Wimborne Minster
Although there has been a church here since the 8th century, the current building, with its crenellated and pinnacled twin towers, was built between 1120 and 1180. The nave reflects these Norman origins in its zigzag molding interspersed with carved heads. Several Gothic components were added later, as were fine Victorian geometric floor tiles and stained glass windows. Don't miss the late-17th-century chained library (where books are chained to shelves), one of the first public libraries in Britain and the country's second-largest chained library. Its collection includes a 14th-century manuscript and a 1522 book with a title page designed by Hans Holbein. Also look out for the pre-Copernican astronomical clock (it has a blue ball earth with the sun going around it), which dates to before the 15th century. It's on the inside wall of the west tower.
