Sherborne Castle

The present Sherborne Castle was built by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1594 and has been the Stately Home of the Digby family since 1617. The Digby family added the four distinctive wings to the house in the 1620s and a Georgian extension of 1787 provided more accommodation and improved living facilities. Prince William of Orange was entertained here in 1688 and George III visited in 1789.

The State Rooms reflect a glorious variety of decorative styles from the great periods of English history: Tudor, Jacobean, Georgian and Victorian. There are splendid collections of art, furniture and porcelain. In the cellars the visitor can see 'finds' from the Old Castle, family artefacts and Raleigh's kitchen.

Capability Brown created the lake in 1753 and gave Sherborne the very latest in landscape gardening. 30 acres of lakeside gardens with sweeping lawns, borders and majestic trees extend around the 50 acre lake in a perfect, rolling Capability Brown landscape.

Beside the lake are the 18th Century Orangery, 'Gingko' lawn and walled garden, whilst across it to the north the ground rises to reveal the ruins of Sherborne's old medieval castle, which succumbed to Cromwell's troops in 1645 during the Civil War. In World War I the Castle became a Red Cross Hospital for wounded soldiers and during World War II the Castle was Commando Headquarters for the D-Day landings.

More Pictures