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Befides the eftablidied church, there were formerly in Sher- 

 borne two meeting-houfes for diflenters ; but at prefent 

 there is only one, fituated in Long-ftreet. The other public 

 ftruftures here are the market -houfe, the work-houfe,an alms- 

 houfe, and a free grammar-fchool. The alms-houfe was 

 formerly a religious hofpital dedicated to St. Auguftine, and 

 has a chapel attached to it, which appears to have been erefted 

 in the fifteenth century, and contains a very curious ancient 

 painting upon oak in high prefervation. This pifture con- 

 fifts of three pieces, reprelenting three of our Saviour's moll 

 remarkable miracles, and is charaAeriztd by Mr. Hutchins, 

 in his Hiftory of Dorfetfhire, as " very beautiful, and evi- 

 dently executed by a maftcrly hand." The free grammar- 

 fchool was founded and endowed by king Edward VI., and 

 the government of it veiled, by charter, in twenty principal 

 inhabitants of Sherborne. At prefent, there are two mailers 

 attached to this fchool, who mull be clergymen, and gra- 

 duates of one or other of the univerfities. The buildings 

 occupy the fcite of part of the ancient abbey, fome con- 

 fiderable portions of which are dill Handing. The plan of 

 education adopted here is fimilar to that of Eton. There 

 are likewife in Sherborne two charity-fchools on a contrafted 

 fcale, three beTicfit focicties, two for mca, and one for wo- 

 men ; and an inftitution of rather an uncommon kind, called 

 the Green Girls' Society, which, from its excellent tendency, 

 deferves to be more generally adopted. It was eftablifhed in 

 1 7 7 1 . The members pay into it a fmall fura weekly, and wear, 

 till they arrive at a certain age, gicen gowns and draw hats. 

 When a girl attains the age of eighteen, Ihe is at liberty to 

 leave it, and if married before flie is twenty-five, is entitled to 

 1 2/. on her wedding-day, ar.d i/. on the birth of her firll child. 

 If unm.arried till twenty-five, (he is then entitled to the firll 

 fum, provided (he has lived a fober and virtuous life, other- 

 wife her claims are forfeited to the fociety. The founder of 

 this inltitution was the late Mr. John Toogood. 



The parifh of Sherborne extends about three miles and a 

 half in length, and two miles and a half in breadth, and con- 

 tains, according to the population cenfus of 1811, ygy 

 houfes, and 3370 inhabitants, of whom above 2000 refide in 

 the town. The late eminent Dr. Jofeph Towers is generally 

 ftated to have been born at Sherborne, but we know from 

 authority that he was not even a native of the county. 



In a hamlet, or fuburb called Caitleton, about half a mile 

 eaftward from the town, Hood the ancient caftle of Sherborne. 

 This fortrefs was built by Roger, third bifliop of Salifbury, 

 and occupied a rocky eminence on the north bank of the river 

 Ire. The area contained within the deep folle, which inclofed 

 the whole works, meafured about .*bur acres in extent. Few 

 callles furpafled this in ttrcngth and magnificence of ftruc- 

 ture. It was one of the three, erefted by the fame bilhop, 

 which William of Malmlbury mentions among the wonders 

 of the world. It was of an oAagonal form, and had feven 

 courts, with ftrong battlements furrounding it, and was built 

 after the plan of a fpider's web. It had alfo a tower at each 

 angle, there being fixteen in all without the citadel, and ap- 

 pears to have been in every refpeft admirably calculated for 

 fecurity and defence ; for if any one of the courts were fcaled 

 or taken, the foldiers in the gallery above would fo annoy 

 the alTailants with their arrows and other miffile weapons, 

 as to render it impoffible for them to retain pofleffion of it. 

 But notwithftanding the llrength and importance of this 

 callle, it does not appear to have been the fcene of any 

 events of intereft in the hidory of the kingdom, till the reign 

 of Charles I., when it was one of the firll befieged by 

 the parliament, and one of the lad which abandoned the 

 caufe of the king. Since that time it has been gradually 

 6 



falling into ruin, fo that only a few fragments of it now 

 remain. 



The manor of Sherborne was very early granted to the 

 fee, and continued attached to it, during its fucceflive re- 

 movals, till the reign of king Henry VIII., who compelled 

 bilhop Piers to alienate it to the crown. Queen Elizabeth 

 granted it to fir Walter Raleigh, on whole unjull execution 

 by king James I. it was feized and given to the favourite 

 Carr, notwithftanding the intereeflion of various dillin- 

 guilhed individuals to obtain it for the family of its great, 

 though unfortunate pofTeffor. It afterwards became the 

 property of fir John Digby, whofe defcendants ftill continue 

 to enjoy it. The Hiftory and Antiquities of the County of 

 Dorfet, by John Hutchins, M.A., 2d edition, correAed 

 and improved by Richard Gough, efq. and John Bowyer 

 Nichols, efq. vol. iv. fol. 1815. 



SHERBURN, a market-town in a parifh of the fame 

 name, partly within the liberty of St. Peter of York, and 

 partly in the upper divifion of the wapentake of Barkftoa 

 Afli, Weft Riding of Yorkfliire, England, is fituated at the 

 diftance of 14 miles S.W. from the city of York, and 181 

 miles W. by N. from London. The market is held on 

 Friday weekly, but is little frequented, and there is only 

 one annual fair, on the 25th of September. This place was 

 formerly, however, much more important, and was diftin- 

 guilhed by a palace belonging to the archbiftiops of York, 

 of which not a veilige now remains. It is only at prefent, 

 therefore, remarkable for a particular fpecies of plum called 

 the Winelour, which grows in the vicinity. Sherburn town- 

 Ihip, according to the parliamentary returns of 181 1, con- 

 tains 188 houfcc, and 958 inhabitants. Beauties of Eng- 

 land and Wales, vol. xvi. by John Bigland, 1812. 



SHERBURNE, Edward, in Biography, an ingenious 

 writer, was born in London in 1618, and educated under 

 Farnaby ; after \vhich he went abroad, but returned in 

 1 64 1, and fucceeded, on the death of his father, to the 

 office of clerk of the ordnance. He was impriioned for 

 fome time by the parliament, and, on his recovering his 

 liberty, joined the king, whom he ferved with fidelity and 

 great bravery, by which he fuffered confiderably in his 

 eftate. After the battle of Edgehill he went to Oxford, 

 where he was created mafter of arts. At the reftoration he 

 recovered his fituation under government, was knighted, 

 and made commilfary-general of the artillery. He died in 

 1702. He tranflatcd Seneca's tragedies, the Sphere of 

 Marcus Manilius, and other works, into the Englifh lan- 

 guage, and was author of a volume of poems. 



Sherburne, in Geography, a poft-town of America, in 

 Chenango county. New York ; containing 1282 inhabitants. 

 — Alfo, a town in the (late of MalTachufetts, and ifland of 

 Nantucket. The ifland contains 6807 inhabitants. (See 

 Nantucket.) — Alfo, a town in Middlefex county, Maf- 

 fachufetts, containing 770 inhabitants; 18 miles S.W. of 

 Bodon. — Alfo, a town of Herkemer county. New York ; 

 containing, by the cenfus in 1796, 483 inhabitants. — Alfo, 

 a town of Rutland county, Vermont ; containing 1 1 6 in- 

 habitants. 



SHEREBATOF, Prince, in Biography, a learned 

 Ruffian nobleman, who pubhftied feveral works in his own 

 language, the chief of which is " The Hidory of Ruffia 

 from the earlieft Times," which is faid to be well arranged, 

 and faithfully drawn up. Mr. Coxe, in fpeaking of this 

 writer, fays, feveral perfons have publifhed collections of 

 Hate-papers and other documents, but the honour of com- 

 pofing a complete hiftory of Ruffia is probably referved for 

 prince Sherebatof; who, if we except Mr. Mullcr, has 



contributed 



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