The Curse of Sherborne
Hutchins dedicates a section in Volume IV of his work The History And Antiquities of the County of Dorset titled ‘The Curse of Sherborne Castle from a MS. of Bishop More’. Below is a summary of the report in Hutchins: The castle was built by Roger, third Bishop of...
Sir Walter Raleigh in Dorset Part 5: The New World – The Potato & Tobacco
On the main road leading east from Sherborne (A30) at the crossroads at Henstridge is an inn, namely the Virginia Ash Inn. Although Henstridge is just in Somerset and not Dorset, I am going to include it in this series of articles in reference to the legends of...
Sir Walter Raleigh in Dorset Part 4: The Atheist – 1593 & the Wolfeton House Supper
Figure 1:Gatehouse of Wolfeton House, Dorset. In late-Elizabethan England those who pursued a career in scholarship, science and thinking generally required a patron for room, board and access to a library. A patron, driven by his or her interests, may surround...
Sir Walter Raleigh in Dorset Part 3: Architectural Ambition – A New Castle for Sherborne
Architectural Ambition: Sherborne Lodge Raleigh’s architectural ambitions for the old medieval Sherborne Castle hit their limits, whether financial and/or practical, and he began to think again. He turned his attention to an early 16th-C hunting lodge[1] across from...
Sir Walter Raleigh in Dorset Part 2: The Quiet Country Church
Lillington Church near Sherborne Dedicated to St Martin of Tours It was on the 1st November 1593 that Sir Walter Raleigh and his family would have ridden out from Old Sherborne Castle and travelled 3.5 miles east towards the small village of Lillington. As to why...
Sir Walter Raleigh in Dorset Part 1: The Rising Courtier at Old Sherborne Castle
Figure 1: Ruins of Old Sherborne Castle. It was the Civil War in the mid-17th century that led to its present state.[1] RALEIGH AT OLD SHERBORNE CASTLE Sir Walter Raleigh led an extraordinary life. In the Elizabethan court he rose to become one of the most famous...
Exploring Building History
Exploring Building History is a website and blog dedicated to establishing a resource of historical information related to the built heritage of England. The regular blog posts aim to provide the reader with a diversity of architectural history subjects. This could be a particular building, individual, monument, subject area, architectural element or historical source. Downloadable factsheets, produced on a regular basis, provide a snapshot of relevant historical data for building history study.