Sherborne Abbey

The church was founded in 705 as a Benedictine monastery serving as the cathedral of the western part of the area of Wessex.

It was rebuilt on a grand scale in the 10th century and again in the 12th (by which time the see had been removed to Salisbury). The Norman crossing and much other work survives.

At the Dissolution in 1539 it was sold to the townspeople and became their parish church.

A century earlier, in 1437, the townspeople had fallen out so badly with the monks of the abbey that they burned much of the church down. They had to pay for the rebuilding, so they ended up owning a building they had already largely paid for. The abbey's great glory springs from two building campaigns of the 15th century.

These gave the church most of its present character, including the breathtaking fan vaults, the first ever attempted on this scale, and some of the best to be seen anywhere in the country. The vaulting is all the more effective because it achieves its greatness by delicacy and lightness. Integral to the vaulting are many bosses with foliated, heraldic or naturalistic designs.

There are corbels with scenes from 15th century life as well as other images. There are many treasures in the church including the heaviest peal of eight bells in the world (the tenor, Great Tom, was the gift of Cardinal Wolsey), a lovely engraved glass reredos by Lawrence Whistler in the Lady Chapel, and a late 20th century west window by John Hayward.

There are also some fascinating misericords waiting to be discovered, including one with a lively carving of a wife beating her husband, as well as a number of tombs. The South transept is home to a grand and imposing marble monument to John Digby, Earl of Bristol, who is flanked by his two wives. It was created by John Nost in 1698.