What is recorded here

Sherborne Old Castle stands as a broken ring of stone where Bishop Roger built his fortified palace around 1130, blending royal grandeur with military defiance. King Stephen seized it during the civil war, and Fairfax ordered its demolition in 1645, yet the Digby family later shaped those ruins into a romantic feature beside their new home. The place still holds the shape of that sudden violence and gentle reinvention, inviting you to imagine how far a castle can fall before becoming scenery.

The National Heritage List for England records Sherborne Old Castle as a scheduled monument. The saved point comes from the centre supplied by the official record. Listing does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

Sherborne Old Castle was built in the 12th century by the Bishops of Sherborne as a fortified residence. It is important as a well-preserved example of a medieval bishop's castle and for its historical association with the religious and secular authority in the region.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.