'Dismay' over abbey toilets proposal

Plans to move centuries-old memorials to install toilet facilities in an abbey have left some residents in “dismay and utter astonishment”.

Toilets are due to be installed in the vestry of Dorset's Sherborne Abbey in the summer but a number of memorials, including that of poet Sir Thomas Wyatt, would need to be moved first.

Residents have questioned the decision, pointing out there are already public toilets nearby.

The abbey said adding toilets to the building was "long overdue".

Caz Caswell, 75, regularly attends the abbey and is among those to have raised concerns.

He said he found the prospect of the changes "distressing".

"I am in a state of utter astonishment and profound dismay," he said.

“The sheer audacity of such a proposition, which entails the wanton destruction of precious memorials, dating back centuries, is nothing short of outrageous.”

Several others have commented on the matter on the Sherborne Grapevine Facebook group.

One person said it was "sacrilege" to disturb memorials while another said "there must be other positions for toilets, possibly outside".

Some explained public toilets were already available nearby on Digby Road and at Swan Yard.

However, others argued the toilets were "necessary" to make the abbey a "viable venue for a wider audience".

Sherborne Abbey needs to move seven memorials, honouring eight people, in order for the work to take place.

The abbey has appealed for the descendants of those whose memorials need to be moved to come forwards.

Rev Martin Lee, team rector at the abbey, said: “I think it needs to be made clear we are not moving graves, we are moving memorials which have already been moved during Victorian times.

"We are simply moving the monuments back in order to do the work for the facilities."

He added: “Improvements to comfort at the abbey are long overdue."

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