Difference between revisions of "Sherborne Abbey"
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==History== | ==History== | ||
| − | It is believed that there was a Celtic Christian | + | It is believed that there was a Celtic Christian church called ''Lanprobi'' here as early as AD 658 when Dorset was still within the lands of the native Britons.<ref name=ech>[https://greatenglishchurches.co.uk/html/sherborne_abbey.html Sherborne Abbey] on ''Great English Churches''</ref> Later, Cenwalh, King of the West Saxons is believed to be one of the founders of the church at Sherborne.<ref name=fr>{{cite book|title=The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Sherborne|last=The Friends of Sherborne Abbey|first=|date=May 1959|publisher=Sawtells of Sherborne Ltd.|isbn=|edition=12|location=Sherborne United Kingdom|type=Paperback}}</ref> |
===Cathedral and abbey=== | ===Cathedral and abbey=== | ||
In 705, King Ine of [[Wessex]] founded the Diocese of Sherborne to relieve pressure from the growing see of Winchester,<ref name=ech /> and he appointed Aldhelm as first Bishop, with his seat at Sherborne. Aldhelm was the first of twenty-seven Bishops of Sherborne.<ref name=fr /> | In 705, King Ine of [[Wessex]] founded the Diocese of Sherborne to relieve pressure from the growing see of Winchester,<ref name=ech /> and he appointed Aldhelm as first Bishop, with his seat at Sherborne. Aldhelm was the first of twenty-seven Bishops of Sherborne.<ref name=fr /> | ||
| − | The twentieth bishop was Wulfsige III (or St | + | 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 Cathedral|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. | In 1075 the bishopric of Sherborne was transferred to [[Old Sarum Cathedral|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. | ||
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==Architecture== | ==Architecture== | ||
[[File:Sherborne Abbey - 2639488.jpg|left|thumb|200px|The nave and chancel looking east]] | [[File:Sherborne Abbey - 2639488.jpg|left|thumb|200px|The nave and chancel looking east]] | ||
| − | The Abbey is a Grade I listed building.<ref>{{NHLE|1110824|Abbey Church of St Mary}}</ref> It has several distinct architectural styles throughout. Saxon features still remain in some parts of the Abbey, mainly around the Western door. Roger of Caen demolished most of the Saxon church and replaced it with a much larger, Norman style church. | + | The Abbey is a Grade-I listed building.<ref>{{NHLE|1110824|Abbey Church of St Mary}}</ref> It has several distinct architectural styles throughout. Saxon features still remain in some parts of the Abbey, mainly around the Western door. Roger of Caen demolished most 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 Gothic 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 remodelling by William Smyth, under Abbot John Brunyng (1415–1436). The vaulting is believed to have finished in 1490.<ref name=fr/> | The Lady Chapel and Bishop Robert's Chapel were added in the 13th century in the Early English Gothic 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 remodelling by William Smyth, under Abbot John Brunyng (1415–1436). The vaulting is believed to have finished in 1490.<ref name=fr/> | ||
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The South Transept contains an impressive baroque memorial to John Digby, 3rd Earl of Bristol, made of marble and designed by John Nost.<ref name=sd>{{cite web|url=http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/sherbornedigbym.htm |title=Sherborne Abbey: The South Transept and Digby Memorial|accessdate=2008-07-13}}</ref> Additionally there is a memorial to Robert and Mary Digby.<ref name=fr/><ref>{{cite book |last=Hutchins |first=John |date=1861 |title=The History and Antiquities Of the County Of Dorset |url=http://www.opcdorset.org/SherborneFiles/SherborneMIs.htm |location=London |publisher=John Bowyer Nichols and Sons }}</ref> | The South Transept contains an impressive baroque memorial to John Digby, 3rd Earl of Bristol, made of marble and designed by John Nost.<ref name=sd>{{cite web|url=http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/sherbornedigbym.htm |title=Sherborne Abbey: The South Transept and Digby Memorial|accessdate=2008-07-13}}</ref> Additionally there is a memorial to Robert and Mary Digby.<ref name=fr/><ref>{{cite book |last=Hutchins |first=John |date=1861 |title=The History and Antiquities Of the County Of Dorset |url=http://www.opcdorset.org/SherborneFiles/SherborneMIs.htm |location=London |publisher=John Bowyer Nichols and Sons }}</ref> | ||
| − | St Katherine's Chapel contains the 16th century tomb of John Leweston and wife Joan.<ref name=s2/> The Chapel was where Sir Walter Raleigh and Lady Raleigh attended services.<ref name=fr/> | + | St Katherine's Chapel contains the 16th-century tomb of John Leweston and wife Joan.<ref name=s2/> The Chapel was where Sir Walter Raleigh and Lady Raleigh attended services.<ref name=fr/> |
The North Aisle contains a memorial to Abbot Clement (1163) and an effigy to an unknown Prior, while the South Aisle contains an effigy of Abbot Lawrence of Bradford (1246).<ref name=fr/> | The North Aisle contains a memorial to Abbot Clement (1163) and an effigy to an unknown Prior, while the South Aisle contains an effigy of Abbot Lawrence of Bradford (1246).<ref name=fr/> | ||
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===Windows=== | ===Windows=== | ||
| − | The Abbey contains a number of stained glass windows. The diarist Richard Symonds, post 1664-1665, described the location, blazon and surname for coats of arms of some leading families of Dorset displayed on stained glass in the Sherborne church as he observed them during the Marches of the Royal Army during the Civil War.<ref name=RSD>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kLhWCHRp8foC&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=gules+arches+argent&source=bl&ots=axlTYL8Nsp&sig=ACfU3U30egetUfS4pdDpInrJN4U8dCtSSg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_4urq16XgAhUBo4MKHc11DWEQ6AEwAnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=gules%20arches%20argent&f=false Richard Symonds's Diary of the Marches of the Royal Army.] By Richard Symonds, Royal Historical Society (Great Britain) | + | The Abbey contains a number of stained-glass windows. The diarist Richard Symonds, post 1664-1665, described the location, blazon and surname for coats of arms of some leading families of Dorset displayed on stained glass in the Sherborne church as he observed them during the Marches of the Royal Army during the Civil War.<ref name=RSD>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kLhWCHRp8foC&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=gules+arches+argent&source=bl&ots=axlTYL8Nsp&sig=ACfU3U30egetUfS4pdDpInrJN4U8dCtSSg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_4urq16XgAhUBo4MKHc11DWEQ6AEwAnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=gules%20arches%20argent&f=false Richard Symonds's Diary of the Marches of the Royal Army.] By Richard Symonds, Royal Historical Society (Great Britain) |
Cambridge University Press, 1997 - History - 296 pages. Sherborne Church. pp. 116-122. Sherborne Lodge. p. 122.; accessed February 2019.</ref> | Cambridge University Press, 1997 - History - 296 pages. Sherborne Church. pp. 116-122. Sherborne Lodge. p. 122.; accessed February 2019.</ref> | ||
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===Organ=== | ===Organ=== | ||
[[File:The organ, Sherborne Abbey 01.jpg|thumb|The organ in the north transept]] | [[File:The organ, Sherborne Abbey 01.jpg|thumb|The organ in the north transept]] | ||
| − | The Abbey's organ, located in the North Transept, was installed in 1856<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The New Organ |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000411/18560311/046/0002 |newspaper=Sherborne Mercury |location=Sherborne |date=11 March 1856 | | + | The Abbey's organ, located in the North Transept, was installed in 1856<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The New Organ |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000411/18560311/046/0002 |newspaper=Sherborne Mercury |location=Sherborne |date=11 March 1856 |accessdate=26 September 2015|via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription }}</ref> by Gray & Davison] to some considerable acclaim. It was completely rebuilt in 1955 by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd] with a remote console in the Crossing and a large specification which included a Tuba. In 1972 John Coulson of Bristol again altered the organ by adding a neo-classically styled ‘Positiv’ in place of the Choir manual, some big mixtures on the Great—including the fancifully named Stieglitz—and increased wind pressures throughout. By 1987 an increasing lack of reliability led to a proposed scheme by Bishops, supported by John Norman, Cecil Clutton and Patrick Moule, favouring a return to the Gray & Davison past by almost halving the number of stops, returning the console ‘upstairs’ to the front of the case, and including a 'Chair' section instead of the Positiv in order to try to overcome the difficulties of the position of the organ. This was a bold move, but was hardly in keeping historically and proved to be musically and mechanically a disappointment. After just over twenty years it was necessary for the organ to be rebuilt again, and in 2004/05 Kenneth Tickell changed the tonal quality of the instrument, installed new ranks in the Choir and Swell divisions, and provided a new solution to the location issue by installing a new Nave division, located under the West Window. <ref name=fr/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/sherborneorgan.htm |title=Sherborne Abbey: The Organ|accessdate=2008-07-12}}</ref> |
===Bells=== | ===Bells=== | ||
| − | The C15th central tower contains the heaviest ring of eight bells in the world, with the tenor bell weighing of 46cwt and 5 lbs (5,157lb or 2 | + | The C15th central tower contains the heaviest ring of eight bells in the world, with the tenor bell weighing of 46cwt and 5 lbs (5,157lb or 2.3 tons). |
The Sanctus bell is chimed at the blessing of the sanctum. | The Sanctus bell is chimed at the blessing of the sanctum. | ||
Latest revision as of 10:51, 23 June 2020
| Sherborne Abbey | |
|
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin | |
|---|---|
|
Sherborne, Dorset | |
| Status: | Parish church |
 Sherborne Abbey | |
| Church of England | |
| Diocese of Salisbury | |
| Parish: | |
| Location | |
| History | |
| Information | |
| Website: | www.sherborneabbey.com |
Sherborne Abbey, otherwise the Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, is a large Church of England church in Sherborne in Dorset. It is of ancient foundation: in the Anglo-Saxon period it was the site of monastic church which was a diocesan cathedral (705–1075). It was a Benedictine abbey church from 998 until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, in 1539. Since 1539 the church has been the town's parish church.
Contents
History
It is believed that there was a Celtic Christian church called Lanprobi here as early as AD 658 when Dorset was still within the lands of the native Britons.[1] Later, Cenwalh, King of the West Saxons is believed to be one of the founders of the church at Sherborne.[2]
Cathedral and abbey
In 705, King Ine of Wessex founded the Diocese of Sherborne to relieve pressure from the growing see of Winchester,[1] and he appointed Aldhelm as first Bishop, with his seat at Sherborne. Aldhelm was the first of twenty-seven Bishops of Sherborne.[2]
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.
From 1122 until the Dissolution, Horton Priory (founded as a Benedictine Abbey in 961) was dependent on Sherborne.
Parish church
The Benedictine foundation at Sherborne was ended by the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, when the abbey was surrendered to King Henry VIII. Various properties at Sherborne were bought from the king by Sir John Horsey; the people of Sherborne then bought the abbey from him to be their parish church (as people of many other places did), and so it remains. The original parish church alongside the abbey was demolished, though the foundations are still visible. 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 is a Grade-I listed building.[3] It has several distinct architectural styles throughout. Saxon features still remain in some parts of the Abbey, mainly around the Western door. Roger of Caen demolished most 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 Gothic 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 remodelling by William Smyth, under Abbot John Brunyng (1415–1436). The vaulting is believed to have finished in 1490.[2]
During this renovation, a riot in the town caused a fire that damaged much of the renovation, 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.[2]
The Lady Chapel is on the site of two earlier chapels: the c1250 then Lady Chapel and the C15 Chapel of St Mary le Bow. These were taken over by the governors of the newly founded 'Edward VI Grammar School' (now known as Sherborne School) in 1550 and were partially demolished and converted in 1560-61 as a house for the headmaster. It remained in use by the school until 1921 when plans were drawn for the grafting of a new Gothic-style Lady Chapel onto the remaining section of the Mediæval chapel and was completed in 1934. The remaining section of St Mary le Bow's Chapel contains a fireplace mantel from when it was a domestic dwelling. The chapel contains the oldest chandelier in Britain, dating before 1714.
St Katherine's Chapel, built in the 14th century, but altered in the 15th, contains examples of early Renaissance classicism architecture [4]
The whole building is around 240 feet in length and 98 feet in width.
Other features
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.[2]
Memorials and tombs
The North Choir Aisle contains two tombs, believed to be the tombs of King Æthelbald of Wessex and his brother King Ethelbert of Wessex, elder brothers to Alfred the Great.[2][5]
Inside the Wykeham chapel is the tomb of Sir John Horsey and his son. Horsey had bought the church after the Dissolution of the Monasteries and sold it to the townspeople. Also in the Chapel is the plainly marked tomb of the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt.
The South Transept contains an impressive baroque memorial to John Digby, 3rd Earl of Bristol, made of marble and designed by John Nost.[6] Additionally there is a memorial to Robert and Mary Digby.[2][7]
St Katherine's Chapel contains the 16th-century tomb of John Leweston and wife Joan.[4] The Chapel was where Sir Walter Raleigh and Lady Raleigh attended services.[2]
The North Aisle contains a memorial to Abbot Clement (1163) and an effigy to an unknown Prior, while the South Aisle contains an effigy of Abbot Lawrence of Bradford (1246).[2]
The Digby Memorial, situated outside the Abbey, is a memorial to George Digby who provided a lot of funding for renovation work during the 19th century. It was built in 1884 and features statues of St Aldhelm, Bishop Roger of Salisbury (Roger de Caen), Abbot Bradford and Sir Walter Raleigh.[8]
Windows
The Abbey contains a number of stained-glass windows. The diarist Richard Symonds, post 1664-1665, described the location, blazon and surname for coats of arms of some leading families of Dorset displayed on stained glass in the Sherborne church as he observed them during the Marches of the Royal Army during the Civil War.[9]
The South Transept's Te Deum window was designed by Pugin in the early 19th century.[2][10]
The Great East Window was designed by Clayton and Bell and installed in 1856–58. It features the Apostles Mark, Luke, Matthew and John, and Saints Sidwell and Juthware (Juthwara), who is featured in the Sherborne Missal.[11] The glass in the Southern Aisle commemorates Sherborne School For Girls' 1949 Jubilee.[2][12]
The Lady Chapel glass comes from the 1930s, and depicts St Aldhelm presenting a model of his church to the Patron.[13]
The Great West Window is the newest of the major windows designed and made by John Hayward (1929-2007), being installed in 1997 to replace a poor quality, faded, Pugin conceived glass. The new glass depicts the Patron and Jesus as a baby, the Magi and the Shepherds, the Genesis story, the fall of man and the Easter story.[14]
Choir east window (Clayton and Bell, 1856 - 1858)
Nave west window by (John Hayward, 1996)
Millennium window (John Hayward, 2001)
South transept south window (Pugin)
Choir clerestory window (Clayton and Bell 1856 - 1858)
Choir clerestory window ditto
Choir clerestory window ditto
Choir clerestory window ditto
Choir clerestory window ditto
Choir clerestory window ditto
Music
Organ
The Abbey's organ, located in the North Transept, was installed in 1856[15] by Gray & Davison] to some considerable acclaim. It was completely rebuilt in 1955 by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd] with a remote console in the Crossing and a large specification which included a Tuba. In 1972 John Coulson of Bristol again altered the organ by adding a neo-classically styled ‘Positiv’ in place of the Choir manual, some big mixtures on the Great—including the fancifully named Stieglitz—and increased wind pressures throughout. By 1987 an increasing lack of reliability led to a proposed scheme by Bishops, supported by John Norman, Cecil Clutton and Patrick Moule, favouring a return to the Gray & Davison past by almost halving the number of stops, returning the console ‘upstairs’ to the front of the case, and including a 'Chair' section instead of the Positiv in order to try to overcome the difficulties of the position of the organ. This was a bold move, but was hardly in keeping historically and proved to be musically and mechanically a disappointment. After just over twenty years it was necessary for the organ to be rebuilt again, and in 2004/05 Kenneth Tickell changed the tonal quality of the instrument, installed new ranks in the Choir and Swell divisions, and provided a new solution to the location issue by installing a new Nave division, located under the West Window. [2][16]
Bells
The C15th central tower contains the heaviest ring of eight bells in the world, with the tenor bell weighing of 46cwt and 5 lbs (5,157lb or 2.3 tons).
The Sanctus bell is chimed at the blessing of the sanctum.
The Fire Bell is unusual in that it has an in-turned lip, and so has a completely different sound to a conventional bell.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Sherborne Abbey) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sherborne Abbey on Great English Churches
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 The Friends of Sherborne Abbey (May 1959). The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Sherborne (Paperback) (12 ed.). Sherborne United Kingdom: Sawtells of Sherborne Ltd..
- ↑ National Heritage List 1110824: Abbey Church of St Mary
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Sherborne Abbey: St Katherine's Chapel". http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/sherborneleweston.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ↑ "Destinations UK: Sherborne Abbey". http://www.destinations-uk.com/articles.php?link=articles&country=england&id=371&articletitle=Sherborne%20Abbey. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ↑ "Sherborne Abbey: The South Transept and Digby Memorial". http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/sherbornedigbym.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ↑ Hutchins, John (1861). The History and Antiquities Of the County Of Dorset. London: John Bowyer Nichols and Sons. http://www.opcdorset.org/SherborneFiles/SherborneMIs.htm.
- ↑ Sherborne Abbey: The George Digby Wingfield Digby Memorial
- ↑ Richard Symonds's Diary of the Marches of the Royal Army. By Richard Symonds, Royal Historical Society (Great Britain) Cambridge University Press, 1997 - History - 296 pages. Sherborne Church. pp. 116-122. Sherborne Lodge. p. 122.; accessed February 2019.
- ↑ "Sherborne Abbey: South Transept Te Deum Window". http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/sherbornetedeum.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ↑ "Sherborne Abbey: The Great East Window". http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/sherborneeastwin.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ↑ "Sherborne Abbey: South Aisle Choir and Nave Aisles". http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/sherbornesthaisle.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ↑ "Sherborne Abbey: Lady Chapel Window". http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/sherborneldychwin.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ↑ "Sherborne Abbey: The Great West Window". http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/sherbornewstwin.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ↑ "The New Organ". Sherborne Mercury (Sherborne). 11 March 1856. http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000411/18560311/046/0002. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
- ↑ "Sherborne Abbey: The Organ". http://dorsethistoricchurchestrust.co.uk/sherborneorgan.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
