ii6 PROCEEDINGS COTTESWOLD CLUB 1913 



The old Castle was built by Bishop Roger (1107-1139), and was the epis- 

 copal residence when Sherborne was a Bishop's See. In 1645 it was be- 

 sieged and taken by Fairfax. The present Castle, the seat of Mr F. J. B. Wing- 

 field Digby, was built by Sir Walter Raleigh. i 



From the Castle the Members went to the Abbey (Plate XIV.), where 

 they were received by the vicar, the Rev. S. A. Selwyn. 



Sherborne was constituted the head of a Bishop's See in 705, by Ina, 

 King of the West Saxons, and remained a cathedral city for 336 years. Aid- 

 helm was bishop here, and remains of his Saxon church are to be found in 

 the old blocked-up doorway, with its long and short work, in the wall at the 

 west end of the north aisle. At the north-eastern end of the ambulatory is 

 a brass tablet, bearing the words : — " Near this spot were interred the mortal 

 remains of Ethelbald and Ethelbert, his brother, each of whom in his turn 

 succeeded to the throne of Ethelwolf, their father. King of the West Saxons, 

 and were succeeded in the kingdom by their youngest brother, Alfred the 

 Great." 



In Norman times the church was largely re-constructed, and in the 

 fifteenth century was transformed into the Perpendicular style by a great 

 restoration. 



The choir is excellent Perpendicular, with very fine fan-tracery, and 

 was re-built in this style by Abbot Bradford. Abbot Ransom (1475- 1504) 

 re-built the nave. In 1848-51 the nave was restored by the Earl of Digby 

 and others, while the late George Wingfield Digby, Esq.. restored the choir 

 in i8g6. 



The tower is 106 feet high, contains some fine bells, amongst which is the 

 Wolsey bell. Curfew is rung each evening at 8 p.m. 



From the Abbey the Members went to the School, which was founded 

 in 705. Part of the monastic buildings, the guesten and abbot's halls, abbot's 

 lodging and kitchen, survive, somewhat transformed, in the present school. 



The Members were shown over the school buildings, and the well-arranged 

 museum and excellent open-air swimming bath came in for special com- 

 mendation. 



After lunch the Members left by the 3.2 p.m. train. 

 REFERENCES. 



Guide Books. — " Yeovil with Its Surroundings." [Contains i-inch 

 map of the district visited.] Homeland Handbooks, i/- net. 

 " The ' Borough ' Guide to Sherborne," 2d. 



Hudleston, W. H. — " Excursion to Sherborne." Proc. Geol. Assoc, 

 vol. ix. (1885), pp. 187-199. 



Buckman, S. S. — " On the Cotteswold, Midford and Yeovil Sands." 

 Quart. Joum. Geol. Soc, vol. xlv. (1889), p. 440. 



" The Bajocian of the Sherborne District," idem, vol. xlix. 



(1893), pp. 479-522. 



Richardson, L., Rev. H. H. Winwood and others. — " Excursion to 

 . . . . Ham Hill and Bradford Abbas." Proc. Geol. Assoc, vol. 

 xxii. (191 1), pp. 246 — 263. 



I. The Sherborne Urban District Council obtains its water from a deep boring in Castleton. 

 The bore-hole has a diameter of 12 inches, is 2oy\ feet deep, and passes throucih the Inferior Oolite 

 (about 145 feet) Yeovil Sands (135 ft.). Upper Lias clays, and limestones (17 feet), and 10 feet 

 6 inches into the Middle Lias {vide H. B. Woodward, " Jurassic Rocks of Britain — The 

 Lower Oolitic Rocks of England (Yorkshire excepted)," vol. iv., i8q4, p. 80). The bore- 

 hole is lined with an iron tube to a depth of 50 feet. Mr Duncan T. G. Brown, A.R.S.I., the 

 Surveyor, informs the Editor that the yield per day is 210,000 gallons. 



