England's West Country welcomes a peerless new arts centre

The late West Country entrepreneur Michael Cannon knew the region’s great reserve of artistic talent deserved a great showcase. Less than a year after his death, Cannon’s passion project has been realised with the opening of The Sherborne, a Grade I-listed stately home repurposed as a landmark cultural venue for the community.

With the exhibition ‘Housework’, the former residence and girls’ school debuts its diverse programme in sumptuous, sunlit interiors – thanks to a sensitive restoration by local architecture practice Spase. Working alongside Historic England and Dorset Council, the architects upgraded the medieval wing and carried out a meticulous refurbishment of the ‘newer’ Georgian rooms, all of which had fallen into disrepair before the house was relegated to a ‘heritage building at risk’.

During the multiyear project, specialists uncovered historical artefacts including a Tudor kitchen and Victorian water chambers. Conservation experts were enlisted to undertake the painstaking restoration of a two-storey baroque mural from the 1700s, painted by Sir James Thornhill with a Caledonian boar hunt scene from Greek mythology. Thornhill is notable for his work on St Paul’s Cathedral and The Royal Naval College in London.

To recraft the interiors, Spase brought on Adam Ellis and Humphries Weaving to design bespoke wallpapers and fabrics; they finished with paint from Rose of Jericho and carpets from Avena. On the building’s façade, an artisan hand-painted all 2,500 rendered stones to give them the effect of the original stonework.

‘This building… has been a landmark in Sherborne for centuries,’ says Spase founder Stefan Pitman. ‘It even played host to Charles Dickens, who was a regular visitor in the 19th century. Preserving its historical integrity whilst ushering it into a new era for the town is a huge honour.’

Alongside the restoration work, Pitman oversaw the design and construction of a 6.7-metre-high curved glulam pavilion connecting the main house to the garden. He enlisted Buckland Timber to create the self-supporting roof structure and ceiling, formed of 17-metre boards of laminated European spruce. Each weighing 1.5 tonnes, the boards are joined with hidden steel flitch plates and secured with hidden dowels. A copper canopy roof with hand-cut tapered joints sits atop floor-to-ceiling windows.

Pitman says he worked predominantly with local craftspeople and artisans from the area via the Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings. ‘We also referenced local architectural vernacular throughout our design, using sustainable materials in keeping with nearby historic buildings to ensure The Sherborne sits peacefully within its surroundings.’ Materials were upcycled and reused where possible. Air source heat pumps and rainwater recycling systems ensure the building runs efficiently.

The Sherborne House Trust, founded by Michael Cannon before construction, will maintain the house and grounds while resident charity Dorset Visual Arts will oversee programming. Aside from featuring Dorset artists and makers, the property is running an in-house brasserie and bar called Macready’s, curated gift shop and programme of outdoor sculpture. Currently the gardens feature botanical sculptures by contemporary blacksmith Jenny Pickford and woven willow sculptures by horticulturist Angela Morley.

‘In 2018, the former Sherborne House sat empty and unused,’ says Sherborne trustee and director Sally-Ann Cannon. ‘After over 30 years of neglect, Michael immediately saw the potential and didn’t need much encouragement to begin the project of bringing it back to life.’