EDO5059 - West end of Sherborne Abbey; excavations in 1964

J H P Gibb conducted excavations for the Sherborne School Archaeological Society immediately west of Sherborne Abbey church during 1964 and 1965 in order to gather further information on the appearance and structure of the parish church of All Hallows. The first trench was excavated in the summer of 1964 to the north of the east end of the extant north aisle wall of All Hallows, and immediately south of the SW corner of the Sherborne School library. This small trench unexpectedly revealed a plinth constructed from cut Ham stone and thought to represent the foundations of a pre-conquest porch attached to the north end of the Saxon cathedral tower. This trench also revealed the west wall of the northern side chapel of All Hallows parish church, constructed on top of the Saxon plinth, and bonded with the extant north aisle wall at its southern end (3). '...the excavators found ‘10ft of a two course plinth of well cut Ham stone running north-south…The plinth sat on a single course of large flat stones and had no further foundations.’ This was interpreted as the west wall of the NW transept or portacus of the Saxon church (2).