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Sherborne Abbey

Snapshots in Time – (second in series)

Posted on 12th April 2023

In the first article in this series we looked at some of the old photographs likely taken by Adam Gosney and collected together by George King (1859-1932), Sherborne Abbey Verger from 1892 until 1929 George lectured on Sherborne and Sherborne Abbey to raise funds for the restoration of the Lady Chapel His photographs, on glass plates and lantern slides, have been located in the library/muniment room in Sherborne Abbey and these have been scanned by Rachel Hassall, Sherborne School... more

Christmas Carol Service Train

Posted on 22nd December 2018

Many of the trappings of our ‘traditional’ Christmas celebrations had their origins in the Victorian period which also saw the establishment and growth of the railway, so it is not perhaps surprising that festively decorated trains feature on a fair number of vintage Christmas cards Today many railway lines, especially those run by local enthusiasts, have ‘Santa Specials’ where the great man joins excited children for a train ride, often pulled by a steam engine In Sherborne we can... more

The Whittle Box

Posted on 29th August 2016

The questions that kept popping into my head all began when I saw a green box with a name painted on it in an antique shop in Sherborne Who had owned the box Who had painted the name What was the script used and what did it say The script turns out to be 'Blackletter', identified for me by a friend who enjoys calligraphy, and the name - C T R Whittle Some rudimentary research led to one Charlie Thomas Whittle (b1877 in Yetminster) who went off to board at Kingston school in Yeovil around 1890... more

The Royal Tombs of Great Britain

Posted on 11th May 2014

We had a real treat yesterday when Dr Aidan Dodson of Bristol University came to our Research Centre at Sherborne and gave two fascinating and informative talks under the heading of The King is Dead: the royal tombs of Great Britain Aidan’s first talk started with the Saxon kings of Wessex and included, of course, Sherborne Abbey’s own burials of Ethelbald (died 860) and Ethelbert (died 866), older brothers of Alfred the Great Many of the pre-Reformation royal tombs were destroyed during... more

Kellaway coat of arms in Sherborne Abbey

Posted on 8th January 2014

SDFHS member Warwick Kellaway of Hamilton, New Zealand, has been researching his family history for many years The name Kellaway/Kelleway/Kelloway/Kelway/Callaway/Calloway/Calway/Callow/Kellow, and the other variants seen today, is reasonably considered to derive from the village of Caillouet, in Eure, northern France The first dated record of the family name in England has been accepted to be that of Philip de Chailewai in the 1165 Gloucester Pipe Rolls holding land in Wiltshire, probably... more

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