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Much of the town, including many medieval and Georgian buildings, are built from distinctive ochreOchre is a color, usually described as golden-yellow or light yellow brown. As a painting pigment it exists in at least three forms: yellow ochre, • , a hydrated Iron oxide red ochre, FeO, obtained by heating yellow ochre brown ochre ( Goethite), also par ham stone , including the Abbey.
The town was named scir burne by the SaxonThis article is about the Saxons, a Germanic people. For other uses of the term, see Saxon (disambiguation). The Saxons were a large and powerful Germanic people located in what is now northwestern Germany and the eastern Netherlands (but not in the area inhabitants, a name meaning "clear stream" (see: BourneBourne may refer to: the anglo-saxon word for river, which is commonly used in southern England as a name for a small river, particularly those which only flow during the winter — see winterbourne. the bourne shell for Unix the fictional character Jason B).
The town was made the capital of WessexWessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the kingdom of England. It was named after the West Saxons and situated in the south and southwest of England. It existed from the 6th century until the emergence of the, one of the seven saxon kingdoms of England, and King Alfred's elder brothers King EthelbertKing Ethelbert of Wessex was a son of Ethelwulf of Wessex and was born in around 835 AD. He succeeded his brother, Ethelbald of Wessex, as King of Wessex in 860, but died without issue in about 865. His reign saw a Danish plundering of Kent and raids in N and King EthelbaldEthelbald Rank 3rd Ruled 856- December 20, 860 Predecessor Ethelwulf Date of Birth 831 Place of Birth Wessex, England Wife Judith Buried Sherborne Abbey Date of Death December 20, 860 Parents Ethelwulf and Osburga King Ethelbald of Wessex was the eldest s are burried in the abbey. In 705Alternate meaning: Area code 705 Events End of the short-lived Zhou Dynasty in China Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ( 685- 715) succeeded by al-Walid I ibn Abd al-Malik (705- 715) Beginning of a long period of fighting between Trebizond and the Arabs Pope Jo the diocese was split between Sherborne and Winchester, and King Ine founded an Abbey for St Aldhelm, the first bishop of Sherborne. The Bishop's seat was moved to Old Sarum in 1075 and the church at Sherborne became a Benedictine Monastery. In the 15th century the church was deliberately burnt down during tensions between the town and the manastery, and was rebuilt between 1425 and 1504, though some of the Norman structure remains. In 1539 the monastery was bought by Sir John Horsey and became a conventional church.
In the 12th century Roger de Caen , Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England built a fortefied palace in Sherborne. The palace was destroyed in 1645 by General Fairfax, and the ruins are owned by English Heritage.
In 1594 Sir Walter Raleigh built an Elizabethan mansion in the grounds of the old palace, today known as Sherborne Castle.
There has been a school in Sherborne since the time of King Alfred, who was educated there. The school was refounded in 1550 as King Edward's public school, using some of the old abbey buildings. The school remains one of the top fee-paying schools in Britain. Until 1992 the school also helped run two Grammar Schools, Foster's School for boys and Lord Digby's School for girls.
Other notable historical buildings in the town include the Almshouses of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, founded in their current form in 1438 and expanded in the Victorian Era in indistinguishable medieval style architecture. The conduit , Hospice of St Julian, and Lord Digby's school are also well preserved old buildings in the town.