Built as an enclosure castle during the early C12 on top of a natural knoll in the Yeo Valley. Its centre block of buildings were constructed of local stone, using a rubble core with Ham Hill ashlar facing. This was surrounded by a curtain wall and outer ditch. The central building survives as a partly upstanding ruin within the centre of the bailey. It dates from around 1130, with additional phases of construction. The curtain walls have been largely reduced to ground level along the northern and western flanks, although the eastern end of the northern flank and part of the north eastern flank stand to a height of 8.4m. Sherborne Old Castle was constructed by Roger de Caen, Bishop of Sarum 1107-1139 and was altered and refurbished between 1185-87 and in 1592. licensed in 1337 and licence ratified in 1377.

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Name	Sherborne Old Castle
Alternative Names	Shireburn; Chirburne
Historic County	Dorset
Civil Parish	Castleton
Type	Masonry Castle Timber Castle Palace
Confidence	Certain
Remains	Masonry ruins/remnants
Listed	Grade 1
Scheduled Ancient Monument	Yes
Ordnance Survey Reference	ST648167
Eastings	364820
Northing	116770
Images of England Reference	105566
PastScape Reference	199485
Historic Environment Record	1 023 004

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StreetMaps

Books

• Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses Vol3 (Cambridge) p627-9
• Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of Wessex (Malvern) p28-9
• Keevill, Graham D., 2000, Medieval Palaces, An Archaeology (Stroud; Tempus) p23, 27, 71, 86-9, 120, 126, 140, 153, 162
• Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p23, 65, 88-90, 123, 132, 157, 159, 167, 184
• Pomeroy, Colin, 1998, Discover Dorset Castles and Forts (Dovecote Press) p38-42
• Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p67-8
• Wilton, Phil,1995, Castles of Dorset (Wimborne)
• Furtado, Peter et al (eds), 1988, Ordnance Survey guide to castles in Britain (London) p82
• King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p128
• Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p297
• White, P.R., 1975, ‘Sherbome old castle, Castleton' Archaeological Excavations 1976 (HMSO) p26
• Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
• Pevsner, N. and Newman J., 1972, Buildings of England: Dorset (London) p385-8
• Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p832-3
• Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p79-81
• RCHME, 1952, An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset. Vol1: west (HMSO) p64-6 plates 90-1, 104 [plan]
• Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
• Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p249-52
• Wildman, 1896, Short History of Sherborne (Sherborne) p90-105
• Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol1 (London) p449-52
• Hutchins, J., 1861-73 (3edn), History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset (Blandford) Vol4 p265-73
• Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p411
• Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p77

Antiquarian

• William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/dorseteng.html#dorset8]
• Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p131
• Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol1 p154-5 http://www.archive.org/details/itineraryofjohnl01lelauoft

Journals

• White, P.R., 1983, ‘Sherborne Old Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol140 p67-70
• White, P.R., 1980, ‘Palatial but vulnerable in Dorset' Country Life Vol167 p218
• Webster, L.E. and Cherry, J., 1979, ‘Medieval Britain in 1978’ Medieval Archaeology Vol23 p260 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
• Webster, L.E. and Cherry, J., 1974, ‘Medieval Britain in 1973’ Medieval Archaeology Vol18 p195 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
• Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 p249-280 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p90-121] http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28195904%2974%3A291%3C249%3AALOC1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P
• Brown, R. Allen, 1955, 'Royal Castle-building in England 1154-1216' English Historical Review Vol70 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)] pp19-64
• Farrar, R.A.N., 1955, 'Archaeological Fieldwork in Dorset' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Vol77 p141-142
• Farrar, R.A.N., 1952, 'Archaeological Fieldwork in Dorset' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Vol74 p107-8
• Farrar, R.A.N., 1951, 'Archaeological Fieldwork in Dorset' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Vol73 p106-109
• Farrar, R.A.N., 1950, 'Archaeological Fieldwork in Dorset' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Vol72 p93-94
• 1935, Archaeological Journal Vol92 p78
• Brakspear, 1930, Archaeological Journal Vol87 p422-7

Guidebooks

• Davison, Brian, 2001, Sherborne Old Castle (London: English Heritage)
• White, P.R., 1986, Sherborne Old Castle (London: English Heritage)
• White, P.R., 1971, Sherborne Old Castle (HMSO)

Primary Sources

• Calendar of Patent Rolls (1334-38) p498
• Calendar of Patent Rolls (1377-81) p9, 10
• Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p183-5