Architecture
The Abbey has several distinct architectural styles throughout. Saxon features still remain in some parts of the Abbey, mainly around the Western door. Roger of Caen knocked down the bulk of the Saxon church and replaced it with a much larger, Norman style church.
The Lady Chapel and Bishop Robert's Chapel were added in the 13th Century in the Early English style, and in the 15th century, the choir section was rebuilt in the Perpendicular style, including the fan-vaulting Sherborne is still famous for, the remodelling by William Smyth, under Abbot John Brunyng (1415–1436). The vaulting is believed to have finished in 1490.
During this renovation, a riot in the town caused a fire that damaged much of the renovation, causing delays. Traces of the fire's effects can still be seen in the reddening of the walls under the Tower. The fire and its effects also caused the design of the Nave to be altered. Some of the Nave's pillars are Norman piers cased in Perpendicular panelling.
St Katherine's Chapel, built in the 14th century, but altered in the 15th, contains examples of early Renaissance classicism architecture
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)