About
Sherborne Museum tells the story of one of the most historically rich small towns in England — a place where Saxon abbey, medieval castle ruins, Elizabethan country house, and famous public school combine to create an extraordinary concentration of historical interest. Located in the abbey precinct close to Sherborne Abbey itself, the museum holds collections relating to all aspects of Sherborne's heritage from the Saxon period through to the twentieth century, with particular strength in its abbey and ecclesiastical material and in the local industries of silk-weaving and printing.
Sherborne's importance dates from the foundation of the Saxon bishopric in 705, when St Aldhelm became the first Bishop of Sherborne and built a cathedral here. The bishopric was later moved to Old Sarum, but Sherborne Abbey continued as a major Benedictine house until the Reformation, when its magnificent church became the parish church — preserving for the town one of the finest medieval ecclesiastical buildings in England, with a fan-vaulted nave roof that is among the supreme achievements of late medieval English Gothic. The museum holds extensive material on the abbey's long history, including the famous Sherborne Missal — the great late-medieval illuminated manuscript now in the British Library.
Sherborne has two castles: the original Sherborne Old Castle (now a romantic ruin in the care of English Heritage) built by Bishop Roger of Salisbury around 1120 and slighted by Parliamentary forces during the Civil War; and Sherborne Castle (sometimes called Sherborne New Castle or simply Sherborne Lodge), built by Sir Walter Raleigh from 1594 as a country house close to the old fortress. The Raleigh house remains in the ownership of the Wingfield-Digby family and is open to visitors. The museum documents both castles and the families associated with them, including Sir Walter Raleigh's brief Sherborne residency before his fall from favour and execution.
Sherborne School, founded in 1550 by Edward VI on the dissolved monastic site, has been one of England's leading public schools for nearly five centuries. Notable alumni include the wartime codebreaker and computer pioneer Alan Turing, the writer John Le Carré, and many other prominent figures. The museum holds material on the school alongside the wider history of education, civic life, and the local industries of silk-weaving and printing that were important to the town through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Allow a full day in Sherborne — the abbey, the museum, Sherborne Old Castle (English Heritage), and Sherborne Castle (the Raleigh house) together easily fill the day.
- Sherborne Abbey is unmissable — the fan-vaulted nave roof is one of the supreme achievements of medieval English architecture.
- Sherborne Old Castle (English Heritage) is a romantic ruin and a short walk from the town centre — combine with the museum and abbey for a full medieval experience.
- Sherborne Castle (the Raleigh house, private) has separate opening times and admission charges — check in advance if you plan to visit.
- The Almshouse of SS John the Baptist and John the Evangelist (founded 1437) still operates as almshouses and the chapel is occasionally open to visitors.
- Check seasonal opening — the museum is open Easter to October only.
- Sherborne railway station is on the main Waterloo–Exeter line, making the town accessible by train.
- Sherborne School welcomes visitors at certain times — contact the school in advance if you wish to see the historic buildings.
Highlights
Sherborne Abbey
Sherborne Abbey, originally founded as a Saxon cathedral by St Aldhelm in 705 and rebuilt by Norman and later masons, is one of the supreme medieval ecclesiastical buildings in England. The museum's abbey gallery documents its long history with particular emphasis on the magnificent fan-vaulted nave roof — a masterpiece of late medieval English Gothic completed around 1490 and unmatched anywhere outside Cambridge's King's College Chapel.
Material includes photographs, prints, drawings, architectural fragments, and reproductions from the famous Sherborne Missal (now in the British Library), one of the great illuminated manuscripts of late medieval England.
Sherborne's Two Castles
Sherborne is the only town in England with two castles. Sherborne Old Castle, built by the Norman Bishop Roger of Salisbury around 1120, was a major medieval fortress (now a romantic ruin in the care of English Heritage) that was slighted by Parliamentary forces after a long siege during the English Civil War.
Sir Walter Raleigh acquired it in 1592 and began building a new house — Sherborne New Castle (now usually called Sherborne Castle) — nearby in 1594, before his fall from favour and eventual execution.
The new house remains the seat of the Wingfield-Digby family. The museum documents both castles with displays of finds, photographs, and historical interpretation.
Sir Walter Raleigh in Sherborne
Sir Walter Raleigh — explorer, soldier, courtier, poet, and founder of England's first attempt at American colonisation — acquired Sherborne Castle estate in 1592 as a grant from Queen Elizabeth I. He spent considerable time at Sherborne during the 1590s, beginning the construction of his new house, planting gardens, and entertaining friends from the literary circle around the Earl of Essex.
His fall from favour after Elizabeth's death in 1603 and his eventual execution by James I in 1618 ended the connection, but the new house survives as his most enduring monument.
The museum documents Raleigh's Sherborne years with displays and interpretive material.
Sherborne School
Sherborne School, founded by Edward VI in 1550 on the site of the dissolved abbey buildings, has been one of England's leading public schools for nearly five centuries. Notable alumni include the wartime codebreaker and computer pioneer Alan Turing (who attended 1926–31), the spy novelist John Le Carré (David Cornwell), the playwright Christopher Chataway, and many other prominent figures.
The museum holds material on the school's history, photographs of school life through the centuries, and items relating to notable Old Shirburnians.
Alan Turing's school years are documented in particular detail.
Collections
Sherborne Museum holds approximately 10,000 objects, documents, and photographs relating to Sherborne and the surrounding North Dorset countryside. The abbey collections are particularly rich, including architectural fragments, reproductions from the Sherborne Missal, and material on the abbey's long Saxon, medieval, and post-Reformation history.
Castle material relates to both the medieval Old Castle and the Raleigh-built New Castle.
School material documents Sherborne School over nearly five centuries, with particular emphasis on notable alumni including Alan Turing. Industrial collections cover silk-weaving and printing. Social history collections document everyday life in Sherborne through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The photographic archive is extensive and includes material from many local families.
Sherborne: 1300 Years of History
Chronological display tracing Sherborne from the Saxon foundation through medieval, Tudor, and modern periods.
📍 Main Galleries
Sherborne Abbey
Display dedicated to the abbey's history, architecture, and the Sherborne Missal.
📍 Abbey Gallery
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.