Sherborne Castle

Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3PY

Tel: 01935 813182

e-mail: enquiries@sherbornecastle.com

website: www.sherbornecastle.com

As soon as Sir Walter Raleigh was given the Old Castle and its estates by Queen Elizabeth I, he realised that the stark, comfortless castle was not his ideal residence, and instead of restoring it he built a new castle alongside the old one. He called it Sherborne Lodge to distinguish it from the Old Castle, and this unusual rectangular, six-turreted building became his home. Upon Sir Walter Raleigh's death on the block his estates were forfeited to the Crown, but in 1617 King James I allowed Sir John Digby to purchase the new castle and this gentleman added four wings in a similar style to the old building. During the Civil War, the Old Castle was reduced to a ruin by Cromwell's Parliamentary forces - the siege in 1645 lasted 16 days and prompted Cromwell to talk of this 'malicious and mischievous castle'. The name Sherborne Castle came to be applied to the new building, where today splendid collections of Old Masters, porcelain and furniture are on display.

Other attractions at the castle, which is still in the care of the Digby family, include the library, a Tudor kitchen and an exhibition of finds from the Old Castle. Lancelot 'Capability' Brown was called in to create the lake in 1753 and gave Sherborne the very latest in landscape gardening. The Castle, which was a Red Cross Hospital for wounded soldiers in the First World War and the HQ for D-Day Commandos in the Second, was opened to the public in 1969 and hosts a variety of events in the summer season. The gardens, tea room and shop are open every day except Mondays and Fridays (open Bank Holiday Mondays), from April to October.