Sherborne nr. Yeovil No. 2 / Sherbourn / Shirburne / Sureburne

There are two entries for this Sherborne [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/ST6316/sherborne/] [accessed 14 December 2018] neither of which mentions claric or church in it. This font, which, according to Wildman (1902: 23-27) was installed "illegally" by the twonsfolk as a counter-measure to the monks' move of the original abbey font [cf. infra] was probably made expressedly for the church at the time of the conflict [i.e., ca. 1436] and has disappeared. Davies (1962: 56) [after Wildman 1902] relates an interesting conflict related to the practice of baptism in this town: "At Sherborne an open quarrel resulted. The townsfolk worshipped in Allhallows [All Souls], which was built at the west end of the Abbey church; for baptism they had to enter the latter through a door which had been recently narrowed by the monks and use the font, which had been removed to an inconvenient place. They therefore set up a font in their own chapel of Allhallows and were consequently accused before the Bishop by the monks in 1437. The Bishop directed that the new font was to be destroyed, the communicating door enlarged and the old font replaced in its accustomed position. Neither monks nor townsfolk were satisfied with this veredict, and the monks took the initiative by inducing a certain Walter Gallor to enter Allhallows and deface the font. The townsfolk retaliated by setting fire to the Abbey church; they were fined for their misbehaviour, but achieved their end, since the monks were ordered to agree to the legal transformation of Allhallows chapel into a parish church and so be rid of the parishioners entirely." Wildman (1902: 23) informs that the abey church form was [ca. 1902] back in the original position, but no mention is made of the second font, which was presumably destroyed in 1437 as ordered by Bishop Robert Neville.