Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,359 in Dorset, South West.
Sherborne grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 35% of UK towns, and #14 of 30 in Dorset. Its strongest subject is walkability (A): 26% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (D): median sale £308,750, 5.9 years of area income; rent £1,056 a month.
The 3 things Sherborne does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Sherborne is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 377 buildings inside Sherborne’s built-up area, 12 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
26% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Sherborne.
That puts Sherborne above both Dorset’s towns (25%) and England’s towns (18%). 13% of residents are aged 15 to 24. The median resident of Sherborne is 50.2 years old.
54% women, 46% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Sherborne | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 17% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 23% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 36% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherborne Abbey Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 336 | C− |
| The Gryphon SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,569 | B− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Sherborne has 377 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 12 Grade I, 16 Grade II*. For its size, Sherborne has 364 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above both Dorset’s towns (98) and England’s towns (39). Sherborne’s listed buildings include Abbey Church of St Mary, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
22% of workers worked mainly from home, below both Dorset’s towns (28%) and England’s towns (31%). The average household earns £49K a year before tax.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds 19% of households, above Dorset’s towns (12%) and close to England’s towns (18%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £517,500 | 132 |
| Semi-detached | £310,000 | 113 |
| Terraced | £265,000 | 207 |
| Flat or maisonette | £150,500 | 82 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
There were 15.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Dorset’s towns (8.8) and England’s towns (7.8). Police recorded 434 crimes inside Sherborne’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 222 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 51% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
81% of Sherborne’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 81% across Dorset’s towns. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Sherborne | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.9% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 20% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Sherborne. Best known first.
MuseumSherborne Museumin town
Castle · English HeritageSherborne Castle400 m outside town, to the east
Castle · English HeritageSherborne Old Castle200 m outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumSherborne Steam & Waterwheel Centrein townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
377 listed buildings in Sherborne, 12 of them Grade I.
Sherborne House: Photo: Steinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Former Hospital of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist: Photo: Ronald Searle · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Castleton Mill: Photo: John M · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Britannia Inn: Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.0
26 notable people were born in Sherborne.
James Bradley: After Thomas Hudson, Public domain · John Whittingdale: ©House of Commons / photography by Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0 · Thomas Ward: HarryToby, CC BY-SA 4.0 · William Senior: Elliott & Fry (no individual credited), Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherborne | 10,359 | — | C+ | D | B | B− |
| Milborne Port | 3,207 | 2.8 | B− | C+ | B+ | A− |
| Barwick and Stoford | 1,095 | 4.7 | — | A− | C | B− |
| Yeovil | 50,170 | 5.1 | C+ | B | D | C |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 5.7 | — | C+ | C+ | B+ |
| Henstridge | 1,579 | 5.8 | — | B | C− | B |
| Stalbridge | 2,367 | 6.4 | — | C− | A− | B− |
| Ilchester | 2,062 | 8 | — | A | C | B |
Barwick and Stoford, Templecombe, Henstridge, Stalbridge and Ilchester have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 14.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Abbey Church of St Mary. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Band D council tax in Sherborne is £2,903 for 2026–27, more than in almost all of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Dorset, England
Sherborne is a built-up area of 10,359 people, in the Dorset council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.