1 62 SHERBORNE ABBEY AND SCHOOL. 



There can be no doubt that the account which we find in 

 Hutchins' of Sherborne School needs re-writing now. The 

 changes of the last 35 years in the group of buildings which lie 

 to the north of the church have been many and important. The 

 recovery from the Almshouse by the School of the School 

 accounts from 1553 to 1870 and of the property conveyances 

 has enabled me to produce a much more complete account of 

 the changes which have taken place in the School buildings 

 than ever existed before. One specially important discovery 

 was made viz., the minutes of School Governors for the year 

 1550, which conclusively show that the old School of Sherborne 

 did not cease with the dissolution of the monastery in 1539, but 

 that it continued its life unbroken through that fiery storm, 

 " Reliquiae Troia ex ardente receptae," to receive from "King 

 Edward VI. of pious memory " a charter and re-foundation in 



1550- 



We have in Sherborne at least four ancient sites of import- 

 ancethe Abbey Church, the School, the Almshouse, and the 

 old Castle. The last is a ruin ; the Almshouse was re-founded 

 in 1437 on the site of an older institution of a similar sort, for 

 eight account rolls exist of its receipts and expenditure before 

 that date viz., for the years 1426, 1427, 1428, 1429, 1430, 1432, 

 1434, 1436 ; but there is no evidence that I know of to tell us 

 how much older than 1^.26 the institution of the Almshouse is. 

 Mr. Harston, some time Vicar of Sherborne, dated it 1406 ; but 

 he gave no authority for this. If anyone knows what Mr. 

 Harston's authority was, I shall be most grateful to him for that 

 information. This, however, seems clear, that the Almshouse 

 is but an infant in years as compared with the Abbey Church 

 and the School. The Abbey Church is the Cathedral Church of 

 St. Ealdhelm in isth century guise, it is true, yet as a cathedral 

 it dates even a small portion of the existing fabric dates from 

 705 ; and I do not hesitate to give the same date to the founda- 

 tion of the School ; and I further think that the site of the school 

 which St. Ealdhelm founded is the site of the present school- 

 house dining hall. This building stands inside the monastic 



