Sherborne Douzelage Newsletters

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Sherborne is situated in the north west of the largely rural county of Dorset. It is situated on the A30 and within easy reach of the A303, the main trunk road leading from London to Exeter. There is a good train service from London Waterloo taking about 2¼ hours. The airports of Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Bournemouth are between 1 and 1½ hours drive away. In addition it is only 40 minutes drive to the beautiful Jurassic south coast and the County town of Dorchester.

 

In 705 Saint Aldhelm was appointed the first Bishop of the West Saxons. He came to Sherborne, then called Scirburne, the place of the clear stream, which became the capital of Wessex. He founded the Abbey, which was taken over by the Benedictine monks in 1075. They incorporated some of the Saxon stonework in the current abbey, which with its magnificent ceiling is one of the historic treasures of England. Sherborne has two castles one dating from the 12^th century  and the second built in 1594 by Sir Walter Raleigh one of the favourites of Queen Elisabeth. Its historical importance is shown by the number of mediaeval buildings as well as those built in the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries that still exist, which give Sherborne a unique perspective through the centuries carefully chronicled in the small but fascinating museum.

 

Cheap Street is the heart of the town with its old buildings and many individual shops. With three public schools, an excellent comprehensive secondary school and an international college the town benefits from a wide range of age groups. The 15^th century Conduit House and the Almshouse of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist, as well as the 16^th century Julian, a former hospice named after St Julian of Norwich, are desirable attractions as well as the 18^th century Sherborne House with its famous mural by Sir James Thornhill .

Sherborne is a town of 12,000 people with reasonable prospects of employment and is sought after as a retirement area. However this means that housing is rather expensive especially for young people. There is a wide range of   Christian churches, who work well together.

Relatively compact the town, set in a bowl, is surrounded by farmland and woods giving fine views on many of the approaches.

 

The three public schools of Sherborne Boys (founded in 1550 and formerly King Edward’s School), Sherborne School for Girls and St Anthony Leweston are complemented by the Gryphon and offer a broad base of secondary education. There are also four good primary schools and the international college, which provides language education for children from many countries particularly from Asia. All the secondary schools and some of the primary schools are involved in Douzelage activities and exchanges with a wide variety of towns and participate in the European programmes such as Comenius, Leonardo and Socrates.

 

The wide range of individual shops is complemented by two supermarkets and a market held in Sherborne on Thursday and Saturday of each week with a Farmers Market once a month. There is also a thriving Chamber of Commerce. There are further larger supermarkets and a wide variety of other shopping facilities within 15 km. There is no heavy industry in Sherborne, but there are small pockets of light industry offering prospects of employment and specialist services and products.

 

There is no multiplex cinema or major theatre in Sherborne, although these are within easy access. However art thrives in the town. Each year there is a music festival in the Abbey as well as concerts throughout the year. There are also regular Art Exhibitions at Sherborne House and elsewhere. There are several good choirs with opportunities for people of all ages. There are also in the area jazz bands and several folk groups including the Wessex Morris Men, who are well known in several Douzelage towns. Being a farming area the Sherborne Country Fair attracts exhibitors and visitors from all over the West of England and the history of the town brings many tourists to see and enjoy the old buildings. The small Powell Theatre is also the venue for films and occasional theatrical performances. There is a wide range of clubs and pubs and particularly when Douzelage groups come, there is street entertainment and other festivities. In summer the Pageant Gardens are often alive with colourful fêtes.

 

All the schools have sporting activities with many overseas exchanges. The Ironman triathlon attracts more than 1,500 contestants each year including many from overseas. There are also many clubs including a fine challenging golf club (sherbornegolfclub.co.uk). There is a thriving bowls club and a new boules pitch has just been constructed. Good pitches are available for football and rugby.