Sherborne

Sherborne (sher-born) is a market town in northwest Dorset, England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. The population of the town is 9,350 (as of 2001). 27.1% of the population is aged 65 or older.^{[nb 1]}

Sherborne is famous for its historic buildings, including its abbey, a manor house, its famous independent schools, and two castles (the 'old castle' ruins of a 12th century fortified palace, and a 'new' 16th century mansion, known as Sherborne Castle, built by Sir Walter Raleigh). Much of the old town, including the abbey and many medieval and Georgian buildings, is built from the distinctive ochre-coloured ham stone. The picturesque town is a popular, though relatively unknown, tourist town.

The town is served by Sherborne railway station.

History

The town was named scir burne by the Saxon inhabitants, a name meaning "clear stream" (see: Bourne (placename)) and is referred to as such in the Domesday book.

Sherborne was made the capital of Wessex, one of the seven Saxon kingdoms of England, and King Alfred's elder brothers King Ethelbert and King Ethelbald are buried in the abbey. In 705 the diocese was split between Sherborne and Winchester, and King Ine founded an Abbey for St Aldhelm, the first bishop of Sherborne. The Bishop's seat was moved to Old Sarum in 1075 and the church at Sherborne became a Benedictine Monastery. In the 15th century the church was deliberately burnt down during tensions between the town and the monastery, and was rebuilt between 1425 and 1504, though some of the Norman structure remains. In 1539 the monastery was bought by Sir John Horsey and became a conventional church. Sherborne was for many centuries the centre of a hundred of the same name.

See the article Sherborne Abbey for more on the history of the abbey.

In the 12th century Roger de Caen, Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England, built a fortified palace in Sherborne. The palace was destroyed in 1645 by General Fairfax, and the ruins are owned by English Heritage.

In 1594 Sir Walter Raleigh built an Elizabethan mansion in the grounds of the old palace, today known as Sherborne Castle.

Sherborne was also home to Captain Christopher Levett, a Yorkshire native who came to the West Country as His Majesty's Woodward of Somersetshire, and who remained in Sherborne as he turned to a career as a naval captain and early explorer of New England.^[2]

Education

There has been a school in Sherborne since the time of King Alfred, who was educated there. The school was refounded in 1550 as King Edward's public school, using some of the old abbey buildings, though it is now known simply as Sherborne School.

The school remains one of the top independent schools in Britain, boasting numerous successful alumni, including Alan Turing, Jeremy Irons, Chris Martin and John le Carré. Until 1992 there were also two Grammar Schools, Foster's School for boys and Lord Digby's School for girls. The tradition of education within the town was continued with the founding of Sherborne School For Girls (now known as Sherborne Girls) in 1895, another leading Independent School. Eminent past pupils of Sherborne Girls include soprano Emma Kirkby actress Maria Aitken, novelist Santa Montefiore, psychotherapist and founder of the charity Kids Company, Camilla Batmanghelidjh. A few miles out of the town, there is also the Catholic all-girls boarding school, Leweston School, which was established in 1948 at Leweston Manor. More recently, the other senior schools established in Sherborne are The Gryphon School and the Sherborne International College (for children from overseas).

Historical buildings

Other notable historical buildings in the town include the Almshouses of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, founded in their current form in 1438 and expanded in the Victorian Era in indistinguishable medieval style architecture. The conduit, Hospice of St Julian, and Lord Digby's school, now known as Sherborne House (designed by Benjamin Bastard) are also (relatively) well preserved old buildings in the town. Sherborne House was a subject for the BBC's "Restoration" program, but failed to win the final. The house is famed for its mural by Sir James Thornhill. In September 2010, the house was shrouded in scaffolding.

Environment and community

Sherborne has an active green community, with various environmental and sustainability organisations in the area. The Quarr Local Nature Reserve at the northern end of the town makes use of an old quarry and landfill site, Sherborne Area Partnership oversees a successful Environment Forum, and in 2009 Sherborne became an official Transition Town,^[3] running a number of projects and events as a community response to climate change and peak oil.

References in literature and popular culture

• Sherborne features in Thomas Hardy's Wessex as "Sherton Abbas".
• The film musical Goodbye, Mr. Chips was filmed in Sherborne.
• The film The Guinea Pig was partly filmed in Sherborne.
• The film The Browning Version was partly filmed at Sherborne school.
• John le Carré's novel A Murder of Quality takes place largely in a fictionalized version of Sherborne: Carne. The house in which the first murder is committed is Hyle House, in the south west of the town.

International relations

Twin towns

Sherborne is a founding member of the Douzelage, a unique town twinning association of 24 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals.^[4][5] Discussions regarding membership are also in hand with three further towns (Agros in Cyprus, Škofja Loka in Slovenia, and Tryavna in Bulgaria).

References

Sources

1. Pitt-Rivers, Michael, 1968. Dorset. London: Faber & Faber.
2. The 1985 AA illustrated guide to the towns and villages of Britain.

References

• "Sherborne East Ward - Census 2001". Office of National Statistics. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=6178304&c=Sherborne&d=14&e=15&g=439208&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1294993210735&enc=1&dsFamilyId=276. Retrieved 14 January 2011. 
• "Sherborne West Ward - Census 2001". Office of National Statistics. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=6178305&c=Sherborne&d=14&e=15&g=439223&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1294993300608&enc=1&dsFamilyId=276. Retrieved 14 January 2011. 

Notes

1. ^ Calculated by adding Sherborne East and West wards together. See reference for links to source tables.

External links

• Sherborne at the Open Directory Project
• Census data
• Town web site