castle |
A bridge to the left carries you over the moat and through the south west gatehouse built by the Bishop Roger of Salisbury into an expansive circle of grass in the middle of which are the remains of the Great Tower, the upper parts of which were destroyed by parliamentary forces after the Civil War. Not too much to see here unless you have a thing for medieval brickwork. However it provides a romantic setting, a heap of ruins in the centre of a large grass circle itself surrounded by a moat and outer footpath. The views take In the town, the gentle Dorset countryside and a good peek into the grounds of the New Castle virtually stuck onto the edge of the old one.
There's a lot more to the New Castle, poised on the edge of a lake and surrounded by sumptuously rolling manicured grounds. This castle, a sixteenth century Tudor mansion (and more of a mansion than a castle!) and built by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1594, I didn't get to see, but it's equally accessible from the town centre if you take the main street south towards the rail station. Over the level crossing and you've got the dog walking meadows to the left while the main road curls up and if you bear left the castle entrance is a short distance on the right. The entrance fee for the castle and gardens is £12. Sir Walter Raleigh was eventually imprisoned for treason and the castle was returned to the crown. Sir John Digby acquired the castle in 1617 and it has been the home of the Digby family since then. That famous mainstay of stately home grounds design, Capability Brown created the landscape garden including the 50 acre lake.
Incidentally if you cross the road before getting to the castle, straight on from the level crossing, there is a footpath that takes you up the hillside to the right of the castle grounds and on into rolling Dorset countryside with sweeping views of the castle and its grounds to the left and rustic panoramas generally all round. It's a good second best if you've little time or can't afford another castle visit, and you keep fit!
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| New Castle in distance |
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What's not to like! Two castles sitting on the very town doorstep and accessible on foot from a town centre teashop. No more distance than the flight of an arrow! Go for it! I
