The old-fashioned town of Sherborne, or “clear brook,” lies on a gentle slope above the river Yeo, in the vale of Blackmore. The first view of Sherborne is delightful. The narrow, winding, roughly-paved streets make a picturesque setting for the solid and stone-built houses, and there is a general impression of peaceful comfort and prosperity about the place. The surrounding country is rich and fertile; the air clear and invigorating. In monastic days the hillsides were covered with vines, so sheltered was Sherborne from extreme severity of weather. It is only from the south that a good view of the parish church--originally the abbey church of the monastery--can be obtained. From the other sides it is much built in. This abbey of St Mary’s has undergone many vicissitudes, having been built and rebuilt in remote Saxon times; burnt by the dreaded Sweyn when passing through the town on his march from Exeter to Sarum; nearly razed to the ground and again rebuilt in the 15th century; dissolved in the 16th century, at which time the church was made parochial and purchased by the inhabitants of the town; and finally restored at an enormous cost in the 19th century, with the result that no church of such antiquity was ever in a better state of preservation. Considering the chequered history of the building, its many examples of different architectural periods is not to be wondered at. Perpendicular work is most largely represented--the abbey having been restored in the reign of Henry VI. (when this style was in vogue) after a fire, which devastated particularly the east end of the structure. The Norman period found expression in a peculiar south porch and part of the transepts, while the Lady chapel affords a good example of Early English architecture. The church is cruciform, with transepts, choir, and presbytery. The nave, with its two aisles--the one to the north boasting some Decorated windows--has a beautiful vaulted roof and clerestory. From the central tower there is an extensive view over the undulating country for many miles round Sherborne. In the bell chamber below hang ten bells--a sanctus bell, a peal of eight, and a fire bell. Cardinal Wolsey is said to have given the tenor bell--the largest tenor bell in England ever rung in a peal--to the abbey. It was imported from Tournay, and although recast still bears this distich-- “By Wolsey’s gift I measure time for all; To mirth, to griefe, to church, I serve to call.”