History and All That (1)

Salisbury Cathedral - its spire is 123m / 404ft tall.

Although initially it was a visit tinged with sadness, Paul and I enjoyed a weekend in Salisbury (Wiltshire) recently.   

​Paul’s grandmother died a few months ago – but at the grand old age of 103 years so whilst sad it was to be expected. We completed the official requirements and paperwork and then scattered her ashes near a small town called Wilton, where she had lived for over fifty years.

The Red Lion Hotel

We stayed at The Red Lion Hotel in the centre of the city.  It was originally the “White Bear Inn” and was constructed to house the draughtsman working on the 'new' Cathedral - where building started in 1220 !  When the basic construction was finished in the late 13th century, the White Bear continued to house visitors to the Cathedral and subsequently the ‘New City’ of Salisbury. It is therefore probable that the hotel is possibly the longest running purpose-built hotel in the country.  In the early 1700s the name was changed to the ‘Red Lion and Cross Keys’. This name remained in use until 30th January 1769 when the sign was altered to the ‘Red Lion’ only.  The name was changed by its new owner, Daniel Pearce Safe, who was the Postmaster of Salisbury.  He subsequently moved the Salisbury Post Office to the hotel building and therefore the Red Lion became the main entrance for all mail coaches arriving in and leaving Salisbury.

​The new Cathedral foundation stones were laid on 28 April 1220. The Cathedral’s foundations are only 1.2 metres (4 foot) deep and underneath these there is just gravel and water. There is a specific hole in the Cathedral floor to check the depth of the water.

Salisbury's original Cathedral was built two miles from the current city centre on the site of an iron age hillfort, known as Old Sarum.
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A cathedral and a royal castle were built at Old Sarum following the Norman Conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. In 1075 the original Salisbury Cathedral building commenced and was finished in 1091.    However, because of problems with the lack of water and stormy weather at the hillfort, as well as stormy relations between the monks and the army garrison, a new site in the river valley below was chosen and an official Papal Bull was issued agreeing to the move. 

Old Sarum - a motte-and-bailey castle

• Built between 1310 – 1330, the cathedral spire towers 123m (404ft) above the ground and weighs 6,500 tons. It the tallest church spire in the UK. 
• The cathedral was constructed between 1220 and 1258, in a style called Early English Gothic – emphasising height and light in comparison to the bulkier, heavier buildings of the 11th and 12th century.
• The cathedral is built with Purbeck marble. However Purbeck marble is not marble, nor does it come from the Isle of Purbeck – it is actually crystalline limestone and was quarried in Corfe Castle, Dorset (a distance of 43 miles).
• The cathedral is 473 feet long. The nave is 82 feet long and 84 feet high.
• Salisbury Cathedral houses the best preserved of only four surviving original 1215 Magna Carta, and the only copy on permanent display. Arguably Britain’s most important piece of written history, it was also the inspiration for the American Constitution.
• The world’s oldest working mechanical clock was built in 1386 and is situated in the church.  The clock has no face and was designed only to strike every hour. The mechanism is driven by falling weights which must be wound up once a day.
• Houses for the priests were built on the land surrounding the new Cathedral an the 80-acre Cathedral Close is the largest in Britain.
• The Close reflects 800 years of rich and varied architecture including medieval and elegant Georgian dwellings.  Buildings include: The Wardrobe which is a military museum, home of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment and Kings House is the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, The Medieval Hall, once the Deanery, is among the oldest buildings in the Close, and Mompesson House, built in 1701, is a Georgian townhouse now owned by the National Trust.

Mompesson House,

Check out:
https://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/salisbury

https://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/
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