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Tucked away in the northwest corner of Dorset, the pretty town of SHERBORNE was once the capital of Wessex, its church having cathedral status until Old Sarum usurped the bishopric in 1075. This former glory is embodied by the magnificent Abbey Church (daily: April-Oct 8.30am-6pm; Nov-March 8.30am-4pm), which was founded in 705, later becoming a Benedictine abbey. Most of its extant parts date from a rebuilding in the fifteenth century, and it is one of the best examples of Perpendicular architecture in Britain, particularly noted for its outstanding fan vaulting . The church also has a famously weighty peal of bells, led by "Great Tom", a tenor bell presented to the abbey by Cardinal Wolsey. Among the abbey church's many tombs are those of Alfred the Great's two brothers, Ethelred and Ethelbert, and the Elizabethan poet Thomas Wyatt, all located in the northeast corner. The almshouse on the opposite side of the Abbey Close was built in 1437 and is a rare example of a medieval hospital; another wing provides accommodation for Sherborne's well-known public school. Sherborne also has two "castles", both associated with Sir Walter Raleigh. Queen Elizabeth I first leased, then gave, Raleigh the twelfth-century Old Castle (April-Sept daily 10am-6pm; Oct daily 10am-1pm & 2-5pm; Nov-March Wed-Sun 10am-1pm & 2-4pm; GBP1.80; EH), but it seems that he despaired of feudal accommodation and built himself a more comfortably domesticated house, Sherborne Castle , in adjacent parkland (April-Oct Tues, Thurs & Sun 12.30-5pm, Sat 2.30-5pm; gardens: April-Oct daily except Wed 10am-5pm; GBP5.50; gardens only GBP2.75). When Sir Walter fell from the queen's favour by seducing her maid of honour, the Digby family acquired the house and have lived there ever since; portraits, furniture and books are displayed in a whimsically Gothic interior, remodelled in the nineteenth century. The Old Castle fared less happily, and was pulverized by Cromwellian cannonfire for the obstinately Royalist leanings of its occupants. The museum near the abbey on Church Lane (Easter-Oct Tues-Sat 10.30am-4.30pm, Sun 2.30-4.30pm; GBP1) includes a model of the Old Castle and photographs of parts of the fifteenth-century Sherborne Missal, a richly illuminated tome weighing nearly fifty pounds, now housed in the British Library. The tourist office is at 3 Tilton Court, Digby Road (Mon-Sat: April-Oct 9am-5pm; Nov-Easter 10am-3pm; tel 01935/815341). For an overnight stay try the Half Moon Hotel , Half Moon Street (tel 01935/812017; GBP60-70), the Britannia Inn , on Westbury, just down from the abbey (tel 01935/813300; GBP40-50), or the Cross Keys Hotel , 88 Cheap St (tel 01935/812492; GBP40-50), which has a few tables out front for drinks and meals. Oliver's on Cheap Street and the Church House Gallery close to the abbey on Half Moon Street are both good for teas and light lunches.
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