If you’re planning a day in Sherborne, the names can make things unnecessarily confusing: Sherborne Castle and Sherborne Old Castle are two completely different places.
They sit close to one another and even share part of the same story, but the experience is almost opposite. Sherborne Old Castle is a ruined medieval fortress; Sherborne Castle is the later Tudor house built by Sir Walter Raleigh, surrounded by landscaped gardens and a lake.
I visited both on the same day, and once you see them, the naming suddenly makes much more sense.
Sherborne Castle and Sherborne Old Castle are two different places
The easiest way to remember it is this: the ruin is the Old Castle. The intact historic house with the gardens is Sherborne Castle.
Sherborne Old Castle came first. Built in the early 12th century for Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, it developed as a fortified episcopal palace. Centuries later, Sir Walter Raleigh acquired the property in 1592 and initially tried to modernise it.
Apparently even Raleigh eventually decided renovation had limits.
Instead, in 1594 he built a new house in the neighbouring deer park, incorporating an earlier hunting lodge. That house became what we now call Sherborne Castle.
What is Sherborne Old Castle?
The Old Castle still had one particularly dramatic chapter ahead of it. During the English Civil War it became a Royalist stronghold and, after an 11-day siege in 1645, fell to Parliamentarian forces. Its fortifications were then deliberately damaged to prevent the castle being used again.
Today, English Heritage looks after the ruins, and there’s still plenty to explore, from enormous surviving walls and gateways to smaller fragments of decorative stonework. When I walked around the Old Castle, I found that the longer I spent among those remains, the easier it became to imagine the magnificent medieval residence that once stood here.
For me, this is also where the contrast between the two places really works. You’re not moving from one conventional castle attraction to another. One asks you to imagine rooms from fragments of stone; the other is still a furnished family home.
Why is Sherborne Castle the “new” castle?
Sherborne Castle feels completely different.
Raleigh’s house was acquired by Sir John Digby in 1617, and the Digby family expanded it with four additional wings. It remains the home of the Wingfield Digby family today.
Inside are historic rooms filled with art, furniture and porcelain, while outside the experience continues through the gardens and wider landscape. Capability Brown was commissioned during the 18th century to create the lake and reshape the grounds, making the outdoor setting almost as much of an attraction as the house itself. I particularly enjoyed seeing how different this place felt from the medieval ruins, and I’ll be sharing more about the guided tour and grounds in my visit to Sherborne Castle and Gardens.
So the supposedly “new” castle dates from 1594.
Only in Britain can a building more than 400 years old comfortably qualify as the new one.
Can you visit both Sherborne castles in one day?
Yes — I did — but I wouldn’t treat them as two equal-sized attractions. English Heritage suggests allowing around an hour for the Old Castle, while Sherborne Castle recommends four to five hours if you want to tour the house and properly explore its gardens. The ruins therefore work well as a shorter stop, but the later castle can easily take up a much larger part of your day.
We also found time to explore Sherborne’s historic streets and visit the magnificent Sherborne Abbey, where the spectacular fan-vaulted ceiling ended up being one of my favourite discoveries. Fitting everything into one day is certainly possible, but I’d recommend starting early. Between the castles, Abbey and town centre, there’s a lot more to see than those two similar names might suggest.
Admission, memberships and opening times
There’s an interesting membership difference too. Sherborne Old Castle is managed by English Heritage, but entry is currently free. English Heritage currently lists a £3 parking donation; its separate directions information says parking is free for members displaying a valid car sticker.
If you visit lots of its larger paid sites too, I’ve written separately about my experience with English Heritage membership.
Sherborne Castle is part of Historic Houses. For 2026, adult admission is £15 for the gardens or £20 for the castle and gardens, while Historic Houses members receive free admission. The house has a shorter seasonal opening period than the gardens, so check the official Sherborne Castle visitor information before travelling.
I’ve also covered how that membership has worked for me in my Historic Houses membership review.
Which Sherborne castle should you visit?
If ruined castles, medieval history and Civil War stories are what draw you in, Sherborne Old Castle offers that experience. If you prefer furnished historic houses, gardens and designed landscapes, Sherborne Castle provides something very different.
But if you have enough time, seeing both makes the story much easier to understand. Raleigh connects them directly: he acquired the medieval castle, tried to improve it, then built the house that eventually inherited the Sherborne Castle name.
One is a medieval castle that became a ruin. The other is the “new” castle that is already more than four centuries old.
Suddenly Sherborne Castle and Sherborne Old Castle don’t seem quite so confusing.
One journey. One story. One more stop.