Editing Sherborne Abbey (section)

=== Saxon ===
When [[Aldhelm|St Aldhelm]] built his cathedral (starting after about 705, and prior to his 709 decease), it was to the west of the current building – the west wall of the current church is the site of the east wall of St Aldhelm's. In c.1050 Bishop [[Ælfwold II (bishop of Sherborne)|Ælfwold II]] built a new cathedral and abbey church on the current site that was, apparently, one of the largest in England.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ridgeway|first=Huw|date=2014|title=The History of the Abbey Church|journal=Sherborne Abbey|pages=5}}</ref> Of this, the known surviving parts are the west wall and the core of the columns supporting the two westernmost arches.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=RCHM|date=1952|title=Plan of Abbey & School Buildings|journal=The Plan of the Abbey Church of St Mary Sherborne with the Remains of the Abbey Buildings.}}</ref> At the west end of the north aisle, a Saxon doorway from c.1050 survives. This would have led into a large porch flanking a west tower as was conventional with Saxon church-architecture. [[Roger of Caen]] rebuilt much of Ælfwold II's church c.1130, replacing it with a much larger [[Norman architecture|Norman]]-style church on the same site, completed c.1180.<ref name=":5" /> This is the reason why the nave is shorter (only five bays) than the typical Anglo-Norman church nave.