Place:


Sherborne  Dorset

 

In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Sherborne like this:

Sherborne.-- market town and par. with ry. sta., Dorset, 4¾ miles NE. of Yeovil Junction, 18 miles N. of Dorchester, and 118 SW. of London - par., 6467 ac., pop. 5636; town (comprising parts of Sherborne and Castletonpars.), 411 ac., pop. 5053; P.O., T.O., 2 Banks, 1 newspaper. Market-days, Thursday and Saturday. ...


Sherborne was the seat of a bishoprie from 705 until about 1075, when the see was removed to Old Sarum. The parish church was the church of the abbey, founded in 998 on the site of an earlier cathedral church; recently restored by the Digbys, it is one of the finest minsters in the south of England. The grammar school is now one of the largest publie schools in the kingdom. On an eminence near the town are the remains of the Norman castle built in the time of Stephen, and stormed by Fairfax in 1645. In the castle grounds is an Elizabethan mansion (Sherborne Castle), seat of the Digby family, built by Sir Walter Raleigh. Bradley (1692-1762), the astronomer, was a native of Sherborne, which has glove making, button and lace making, and silk throwing.

Sherborne through time

Sherborne is now part of West Dorset district. Click here for graphs and data of how West Dorset has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Sherborne itself, go to Units and Statistics.

How to reference this page:

GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Sherborne in West Dorset | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.

URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/509

Date accessed: 28th March 2024


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