The Abbey Church of St Mary stands in the middle of Sherborne. It is considered the most important architectural monument in the county of Dorset, and has magnificent 15th century fan vaulting in the nave. The fabric of the walls is of local rubble with dressings and ashlar-facing of Ham Hill stone and the roofs are lead-covered. A church has existed on the site since the 8th century when the see of the bishop of Wessex was established here. In the XI century the Bishopric was transferred to Old Sarum. The founding of the Abbey under the rule of St Benedict dates back to 998 and it remained here till the

Dissolution in 1539 when the buildings were sold to the townspeople, apart from the Eastern chapels, which were subsequently purchased by Sherborne School in 1560. This photograph was taken in 1996 from the south. FR 184/5.