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Home > Dorset > Sherborne > The Sun

The Sun


The Sun was situated on the Market Place. This pub is now part of Sherborne School.
Source: David Fisher
 
This is perhaps the prettiest of the lost pubs of Sherborne, but it is not entirely authentic. The origins date back to the 16th Century but it has been much altered and restored since. The present “Tudor” half-timbered appearance dates only from the late 19th century. By 1901 it was little more than a doss-house for the homeless who could "spend a night by the fire for tuppence, or a night in a bed for fourpence".  It closed in 1916, to become a Temperance Hotel with billets for 85 soldiers. It was owned by W.A. Dewey, who is also noted for running the very first school bus service in the whole country.
Adrian Harding (February 2021)
 
Grade-II listed 16th or 17th century building much restored late 19th to early 20th century and later part of Sherborne School. Once part of the east gatehouse of the monastery probably dating back to the 14th century and rebuilt in the 16th or 17th century. It housed shops until about 1840 when it became the Sun Inn. By 1901 the homeless could 'spend a night by the fire for tuppence, or a night in a bed for fourpence'. Reportedly later it became a Temperance Hotel with billets for 85 soldiers and the owner W A Dewey was the first in the country to run a school bus. The school bought it in 1916 and the ground floor was the staff Common Room and the upper two floors provide accommodation for masters and boys. Directory entries for the Sun include; 1842-1844 John Baker, Cheap Street; 1851 William Loxton, Cheap Street; 1852 onwards I'm unable to locate it, suggesting it closed in 1851-52.
Steve Turner (May 2022)
 

 
Listed building details:
Part of Sherborne School since 1916. C16 or C17, much restored and altered late C19 to early C20 and later. 2 storeys and attic. Stone slate roof with 3 hipped dormers. Coved cornice and carved fascia, from photographic evidence of late C19 to early C20 date. 1st floor of plaster and applied timber-framing; ground floor of stone. 3 window bays. 4-light casements with modern leaded glazing to 1st floor. On ground floor, from left to right hand end, two 2-tier, 2-light casement windows with diamond and lozenge shaped lead glazing; door with cover strips at right hand end. Once The Sun Inn. Large wrought iron lamp bracket at south angle of building.

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Other Photos
Date of photo: 2011

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