Sherborne Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Facing the ruins of the old castle, on the other side of a large lake, Sherborne Castle is a country house born of the ambition of Sir Walter Raleigh. Elizabeth I's favourite, abandoning the idea of modernising the medieval fortress, had a four-storey lodge with corner turrets built in the park, completed in 1594 and first known as Sherborne Lodge. After Raleigh's fall, the estate passed to Sir John Digby, later Earl of Bristol, who enlarged the house with four wings with hexagonal turrets and gave it its distinctive H-shaped plan. The Digbys, then the Wingfield Digbys, have never left since. In the 18th century, Capability Brown created the lake and the vista towards the ruins, composing one of the most admired landscapes in Dorset. The interior retains 17th-century geometric plaster ceilings, panelling, fireplaces bearing the Digby arms and an 18th-century Gothic Revival library. The castle and its gardens are open to the public in season, with guided tours and events.