Reviews

Roger, Bishop of Salisbury (1102-39) and Henry i's chief minister, was a great builder. As the administrative hub of England, Sherborne little resembles a conventional 12th-century castle. Fiendishly clever and ambitious, Roger here set the buildings of his fortress-palace within a great ditched polygonal enclosure. This summary of various excavation campaigns over 60 years, and study of the fabric, shows the enclosure was laid out using simple geometry, as were the curtain walls, the main gate with its long and sophisticated approach barbican, and corner towers. The full extent of the inner buildings remains uncertain, but at their heart stood a residential great tower, its masonry of the highest quality - true of all Roger's buildings here. This probably functioned as his solar, interconnecting with four ranges alongside. Upper chambers enjoyed views of the mere around the complex, and the deer park beyond. Later owners included Sir Walter Raleigh, who remodelled the tower with octagonal corner turrets. Attainder for high treason ended his country house conversion. Paul Stamper -- British Archaeology British Archaeology