SDO10321 - The origins of Sherborne: a preliminary report; Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society

A short article concerning Katherine Barker’s theory that the curved route of Hound Street, when taken with other property boundaries, marks the line of a pre-Saxon monastic precinct boundary or vallum around the putative British monastery of Lanprobus. This sub-circular enclosure, according to Barker, is superimposed on a pre-existing rectilinear field system of Romano-British origin. Furthermore, Barker suggests that E-W alignments seen in property boundaries in the northern part of the town may represent remnants of a prehistoric field system. Barker conducted a small excavation in the garden of 60 Cheap Street during the winter and spring of 1976-7 in order to test her theories. It was claimed that five boundaries appeared to cross the site, although their positions and nature are far from clear on the published excavation plan. One supposed boundary in particular [G] along the southern edge of the excavation was said to represent the Lan boundary. However, no dating evidence or other evidence for its function was recorded. Furthermore, only one edge appears on the excavation plan and the precise form of this feature cannot be determined.