Sherborne Abbey, Sherborne

Cathedral, abbey, and now church, it remains an inspiring place for pilgrims.‍

Highlights

• ‍‍Abbey church founded by St Aldhelm
• Saxon building remains
• Burial place of three saints (graves now lost)

The fan-vaulted ceiling and ancient carvings of Sherborne’s magnificent church are enough on their own to attract spiritually minded tourists. But this is a working church rather than an architectural display case, founded by one of Saxon England’s leading saints.

When I visited, the abbey had a printed Pilgrim’s Tour leaflet available by the entrance, pointing out the spiritual highlights of this hallowed building. It began life as a cathedral, then became an abbey in 1075 when Salisbury took over the diocese. It finally ended up as an enormous parish church after the Reformation, and it remains a hub of activity and daily worship. Its formal name is the Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin in Sherborne.

St Aldhelm became the first bishop of Sherborne in 705 and founded this cathedral church. A peaceful-looking, modern bronze statue of the holy man stands at the far end of the nave. A famous scholar and poet, St Aldhelm was once summoned to Rome on account of his erudition and is remembered with great reverence by the Venerable Bede in his History. In addition to his bishop’s duties, he also served as abbot of Malmesbury, where his body was laid to rest in 709 (page 276)

Two other bishops became saints after serving at Sherborne. The first of these, St Wulsin, died in 1002 and had his shrine at the church. His feast day is still remembered on the date of his death, January 8, although his shrine has been destroyed. The other is St Alfwold, who died in 1058, an austere monk about whom little is recorded beyond his penchant for using rough wooden plates while others dined off expensive tableware.

A third shrine was erected at Sherborne to house the relics of St Juthwara in the mid-11th century. St Juthwara probably came from Camelford in Cornwall, where she was murdered by her brother at the instigation of a wicked stepmother (page 180). Her holy body was brought to Sherborne during the rule of St Alfwold. St Juthwara’s saint’s day is 28 November, and her translation to Sherborne is remembered on 13 July. St Alfwold’s day is 25 March.

This building might therefore contain the unmarked graves of at least three saints. A doorway in the northwest corner is the best surviving feature from those Saxon days, while the famous fan vaulting is late 15th century.

On a rather different note, the misericords (wooden seats) in the choir have some medieval carvings that are often mentioned for their cartoon-like violence: a woman beating her husband and a boy birched on his bare bottom. Quite what the significance is of these and similar medieval carvings in other churches has not yet been fully explained; perhaps they warn against excess piety and other-worldliness.

Directions

Sherborne Abbey, Abbey Close, Sherborne DT9 3LQ‍

www.sherborneabbey.com‍

W3W: aims.twit.rising

GPS: 50.9465N 2.5170W

Sherborne railway station 400m‍

The abbey is in the middle of Sherborne, accessible from Abbey Road, or the corner of South Street and Long Street (the B3145). It is open every day.