History
ST. OSMUND’S CURSE Cindy Chant & John Drabik
‘Whosoever should take these lands from the Bishopric, or diminish them in great or small, should be accursed, not only in this world, but also in the world to come; unless in his lifetime he made restitution thereof.’ Panglossian/Shutterstock
W
ith this curse, during his declining years at the end of 11th Century, Osmund, relative of William the Conqueror and Bishop of Sarum, gave his lands at Sherborne to the Church. Today, Sherborne Old Castle is just a picturesque ruin, yet it has had a turbulent history. It was built by Roger of Caen, Chancellor to King Henry I and also Bishop of Salisbury. Building commenced in 1122 and took 15 years to complete. The castle and its estates remained the property of the Bishop of Salisbury until King Stephen ordered their acquisition. Dogged by the Civil War, the King’s wealth soon diminished and, after having to surrender them to Robert of Gloucester in 1143, who soon after lost his life, Stephen lost his crown and his life - dying without an heir. Was this as a result of the curse? We felt a shiver up our spines… as 62 | Sherborne Times | May 2021
we continued our research. The castle then passed onto the Montague family, and the curse affected them too. One was slain in battle, and another beheaded. They then lost their last remaining son, who, while practising for a jousting tournament, was accidentally pierced by his father’s lance. And so, ended their male line. The property was then, once more, restored to the Church. But then it came into the hands of Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, who, due to his greed for power, shortly afterwards in 1552, was called to London by the boy King, Edward VI, and decapitated. The estates then passed to the young King, who died of consumption a year later, at the age of 15 years. The lands were being passed from one owner to the next, each seemingly succumbed to the curse. Mary
