We couldn’t leave Salisbury without visiting its Cathedral. Salisbury Cathedral construction began in 1220 and was completed in 1258. The pointy bits, the tower and spire, were added by 1330, but 38 years is a very short time to construct a working cathedral!
The western entrance to Salisbury Cathedral.
We took a tour of the Cathedral and saw its copy of the Magna Carta of 1215, one of only four surviving copies.
The Magna Carta was created in 1215 and established core rights for the people to protect them from overreach by the King. Tenets of the Magna Carta exist in British law today, as well as in the US Constitution, such as the idea that no man (or king) is above the law, and rights such as due process and speedy trial by jury.
The document is written on a single piece of sheepskin parchment, in very tiny Latin text. The overall parchment is about 18″ x 24″.
Photos of the Magna Carta were not permitted, but this image of the Magna Carta was available to photograph, so this is what you get 🙂
Salisbury Cathedral is beautiful and built in the Gothic style. It is special in its double transept design. Viewed from above, you’d see two north-south cross bars in the typical cross-shaped layout of a cathedral, instead of one.
View from the north of Salisbury Cathedral. The double transepts can be seen below and to the left of the main tower.
Like other English cathedrals, Salisbury Cathedral experienced some damage during the Reformation and the English Civil War. But, it is said to be not as extensive as what other cathedrals experienced. Likewise, it was spared damage in WWII.
Inside the nave of Salisbury CathedralThe Trinity Chapel on the east end of the Salisbury Cathedral – the oldest portion of the Cathedral.A view looking west from the Choir in Salisbury Chapel
The Cathedral has a beautifully designed modern baptismal font, the design of which is echoed in several altars throughout.
A view looking east with the nave reflected in the baptismal font.A view looking west with a reflection of the nave in the glass top of the main altar.The ceiling of the Charter House, where the Magna Carta resides.
On our way out, we strolled through the Cloisters of the Cathedral as the sun began to set.
After thoroughly exploring two cathedrals in two days, we were glad to head back to the hotel for our last night in Salisbury.
We took one last walk through the market square and found a lovely wine bar with nibblies for dinner.
We arrived in Salisbury by train late in the afternoon, so we headed right to the hotel, the Red Lion Inn. Salisbury has a Cathedral, too (shocker). In the 13th century, the Red Lion was built to house stonemasons who were working on the Cathedral.
The hotel’s courtyard – I loved our hotel before we ever walked through the door.
Salisbury is very walkable, too. We were a block away from the busy market square, which was full of cafes, restaurants, and stores. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, market stalls fill the square. Luckily, our stay included a Tuesday, so we were treated to a stroll around the market.
Salisbury’s River Avon and its tributaries run through the town.
After enjoying a walk around town, we stopped in for a drink in the pub and enjoyed dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant.
Monte says that we went to Portsmouth to see the Ships. Well, we came to Salisbury to see the Stones. So, the next morning, we got up and caught the bus to Stonehenge, which stops a block from our hotel.
It was very windy, and therefore quite chilly. But we were treated to another sunny day in England.
A view of Stonehenge from the northeast, near the Heel Stone, looking southwest through the stones towards where the sun would set on the summer solstice. The “Avenue” extends behind us to the northeast
Stonehenge is the current monument at this location, estimated to have been erected around 2500 BC. As early as 3000 BC, other monuments were built here, beginning with a circular earthen ditch, and then a circle made with smaller stones. Eventually, the current stone arrangement was erected and aligned with the sun on the spring and summer solstices.
The purpose of the stones is a mystery. The leading theories include being a burial site or an astronomical calendar. It is also thought to have been an ancient pilgrimage destination, as evidence of an “avenue” can be seen that extends from the site to the River Avon. If that is true, the river may have carried visitors to the site, as well as the stones used to construct it. Many other burial sites have been discovered in the immediate area. Whatever the reason, it is truly something to walk near them (walking through the stones is no longer allowed due to preservation efforts). If it had been a warmer day, we would have walked along one of the field paths from the visitor center to the monument. But it was just too windy and chilly, and the shuttle bus was a better option.
A view from the southwest, with the sun shining on the stones.A view from the northwest – this is the closest the walkway gets to the stones, about 35′ away.
At the site, there is a circular path that goes all the way around the stones. There is an audio walking tour that you can download (ahead of time!) and listen to descriptions of the site as you walk around the monument.
After admiring the stones, we spent time in the visitor center to take in even more history of the site.
A photo of a film in the visitor center showing what a winter solstice sunset could have looked like in the full stone circle circa 2500BC.This exhibit shows what the original stone circle would have looked like circa 2200 BC.
On the way back to Salisbury from Stonehenge, the bus goes by Old Sarum, which was the original name and location of the town now called Salisbury. There are ruins of an old Iron Age castle and fortifications there, along with the footings of the original Norman cathedral that stood at that site. The legend goes that the monks at Old Sarum, who lived in the cathedral, had ongoing conflicts with the soldiers who lived in the castle. They fought over water, which was in short supply. So they petitioned the Pope to move the cathedral (and the town). So they shot an arrow into the air, and where it landed would be the location for the new cathedral. The arrow allegedly struck a deer and was carried some distance. Where it eventually fell, construction on the new cathedral began in 1220. More on the Salisbury Cathedral in another post.
Sheila365 