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The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin at Sherborne in the English county of Dorset, is usually called Sherborne Abbey. It has been an Saxon cathedral (705-1075), a Benedictine abbey (998 - 1539) and is now a parish church.
History
Cathedral
There may have been a Celtic Christian church called 'Lanprobi' at the site, and Kenwalc, King of the West Saxons is believed to be one of its founders.[1]
When the Saxon Diocese of Sherborne was founded in 705 by King Ine of Wessex, he set his kinsman Aldhelm as first Bishop of the see of Western Wessex, with his seat at Sherborne. Aldhelm was the first of twenty-seven Bishops of Sherborne.[1][2]
Abbey
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.
Parish church
The Benedictine foundation at Sherborne ended in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, but instead of surrendering the abbey to King Henry VIII, the people of Sherborne (as the people of many other places did) bought the building to be their parish church, which it still is. 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.
Architecture
The Abbey has several distinct architectural styles throughout. Saxon features still 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 style 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-vaulting Sherborne is still famous for, the remodeling by Abbot John Brunyng (1415-1436). The vaulting is believed to have finished in 1490.[1]
During this renovation, a riot in the town caused a fire that damaged much of the renovation,[2] causing delays. Traces of the fire's effects can still be seen in the reddening of the walls under the Tower. The fire and its effects also caused the design of the Nave to be altered. Some of the Nave's pillars are Norman piers cased in Perpendicular panelling.[1]
St Katherine's Chapel, built in the 14th century, but altered in the 15th, contains examples of early Renaissance classicism architecture [3]
Other features
Organ
The Abbey's organ, located in the North Transept was installed in 1858 by Gray and Davison, and completely rebuilt in 1955 by J.J. Walker and Co., though that restoration's action failed by 1987 and had to be replaced. The Organ was rebuilt again in 2003/04 by Kenneth Tickell, so thoroughly as to make it effectively a new instrument in the old case. The Organ case was moved from the Nave to the area under the West Window. [1][4]
Colours
The North Nave Aisle, sometimes called the 'Trinitie' or 'Dark' Aisle (as it is overshadowed by the adjoining Cloisters) contains several colours from the 2nd Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment and the Dorsetshire Militia. The South Nave Aisle contains colours of the 1st Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment.[1]
Memorials and tombs
The South Transept contains an impressive baroque memorial to John Digby, 3rd Earl of Bristol, made of marble and designed by John Nost. [5]
St Katherine's Chapel contains the 16th century tomb of John Leweston and wife Joan.[3] The Chapel was where Sir Walter Raleigh and Lady Raleigh attended services.[1]
The Digby Memorial, situated outside the Abbey, is a memorial to George Digby
References
- ^ a b c d e f g The Friends of Sherborne Abbey (1959). The Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Sherborne (12 ed.). Sherborne United Kingdom: Sawtells of Sherborne Ltd.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|format=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|accessyear=, and|accessmonth=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b G. Cyprian Alston (1913). "Sherborne Abbey". Catholic Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b "Sherborne Abbey: Stkatherine's Chapel". Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ "Sherborne Abbey: The Organ". Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ "Sherborne Abbey: The South Transept and Digby Memorial". Retrieved 2008-07-13.
External links
- Sherborne Abbey official website
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
50°56′48″N 2°31′0″W / 50.94667°N 2.51667°W Coordinates: Extra unexpected parameters