The History of Salisbury, England

Old Sarum| Salisbury Cathedral| Salisbury

Old Sarum

Salisbury's history begins at Old Sarum, a desolate and uninhabited hill two miles north of the city which was, up until the thirteenth century, a thriving town. It was first settled in 300BC by Iron Age tribesmen who built extensive earth works and developed it into a hill fort. The town had a good strategic position with views over the sparsely vegetated plains down to the river Avon, and this obviously contributed to its development. It is situated just eight miles south of Stonehenge which would also have made it attractive to early man.
Old Sarum became a military town (Sorviodonum) during the Roman occupation but when this collapsed its development was temporarily halted and the town was abandoned. It was reoccupied by the native Britons at this time.
Soon after the Norman invasion of 1066 the town was renamed Salisberie and William I ordered the strengthening of the towns defences as well as the building of a wooden castle on the central mound. In 1057 a cathedral was begun to the north of the castle. Ultimately this forced the foundation of the modern city of Salisbury as there was insufficient acreage for the military and the clergy to share.

Salisbury Cathedral

The first five stones of the new cathedral were laid in 1220 on a flat and well watered area of land, ample enough for a Close and a city. Three were laid by Bishop Poore, one by William Longspee, Earl of Salisbury and the fifth by his wife. By the autumn of that year the Trinity Chapel, which now stands at the top of the cross shaped construction, was dedicated by Cardinal Langton. Work went on...
In 1334 work began on Salisbury Cathedral's most famous feature, its 404 foot spire - the tallest in England and second tallest in Europe. Until this time Salisbury had had only a squat tower though what prompted the rebuilding is unknown. After two further stages the final spire was completed; its 6,400 tons supported by four main pillars, each six foot in diameter. Despite their size and many strengthening buttresses they can clearly be seen to bend. (The spire leans 29.5 inches to the south-west.)
The delicacy of the cathedral spire and the risk of damage by vibrations meant that a separate belfry had to be constructed outside the cathedral itself. In fact it was situated seventy yards north within the cathedral Close. With walls eight feet thick it had a spire two hundred feet high and a peel of ten bells.

Salisbury 1459

Salisbury did not evolve out of a village but was founded which resulted in wide streets instead of the alleys and passageways which characterise many mediaeval cities. In 1227 the new city was granted a royal charter to establish it as a borough. This gave it the right to hold a weekly market and also an annual fair though this became a twice weekly market on Tuesdays and Saturdays. As a free city its inhabitants were free from all tolls within England, they were permitted to elect a mayor and under the protection of the bishop Salisbury grew and flourished. However this arrangement was soon out grown as the church wished to tax the cities wealth. The merchants objected and to avoid the tax they revoked the charter. Trade was severely affected with the loss of borough status and in 1306 they submitted to the bishop's right to taxation. It was a decisive victory. Salisbury's fortunes peaked in the fifteenth century.

The Circle: Stonehenge

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