I was interested to read of the 'history' of the architecturte of the Abbey Church, especially that Roger of Caen 'knocked down most of the Saxon church replacing it with a much larger building'. Investigations of the Abbey building commenced in early Victorian times when Carpenter discovered the massive foundations at the west end of a Saxon 'westwerken' (tower) and which ties in with the considerable amount of Saxon walling (including an extant Saxon doorway)to be found in the west end. H.Taylor gives an interesting account of the Abbey in his sterling volumes "Anglo-Saxon Architecture". The bulk of the present building is in fact the Saxon Abbey of circa 890, it has simply been extended upwards (particularly by the Normans) and again in the remodelling of the nave in the 15th century. The core of the present fabric which includes the central crossing is in fact Saxon c.890. In summary - A picture thus emerges of a 10th century monastic cathedral church with square western and central towers; a church of a total length not less than that of the present church, excluding its Lady Chapel, and with transepts and an aisled nave. Investigations carried out 1964 to 1973 have established the survival of the northern part of the north adjunct to the western tower, the main part of the west front and the north wall of north transept. The latter stands to gable height below the later Norman north wall. Surviving gables; importantly there is intact plaster on the east and north gables which indicate the pitch of the Anglo-Saxon roof. The north wall of the north annexe stands several feet high with its long-and-short north-east quoin intact for a height of 14 feet. The remainder of the west narthex and tower is attested by foundations. This well defined plan is in common with many other (larger) Anglo-Saxon churches. The western transept has been established as well as an upper western tower-sanctuary (Gibb 1975). It was perfectly usual for bells to be hung in western towers in Saxon times. (see also Hubert 1938: 80-5).
In common with most pre-conquest Minster churches, and also humbler fabric, the Normans simply adapted and remodelled (lengthened and raised in some cases) existing buildings, as every age has done throughout the Middle Ages. Sherborne Abbey is no exception and the Anglo-Saxon work which is now over eleven hundred years old is a testament to their workmanship.