Editing Sherborne Abbey (section)

== Lady Chapel ==
The Lady Chapel is on the site of two earlier chapels: the c.1250 then Lady Chapel and the c.15 Chapel of St. Mary le Bow. These were taken over by the governors of the newly founded 'Edward VI Grammar School' (now known as Sherborne School) in 1550 and were partially demolished and converted into a dwelling for the headmaster in 1560. It remained in use by the school until 1921 when plans were drawn for the grafting of a new Gothic-style Lady Chapel onto the remaining section of the medieval chapel and was completed in 1934. The original Lady Chapel was built slightly south of the centre of the church, so the 15th century vaulting in the ambulatory does not align with the arch into the chapel. The remaining section of St. Mary le Bow's Chapel contains a fireplace mantel from when it was a domestic dwelling.

The Lady Chapel contains the oldest candelabrum in England, dating from 1657,<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The book of Castleton Church|journal=The Book of Castleton Church}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite journal|last=Ridgeway|first=Huw|date=2014|title=The Lady Chapel|journal=Sherborne Abbey|pages=22}}</ref> and probably came from the Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Candelabra|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol1/xxxiii-l|access-date=30 December 2020}}</ref> It is brass with a double-headed eagle at the top, and two tiers of branches and a globe beneath. The globe is inscribed recording the gift of Sherborne grandee, Mary Whetcumbe, with a shield-of-arms. Originally, it hung in the presbytery, but it fell during the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=RCHM|date=1952|title=Fittings|journal=Sherborne|pages=206}}</ref> In 1962 it was restored and rehung in the Lady Chapel.<ref name=":14" />