Salisbury ( ) is a
cathedral city
Cathedral city is a city status in the United Kingdom.
Cathedral city may also refer to:
* Cathedral City, California, a city in Southern California, United States
* Cathedral City Cheddar, a brand of Cheddar cheese
* Cathedral City High Schoo ...
in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, England with a population of 41,820,
at the confluence of the rivers
Avon,
Nadder and
Bourne
Bourne may refer to:
Places UK
* Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town
** Bourne Abbey
** Bourne railway station
* Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex
* Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset
* Bourne ...
. The city is approximately from
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and from
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wiltshire, near the edge of
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...
.
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury.
The buildi ...
was formerly north of the city at
Old Sarum
Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...
. The cathedral was relocated and a settlement grew up around it, which received a city charter in 1227 as . This continued to be its official name until
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, when
Salisbury City Council
Salisbury City Council is a parish-level council for Salisbury, England. It was established in April 2009 and is based in the city's historic Guildhall. Following the May 2021 election, no party has an overall majority.
Population
The civil p ...
was established.
Salisbury railway station
Salisbury railway station serves the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It is from on the West of England line to . This is crossed by the Wessex Main Line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. The station is operated and s ...
is an interchange between the
West of England Main Line
The West of England line (also known as the West of England Main Line) is a British railway line from , Hampshire, to in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter; the line intersects with the Wessex M ...
and the
Wessex Main Line
The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth. The Wessex Main Line intersects the Reading to Taunton Line at and th ...
.
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...
is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
and is northwest of Salisbury.
Name
The name ''Salisbury'', which is first recorded around the year 900 as ''Searoburg'' (
dative
In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a ...
''Searobyrig''), is a partial translation of the Roman Celtic name ''Sorbiodūnum''. The
Brittonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
suffix ''-dūnon'', meaning "fortress" (in reference to the fort that stood at Old Sarum), was replaced by its
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
equivalent ''-burg''. The first part of the name is of obscure origin. The form "Sarum" is a Latinization of ''Sar'', a medieval abbreviation for
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
''Sarisberie''.
Salisbury appeared in the Welsh ''
Chronicle of the Britons'' as ''Caer-Caradog'', ''Caer-Gradawc'', and ''Caer-Wallawg.'' Cair-Caratauc, one of the 28 cities listed in the ''
History of the Britons
''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British (Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Bri ...
'', has also been identified with Salisbury.
History
Old Sarum
![Salisbury from old Sarum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Salisbury_from_old_Sarum.jpg)
The hilltop at
Old Sarum
Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...
lies near the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
sites of
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...
and
Avebury
Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in t ...
and shows some signs of early settlement. It commanded a
salient between the
River Bourne and the
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
Avon, near a crossroads of several early trade routes.
During the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, sometime between 600 and 300 BC, a
hillfort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
(
oppidum
An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...
) was constructed around it.
[ The ]Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
may have occupied the site or left it in the hands of an allied tribe. At the time of the Saxon invasions, Old Sarum fell to King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Cynric of Wessex
Cynric () was King of Wessex from 534 to 560. Everything known about him comes from the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. There, he is stated to have been the son of Cerdic, who is considered the founder of the kingdom of Wessex. However, the 'Genealogic ...
in 552.[ ] Preferring settlements in bottomland, such as nearby Wilton, the Saxons largely ignored Old Sarum until the Viking invasions
Viking expansion was the historical movement which led Norse explorers, traders and warriors, the latter known in modern scholarship as Vikings, to sail most of the North Atlantic, reaching south as far as North Africa and east as far as Russ ...
led (King of Wessex from 871 to 899) to restore its fortifications.[ Along with Wilton, however, it was abandoned by its residents to be sacked and burned by the Dano-]Norwegian king
The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdom ...
Sweyn Forkbeard
Sweyn Forkbeard ( non, Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg ; da, Svend Tveskæg; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 to 1014, also at times King of the English and King of Norway. He was the father of King Harald II of D ...
in 1003. It subsequently became the site of Wilton's mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAES g ...
.[ Following the ]Norman invasion
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
of 1066, a motte-and-bailey castle
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
was constructed by 1070.[ The castle was held directly by the Norman kings; its ]castellan
A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...
was generally also the sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.
Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held '' ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle.
On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Go ...
.
In 1075 the Council of London established Herman
Herman may refer to:
People
* Herman (name), list of people with this name
* Saint Herman (disambiguation)
* Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman
Places in the United States
* Herman, Arkansas
* Herman, Michigan
* Herman, Min ...
as the first bishop of Salisbury
The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...
,[British History Online]
''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300'', Vol. IV, "Salisbury: Bishops"
. Institute of Historical Research (London), 1991. uniting his former sees of Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. T ...
and Ramsbury
Ramsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. The village is in the Kennet Valley near the Berkshire boundary. The nearest towns are Hungerford about east and Marlborough about west. The much larger town of Swindon ...
into a single diocese which covered the counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, Wiltshire, and Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
. In 1055, Herman had planned to move his seat to Malmesbury
Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the up ...
, but its monks and Earl Godwin
Godwin of Wessex ( ang, Godwine; – 15 April 1053) was an English nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in Kingdom of England, England under the Denmark, Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his succ ...
objected. Herman and his successor, Saint Osmund
Osmund (died 3 December 1099), Count of Sées, was a Norman noble and clergyman. Following the Norman conquest of England, he served as Lord Chancellor (–1078) and as the second bishop of Salisbury, or Old Sarum.
Life
Osmund, a native o ...
, began the construction of the first Salisbury cathedral, though neither lived to see its completion in 1092. Osmund served as Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
of England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
(in office 1070–1078); he was responsible for the codification of the Sarum Rite
The Use of Sarum (or Use of Salisbury, also known as the Sarum Rite) is the Latin liturgical rite developed at Salisbury Cathedral and used from the late eleventh century until the English Reformation. It is largely identical to the Roman rite, ...
, the compilation of the Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
, which was probably presented to William at Old Sarum,[ and, after centuries of advocacy from Salisbury's bishops, was finally canonised by ]Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
in 1457. The cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
was consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
on 5 April 1092 but suffered extensive damage in a storm, traditionally said to have occurred only five days later. Bishop Roger was a close ally of (reigned 1100–1135): he served as viceroy during the king's absence in Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
[ and directed, along with his extended family, the royal administration and ]exchequer
In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government reven ...
. He refurbished and expanded Old Sarum's cathedral in the 1110s and began work on a royal palace during the 1130s, prior to his arrest by Henry's successor, Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
. After this arrest, the castle at Old Sarum was allowed to fall into disrepair, but the sheriff and castellan continued to administer the area under the king's authority.
New Sarum
Bishop of Salisbury Hubert Walter
Hubert Walter ( – 13 July 1205) was an influential royal adviser in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries in the positions of Chief Justiciar of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor. As chancellor, Walter b ...
was instrumental in the negotiations with Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
during the Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
, but he spent little time in his diocese prior to his elevation to archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
. The brothers Herbert
Herbert may refer to:
People Individuals
* Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert
Name
* Herbert (given name)
* Herbert (surname)
Places Antarctica
* Herbert Mountains, Coats Land
* Herbert Sound, Graham Land
Australia
* Herbert ...
and Richard Poore
Richard Poore or Poor (died 15 April 1237) was a medieval English bishop best known for his role in the establishment of Salisbury Cathedral and the City of Salisbury, moved from the nearby fortress of Old Sarum. He served as Bishop of Chic ...
succeeded him and began planning the relocation of the cathedral into the valley almost immediately. Their plans were approved by but repeatedly delayed: Herbert was first forced into exile in Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
in the 1190s by the hostility of his archbishop Walter
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
and then again to Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
in the 1210s owing to royal hostility following the papal interdiction against . The secular authorities were particularly incensed, according to tradition, owing to some of the clerics debauching the castellan's female relations.[ In the end, the clerics were refused permission to reenter the city walls following their ]rogation
Rogation days are days of prayer and fasting in Western Christianity. They are observed with processions and the Litany of the Saints. The so-called ''major'' rogation is held on 25 April; the ''minor'' rogations are held on Monday to Wednesday ...
s and processions
A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner.
History
Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...
.[ quotes John Leland] This caused Peter of Blois
Peter of Blois ( la, Petrus Blesensis; French: ''Pierre de Blois''; ) was a French cleric, theologian, poet and diplomat. He is particularly noted for his corpus of Latin letters.
Early life and education
Peter of Blois was born about 1130. Ear ...
to describe the church as "a captive within the walls of the citadel like the ark of God
The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an e ...
in the profane house of Baal
Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...
". He advocated
Herbert Poore's successor and brother Richard Poore eventually moved the cathedral to a new town
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
on his estate at Veteres Sarisberias ("Old Salisburies") in 1220. The site was at "Myrifield" ("Merryfield"), a meadow near the confluence of the River Nadder
The River Nadder is a tributary of the River Avon, flowing in south Wiltshire, England.
Course
The river flows north from Ludwell to West End where it is joined by the Ferne Brook, close to the Lower Coombe and Ferne Brook Meadows site of spec ...
and the Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
Avon. It was first known as "New Sarum"[ or .][ The town was laid out on a ]grid
Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to:
Common usage
* Cattle grid or stock grid, a type of obstacle is used to prevent livestock from crossing the road
* Grid reference, used to define a location on a map
Arts, entertainment, and media
* News g ...
.
Work on the new cathedral building, the present Salisbury Cathedral, began in 1221. The site was supposedly established by shooting an arrow from Old Sarum, although this is certainly a legend: the distance is over . The legend is sometimes amended to claim that the arrow struck a white deer, which continued to run and died on the spot where the cathedral now rests. The structure was built upon wooden faggots on a gravel bed with unusually shallow foundations of and the main body was completed in only 38 years. The tall spire, the tallest in the UK, was built later. With royal approval, many of the stones for the new cathedral were taken from the old one; others came from Chilmark. They were probably transported by ox-cart, owing to the obstruction to boats on the River Nadder
The River Nadder is a tributary of the River Avon, flowing in south Wiltshire, England.
Course
The river flows north from Ludwell to West End where it is joined by the Ferne Brook, close to the Lower Coombe and Ferne Brook Meadows site of spec ...
caused by its many weirs and watermills. The cathedral is considered a masterpiece of Early English architecture
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...
. The spire's large clock was installed in 1386, and is one of the oldest surviving mechanical clocks in the world. The Cathedral also contains the best-preserved of the four surviving copies of Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
.
New Sarum was made a city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
by a charter from in 1227[Easton, James]
''A Chronology of Remarkable Events Relative to the City of New Sarum, with the Year, and the Name of the Mayor in whose Time they occurred: Chiefly collected from the authentic Sources of the City Records, and Manuscripts of Citizens, From 1227 to 1823, a Period of 596 Years, Including the Prices of Wheat and Barley from an Early Æra: To which are added, Their annual Average Prices for 28 Years, Being from 1796 to 1823'', 5th ed., p. 1.
J. Easton (Salisbury), 1824. and, by the 14th century, was the largest settlement in Wiltshire. The city wall surrounds the Close and was built in the 14th century, again with stones removed from the former cathedral at Old Sarum. The wall now has five gates: the High Street Gate, Gate, the Queen's Gate, and Gate were original, while a fifth was constructed in the 19th century to allow access to Bishop Wordsworth's School, in the Cathedral Close. During his time in the city, the composer Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
stayed in a room above St Ann's gate. The original site of the city at Old Sarum, meanwhile, fell into disuse. It continued as a rotten borough
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...
: at the time of its abolition during the reforms of 1832, its Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) represented three households.
In May 1289, there was uncertainty about the future of Margaret, Maid of Norway
Margaret (, ; March or April 1283 – September 1290), known as the Maid of Norway, was the queen-designate of Scotland from 1286 until her death. As she was never inaugurated, her status as monarch is uncertain and has been debated by historian ...
, and her father sent ambassadors to Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
. Edward met Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
and others at Salisbury in October 1289, which resulted in the Treaty of Salisbury
The Treaty of Birgham, also referred to as the Treaty of Salisbury, comprised two treaties in 1289 and 1290 intended to secure the independence of Scotland after the death of Alexander III of Scotland and accession of his three-year-old granddaugh ...
, under which Margaret would be sent to Scotland before 1 November 1290 and any agreement on her future marriage would be delayed until she was in Scotland.
The Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...
met at New Sarum in the years 1324, 1328, and 1384.
In 1450, a number of riots broke out in Salisbury at roughly the same time as Jack Cade
Jack Cade's Rebellion was a popular revolt in 1450 against the government of England, which took place in the south-east of the country between the months of April and July. It stemmed from local grievances regarding the corruption, maladmini ...
led a famous rebellion through London. The riots occurred for related reasons, although the declining fortunes of Salisbury's cloth trade may also have been influential. The violence peaked with the murder of the bishop, William Ayscough
William Ayscough or Aiscough (c. 1395 – 29 June 1450) was a medieval English cleric who served as Bishop of Salisbury from 1438 until his death.
Ayscough was nominated on 11 February 1438 and consecrated on 20 July 1438.Fryde, et al. ''Handb ...
, who been involved with the government. In 1483, a large-scale rebellion against Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
broke out, led by his own 'kingmaker', Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, KG (4 September 1455 – 2 November 1483) was an English nobleman known as the namesake of Buckingham's rebellion, a failed but significant collection of uprisings in England and parts of Wales agains ...
. After the revolt collapsed, Buckingham was executed at Salisbury, near the Bull's Head Inn. In 1664, an act for making the River Avon navigable from Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
to the city of New Sarum was passed and the work completed, only for the project to be ruined shortly thereafter by a major flood. Soon after, during the Great Plague of London
The Great Plague of London, lasting from 1665 to 1666, was the last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England. It happened within the centuries-long Second Pandemic, a period of intermittent bubonic plague epidemics that origi ...
, Charles II held court in Salisbury's cathedral close.
Salisbury was the site chosen to assemble James II James II may refer to:
* James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade
* James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier
* James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily
* James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...
's forces to resist the Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
. He arrived to lead his approximately men on 19 November 1688. His troops were not keen to fight Mary or her husband William, and the loyalty of many of James's commanders was in doubt. The first blood was shed at the Wincanton Skirmish
The Wincanton Skirmish occurred on 20 November 1688 during the Glorious Revolution. A small patrol of the Royal Army led by the Irish officer Patrick Sarsfield, clashed with a detachment of the invading Dutch Army in the town of Wincanton in Some ...
, in Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
. In Salisbury, James heard that some of his officers had deserted, such as Edward Hyde, and he broke out in a nosebleed, which he took as an omen that he should retreat. His commander in chief, the Earl of Feversham
Earl of Feversham is a title that has been created three times (the second time as Countess of Feversham), once in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. All three creations are ...
, advised retreat on 23 November, and the next day John Churchill
General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...
defected to William. On 26 November, James's own daughter, Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...
, did the same, and James returned to London the same day, never again to be at the head of a serious military force in England.
20th and 21st centuries: Salisbury
Following the destruction by the Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
of the factories building Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
s in 1940 in Southampton, production was dispersed to shadow factories
British shadow factories were the outcome of the Shadow Scheme, a plan devised in 1935 and developed by the British Government in the buildup to World War II to try to meet the urgent need for more aircraft using technology transfer from the mo ...
elsewhere in the south of England. Salisbury was the major centre of production, supplemented by Trowbridge
Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England, on the River Biss in the west of the county. It is near the border with Somerset and lies southeast of Bath, 31 miles (49 km) southwest of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) southe ...
and Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
. Several factories were set up in the centre of Salisbury and manned by predominantly young women who had no previous mechanical experience but were trained for specific tasks in the aircraft construction process. Supporting the factories were many workers producing small components in home-based workshops and garden sheds. Sub-assemblies were built in the city centre factories and then transported to High Post airfield (north of the city, in Durnford parish) and Chattis Hill (northeast, near Stockbridge), where the aircraft were assembled, test flown and then distributed to RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
airfields across England. A total of over 2000 Spitfires were produced. The whole process was carried out in secret without the knowledge of even the local people and only emerged into public knowledge after the production of a film describing the whole process. In July 2021 a memorial to the workers, in the form of a life-size fibreglass model Mk IX Spitfire, was unveiled in Castle Road, Salisbury on the site of one of the factories.
At the time of the 1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
, held in London, a relay of runners carried the Olympic Flame
The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...
from Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
, where the Games were based, to the sailing centre at Torbay
Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...
via Slough
Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...
, Basingstoke
Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
, Salisbury, and Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
.
The 1972 Local Government Act
Local Government Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom, relating to local government.
The Bill for an Act with this short title may have been known ...
eliminated the administration of the City of New Sarum under its former charters, but its successor, Wiltshire County
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
's Salisbury District
Salisbury was a local government district in Wiltshire, England from 1974 to 2009. Its main urban area was the city of Salisbury.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 and the pursuant The English Non- ...
, continued to be accorded its former city status. The name was finally formally amended from "New Sarum" to "Salisbury" during the 2009 changes occasioned by the 1992 Local Government Act
Local Government Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom, relating to local government.
The Bill for an Act with this short title may have been known ...
, which established the Salisbury City Council.
On 4 March 2018, former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal
Sergei Viktorovich Skripal ( rus, Серге́й Ви́кторович Скрипáль, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ skrʲɪˈpalʲ; born 23 June 1951) is a former Russian military intelligence officer who acted as a double agent f ...
and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were poisoned in Salisbury with a Novichok
Novichok (russian: Новичо́к, lit=newcomer, novice, newbie) is a group of nerve agents, some of which are binary chemical weapons. The agents were developed at the GosNIIOKhT state chemical research institute by the Soviet Union and Ru ...
nerve agent.
Governance
Salisbury is within the county of Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, and the administrative district of the same name. For local government purposes, it is administered by the Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate unitary authority of Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council (1889–2009) and the ...
unitary authority. Salisbury forms a civil parish with a parish council known as the Salisbury City Council
Salisbury City Council is a parish-level council for Salisbury, England. It was established in April 2009 and is based in the city's historic Guildhall. Following the May 2021 election, no party has an overall majority.
Population
The civil p ...
.
Since the local boundary review of 2020, two electoral wards
The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and distri ...
– St Edmund and Harnham East – cover the city centre within the A36 ring road, and the rest of the unitary and city council areas are covered by six further wards. Laverstock and Ford
Laverstock is a village and civil parish on the north-east and east outskirts of Salisbury in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. The parish is shaped like a figure 7 and incorporates Ford hamlet, the eastern half of the former manor of ...
parish council has the same boundary as the Laverstock ward, as well as part of the Old Sarum and Upper Bourne Valley ward, at unitary level. The Bishopdown Farm estate on the outskirts of Salisbury is now part of Laverstock and Ford, joining Hampton Park and Riverdown Park.
Prior to 2009, Salisbury was part of the now abolished non-metropolitan county of Wiltshire. It was governed by Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council (established in 1889) was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county.
As a result of the 2009 restructur ...
at the county level and Salisbury District
Salisbury was a local government district in Wiltshire, England from 1974 to 2009. Its main urban area was the city of Salisbury.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 and the pursuant The English Non- ...
Council, which oversaw most of south Wiltshire as well as the city. Salisbury (previously officially New Sarum) has had city status since time immemorial.
The Member of Parliament for the Salisbury constituency, which includes the city, Amesbury
Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settle ...
and surrounding rural areas, is John Glen (Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
), who was first elected in 2010. Wilton is the former county town for Wiltshire and is now located within Salisbury for parliamentary purposes.
Geography
Salisbury lies in a valley. The geology of the area, as with much of South Wiltshire and Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, is largely chalk. The rivers which flow through the city have been redirected, and along with landscaping, have been used to feed into public gardens. They are popular in the summer, particularly in Queen Elizabeth Gardens, as the water there is shallow and slow-flowing enough to enter safely. Close to Queen Elizabeth Gardens are water-meadow
A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. Water-meadows were mainly used in Europe from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Working water-m ...
s, where the water is controlled by weir
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
s. Because of the low-lying land, the rivers are prone to flooding, particularly during the winter months. The Town Path, a walkway that links Harnham
Harnham is a suburb of the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England, centred about south of Salisbury Cathedral and across the River Avon. Harnham is split into the areas of West Harnham and East Harnham.
History Early history
The area has h ...
with the rest of the city, is at times impassable. Salisbury is approximately halfway between Exeter and London being 80 miles (128 km) east-northeast of Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, 78 miles (126 km) west-southwest of London and also south of Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
, northwest of Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and southeast of Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
.
There are civil airfields at Old Sarum
Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...
(where the experimental aircraft the Edgley Optica
The Edgley EA-7 Optica is a British light aircraft designed for low-speed observation work, and intended as a low-cost alternative to helicopters. The Optica has a loiter speed of 130 km/h (70 kn; 81 mph) and a stall speed of 108 ...
was developed and tested) and at Thruxton near Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
* Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Ando ...
.
Areas and suburbs
Salisbury has many areas and suburbs, most of them being former villages that were absorbed by the growth of the city. The boundaries of these areas are for the most part unofficial and not fixed. All of these suburbs are within Salisbury's ONS Urban Area, which had a population of 44,748 in 2011. However, not all of these suburbs are administered by the city council, and are therefore not within the eight wards that had a combined population of 40,302 in 2011. Two parishes are part of the urban area but outside Salisbury parish.
* Bemerton
Bemerton, once a rural hamlet and later a civil parish to the west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, is now a suburb of that city. Modern-day Bemerton has areas known as Bemerton Heath, Bemerton Village and Lower Bemerton.
History
In 1086, the ...
* Lower Bemerton
* Bemerton
Bemerton, once a rural hamlet and later a civil parish to the west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, is now a suburb of that city. Modern-day Bemerton has areas known as Bemerton Heath, Bemerton Village and Lower Bemerton.
History
In 1086, the ...
Heath
* Hampton Park
* Laverstock and Ford
Laverstock is a village and civil parish on the north-east and east outskirts of Salisbury in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. The parish is shaped like a figure 7 and incorporates Ford hamlet, the eastern half of the former manor of ...
(outside city council area)
* City Centre
* Churchfields
* East Harnham
Harnham is a suburb of the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England, centred about south of Salisbury Cathedral and across the River Avon. Harnham is split into the areas of West Harnham and East Harnham.
History Early history
The area has h ...
* West Harnham
Harnham is a suburb of the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England, centred about south of Salisbury Cathedral and across the River Avon. Harnham is split into the areas of West Harnham and East Harnham.
History Early history
The area has ...
* Harnham Hill
* Stratford-sub-Castle
Stratford-sub-Castle in Wiltshire, England was anciently a separate village and civil parish but since 1954 has been a northern suburb of the city of Salisbury. At approximately 170 ft above sea level, it is dominated to the east by the r ...
* St Paul's
* St Francis
* Fisherton
* St Mark's
* Bishopdown
* Milford Milford may refer to:
Place names Canada
* Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia
* Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia
* Milford, Ontario
England
* Milford, Derbyshire
* Milford, Devon, a place in Devon
* Milford on Sea, Hampshire
* Milford, Shro ...
* St Edmund
* Petersfinger
* Netherhampton
Netherhampton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, immediately west of the city of Salisbury. The village is about from the city centre.
History
In 1993 the Salisbury Hoard was excavated within the parish. These Bronze Age an ...
(outside city council area)
* Paul's Dene
* Friary Estate (formerly known as Bugmore
Bugmore was an area of the city of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, to the east of Exeter Street and south of St. Anns Street. It is now occupied by the Friary residential estate.
History
The land was previously a boggy area which may have given ris ...
)
* St Martin's
Surrounding parishes, villages and towns rely on Salisbury for some services. The following are within a 4-mile radius of the city centre and are listed in approximately clockwise order:
* Britford
Britford is a village and civil parish beside the River Avon about south-east of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A338 Salisbury-Bournemouth road. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 592.
Geography
...
* Odstock
Odstock is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the village of Nunton with its nearby hamlet of Bodenham. The parish is in the valley of the River Ebble, which joins the Hampshire Avon near Bod ...
* Quidhampton
* Nunton
Nunton is a small village and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southeast of Salisbury. The former parish included the small village of Bodenham, to the east.
Nunton is on the River Ebble, while Bodenham is close to the juncti ...
* Homington
* Old Sarum
Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest re ...
* Little Durnford
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
* ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
* Fugglestone St Peter
Fugglestone St Peter was a small village, manor, and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, lying between the town of Wilton and the city of Salisbury. The civil parish came to an end in 1894 when it was divided between the adjoining parishes, and ...
* Alderbury
Alderbury is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the south of the county around southeast of Salisbury.
The parish includes the village of Whaddon, which is adjacent to Alderbury, and the hamlet of Sh ...
* Bodenham
Bodenham is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, and on a bend in the River Lugg, about seven miles south of Leominster. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,024, reducing to 998 at the 2011 census.
The vill ...
* Downton
* Wilton
* Charlton All Saints
Charlton-All-Saints is a hamlet in the civil parish of Downton, in South Wiltshire, England. It lies immediately west of the River Avon, about north of Downton village and south-east of the city of Salisbury.
The village has a population of ...
* Ditchampton
* Bulbridge
* Coombe Bissett
Coombe Bissett is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire in the River Ebble valley, southwest of Salisbury on the A354 road that goes south towards Blandford Forum.
The parish includes the village of Homington, to the e ...
* Ugford
* South Newton
* Winterbourne Earls
Winterbourne Earls is a village in Wiltshire, England. The village is in the Bourne valley on the A338 road, about northeast of Salisbury.
The village adjoins Winterbourne Dauntsey. It is part of the civil parish of Winterbourne, formed in 1 ...
* Winterbourne Gunner
Winterbourne Gunner is a village in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Salisbury. The village is near the River Bourne, Wiltshire, River Bourne and the A338 road and is close to Winterbourne Dauntsey. It is part of the Civil parishes in Eng ...
* Winterbourne Dauntsey
Winterbourne Dauntsey is a village in Wiltshire, England, in the Bourne valley on the A338 road about northeast of Salisbury.
The village adjoins Winterbourne Earls and Winterbourne Gunner. It is part of the civil parish of Winterbourne, for ...
Demography
The civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of Salisbury, which does not include some of the city's suburbs such as Laverstock, Ford, Britford
Britford is a village and civil parish beside the River Avon about south-east of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A338 Salisbury-Bournemouth road. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 592.
Geography
...
and Netherhampton
Netherhampton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, immediately west of the city of Salisbury. The village is about from the city centre.
History
In 1993 the Salisbury Hoard was excavated within the parish. These Bronze Age an ...
, had a population of 40,302 at the 2011 census.
The urban zone
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...
, which contains the wards immediately surrounding the city, had a population of 62,216 at the 2011 Census. The wards included in this figure are Laverstock
Laverstock is a village and civil parish on the north-east and east outskirts of Salisbury in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. The parish is shaped like a figure 7 and incorporates Ford hamlet, the eastern half of the former manor of ...
, Britford
Britford is a village and civil parish beside the River Avon about south-east of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A338 Salisbury-Bournemouth road. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 592.
Geography
...
, Downton, Alderbury
Alderbury is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the south of the county around southeast of Salisbury.
The parish includes the village of Whaddon, which is adjacent to Alderbury, and the hamlet of Sh ...
, Odstock
Odstock is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the village of Nunton with its nearby hamlet of Bodenham. The parish is in the valley of the River Ebble, which joins the Hampshire Avon near Bod ...
and the neighbouring town of Wilton, among others, however it does not include the towns of Amesbury
Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settle ...
or Romsey
Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...
, as these support their own local populations and are further afield.
At the 2011 census the population of the civil parish was 95.73% white (91.00% White British
White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population wa ...
), 2.48% Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
(0.74% Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
, 0.41% Bangladeshi
Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay.
Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...
, 0.40% Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
), 0.45% black and 1.15% mixed race. Within the parish, the largest ethnic minority group was 'other white' comprising 3.6% of the population as of 2011. There is not much contrast between areas when it comes to ethnic diversity. The ward of St Edmund and Milford is the most multiethnic, with 86.0% of the population being White British. The least multiethnic is the ward of St Francis and Stratford, which contains suburbs in the north of the city, with 94.8% of the population being White British. The city is represented by six other wards.
Within the parish, the largest ethnic minority group was 'other white' comprising 3.6% of the population as of 2011.
86.43% of the civil parish's population were born in England, 3.94% were born elsewhere in the UK. 4.94% were born elsewhere in the EU (including the Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
), while 4.70% of the population were born outside the EU.
62.49% of the civil parish's population declared their religion to be Christianity, while 27.09% stated "no religion" and 8.02% declined to state their religion. 0.79% of the population declared their religion to be Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, 0.41% Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, 0.40% Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and 0.80% as another religion.
95.89% of the civil parish's population considered their "main language" to be English, while 1.12% considered it to be Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
, 0.28% considered it to be Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
and 0.24% considered it to be Tagalog. 99.43% of the population claimed to be able to speak English well or very well.
In 2001, 22.33% of Salisbury's population were aged between 30–44, 42.76% were over 45, and 13.3% were between 18–29.
Economy
Salisbury holds a Charter market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
* Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
* Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, a ...
on Tuesdays and Saturdays and has held markets regularly since 1227. In the 15th century the Market Place had four crosses: the Poultry Cross, whose name describes its market; the 'cheese and milk cross', which indicated that market and was in the triangle between the HSBC bank and the Salisbury Library; a third cross near the site of the present war memorial, which marked a woollen and yarn market; and a fourth, called Barnwell or Barnard's Cross, in the Culver Street and Barnard Street area, which marked a cattle and livestock market. Today, only the Poultry Cross remains, to which flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
es were added in the 19th century.
In 1226, Henry III granted the Bishop of Salisbury a charter to hold a fair lasting eight days from the Feast of the Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows:
We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...
(15 August). Over the centuries the dates of the fair have moved around, but in its modern guise, a funfair is now held in the Market Place for three days from the third Monday in October.
From 1833 to the mid-1980s, the Salisbury Gas Light & Coke Company, which ran the city's gasworks, was one of the major employers in the area. The company was formed in 1832 with a share capital of £8,000, and its first chairman was the 3rd Earl of Radnor. The company was incorporated by a private Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
in 1864, and the Gas Orders Confirmation Act 1882 empowered it to raise capital of up to £40,000. At its peak, the gasworks were producing not only coal gas
Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...
but also coke, which was sold off as the by-product of gas-making. Ammoniacal liquor, another by-product, was mixed with sulphuric acid, dried and ground to make a powder which was sold as an agricultural fertiliser. The clinker from the retort house was sold to a firm in London to be used as purifier beds in the construction of sewage works
Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...
.
Salisbury power station
Salisbury power station supplied electricity to the English city of Salisbury and the surrounding area from 1898 to c. 1970. It was owned and operated by Salisbury Electric Light and Supply Company Limited prior to the nationalisation of the Brit ...
supplied electricity to Salisbury and the surrounding area from 1898 to 1970. The power station was at Town Mill and was owned and operated by Salisbury Electric Light and Supply Company Limited prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The coal-fired power station was redeveloped several times to incorporate new plant including a water driven turbine.
From the Middle Ages to the start of the 20th century, Salisbury was noted for its cutlery industry. Early motor cars were manufactured in the city from 1902 by Dean and Burden Brothers, using the Scout Motors brand. In 1907 the company moved to a larger factory at Churchfields; each car took six to eight weeks to build, mostly using bodies made elsewhere by coachbuilders. By 1912, 150 men were employed and the company was also making small commercial vehicles and 20-seater buses, some of which were later used by the newly established operator. The Scout company failed in 1921 after wartime disruption and competition from larger makers.
Shopping centres include The Old George Mall, The Maltings, Winchester Street, and the Crosskeys precinct. Major employers include Salisbury District Hospital
Salisbury District Hospital is a large hospital on Odstock Road, Britford, Wiltshire, England, about south of the centre of the city of Salisbury. It is managed by the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The first Odstock Hospital was con ...
. Closure of the Friends Life
Friends Life Group Limited was a Guernsey-incorporated investment vehicle which had the stated intent of forcing consolidation in the British life insurance industry. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the F ...
office, the second largest employer, was announced in 2015.
Culture
Salisbury was an important centre for music in the 18th century. The grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...
ian James Harris, a friend of Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
, directed concerts at the Assembly Rooms for almost 50 years up to his death in 1780. Many of the most famous musicians and singers of the day performed there.
Salisbury holds an annual St George's Day
Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Cáceres, Alcoy, Aragon and Catalonia.
Sa ...
pageant, the origins of which are claimed to go back to the 13th century.
Salisbury has a strong artistic community, with galleries situated in the city centre, including one in the public library. In the 18th century, John Constable
John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...
made a number of celebrated landscape paintings
Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...
featuring the cathedral's spire and the surrounding countryside. Salisbury's annual International Arts Festival, started in 1973, and held in late May to early June, provides a programme of theatre, live music, dance, public sculpture, street performance and art exhibitions. Salisbury also houses a producing theatre, Salisbury Playhouse
Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the English city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was built in 1976 and comprises the 517-seat Main House and the 149-seat Salberg, a rehearsal room and a community & education space. It is part of Arts Council En ...
, which produces between eight and ten plays a year, as well as welcoming touring productions.
Salisbury Museum
The Salisbury Museum
The Salisbury Museum (previously The Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum) is a museum in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It houses one of the best collections relating to Stonehenge and local archaeology.
The museum is housed in The King's Ho ...
is housed in the King's House, a Grade I listed building whose history dates back to the 13th century, opposite the west front of the cathedral.
The permanent Stonehenge exhibition gallery has interactive displays about Stonehenge and the archaeology of south Wiltshire, and its collections include the skeleton of the Amesbury Archer
The Amesbury Archer is an early Bronze Age (Bell Beaker) man whose grave was discovered during excavations at the site of a new housing development () in Amesbury near Stonehenge. The grave was uncovered in May 2002. The man was middle aged ...
, which is on display.
The Pitt Rivers display holds a collection from General Augustus Pitt Rivers
Lieutenant General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers (14 April 18274 May 1900) was an English officer in the British Army, ethnologist, and archaeologist. He was noted for innovations in archaeological methodology, and in the museum display o ...
.
The costume gallery showcases costume and textiles from the area, with costumes for children to try on while imagining themselves as characters from Salisbury's past.
The former home of Sir Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...
, Arundells
Arundells is a Grade II* listed house at 59 Cathedral Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Located on the West Walk of the Close, next to the 'Wardrobe' (Rifles Museum), it was the home of Edward Heath, the former Prime Minister of the United ...
in the Cathedral Close, is now open as a museum.
Twin towns and sister cities
Salisbury has been twinned with Saintes, France, since 1990 and with Xanten
Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel.
Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wor ...
, Germany, since 2005.[ Salisbury is also a sister city of ]Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropolita ...
and Salisbury, Maryland
Salisbury () is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, Wicomico County, Maryland, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region. The population was 33,050 at the 2020 United ...
, both of which are in the United States.[
]
Education
There are several schools in and around Salisbury. The city has the only grammar schools in Wiltshire, South Wilts Grammar School
South Wilts Grammar School, formerly South Wilts Grammar School for Girls, is a grammar school in Salisbury, south Wiltshire, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. Established in 1927, the school converted to an academy in 2011. In 2020, the name ...
for girls and Bishop Wordsworth's School
Bishop Wordsworth's School is a Church of England boys' grammar school in Salisbury, Wiltshire for boys aged 11 to 18. The school is regularly amongst the top-performing schools in England, and in 2010 was the school with the best results in the ...
for boys; since September 2020, both have mixed sixth form
In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...
s. Other schools in or near the city include Salisbury Cathedral School
Salisbury Cathedral School is a co-educational independent school in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, which was founded in 1091 by Saint Osmund. The choristers of Salisbury Cathedral are educated at the school.
History
The school was founded i ...
, Chafyn Grove School
Chafyn Grove School is a private co-educational day and boarding preparatory school situated on the edge of the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, in England's West Country. Founded in 1879 by Mr. W. C. Bird as an all-boys' school, it became Chafy ...
, Leehurst Swan School
Leehurst Swan School is a co-educational independent day school in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, for children between the ages of four and sixteen. It site is near the city centre, about northeast of Salisbury Cathedral.
History
The school ...
, the Godolphin senior and prep schools, Sarum Academy
Sarum Academy (formerly Salisbury High School) is a Church of England secondary school with academy status in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The school is on the west side of Salisbury, on Bemerton Heath.
History
The first buildings on th ...
, St Joseph's Catholic School and Wyvern St Edmund's
Wyvern St Edmund's is a coeducational secondary school located in Laverstock, near Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire.
History
The school opened in 1972 as Highbury Secondary School, as a replacement for Highbury Avenue secondary mode ...
.
Sixth form education is offered by Salisbury Sixth Form College
Salisbury Sixth Form College (S6C) is a free school sixth form in the city of Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire.
The college was established in 2014 and opened in temporary accommodation. However the college moved into a new purpose-b ...
, while the Salisbury campus of Wiltshire College
Wiltshire College & University Centre is a tertiary college of education founded in 2002 by the merger of Chippenham Technical College, Lackham College and Trowbridge College. Consolidation was completed with the merger of Salisbury College, whi ...
offers a range of further education
Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...
courses, as well as some higher education courses in association with Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s.
The univer ...
. Sarum College
Sarum College is a centre of theological learning in Salisbury, England. The college was established in 1995 and sits within the cathedral close on the north side of Salisbury Cathedral.
The Sarum College education programme ranges from sho ...
is a Christian theological college
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
, within the Cathedral close.
Transport
Road
The main transport links for the city are the roads. Salisbury lies on the intersection of the A30, the A36 and the A338 and is at the end of the A343, A345, A354
The A354 is a primary route in England which runs from Salisbury in Wiltshire to Easton on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, a total distance of . From Salisbury the road crosses Cranborne Chase. At Woodyates the road follows the route of Acklin ...
and A360. Car parks around the periphery of the city are linked to the city centre by a park and ride scheme (see details in the bus section below). The A36 forms an almost complete ring road around the city centre. The A3094 comprises the southwestern quadrant of the ring road, passing through the city's outer suburbs.
The lack of adequate roads is a cause of concern to the people of Salisbury as there are no motorway links to the ports of Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. The closest motorway access is at junction 2 of the M27 at Southampton, and at junction 8 of the M3 near Basingstoke
Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
. Traffic passes around the city centre on the A36 to Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
.
Bus
There are bus links to Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
, Andover, Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century ...
and Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
, with limited services on Sundays. Salisbury Reds, a brand of Go South Coast
Go South Coast is a bus operator on and around the south coast of England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.
History
In August 2003 the Go-Ahead Group purchased the business of Wilts & Dorset, including its Damory Coaches and Touris ...
, is the main local operator. Wheelers Travel provide services to Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...
and Andover, as well as intermediate-distance services. Other operators include Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
(Amesbury, Tidworth, Andover); Beeline (Warminster); and First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
(Warminster, Trowbridge, Bath).
Salisbury has a Park and Ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
bus scheme with five sites around the city. The scheme attempts to relieve pressure on the city centre, but as of 2010, ran at an annual loss of £1 million.
Salisbury bus station
Salisbury bus station was a bus station in the city of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The station had five stands underneath a red brick building which was built in 1939 as the headquarters of the Wilts & Dorset bus company. It was closed in 2014 ...
, which opened in 1939, closed in January 2014 due to high operating costs and low usage. Situated in Endless Street, on the northeastern edge of the city centre, the site was later developed into retirement homes, which opened in February 2018.
Railways
Salisbury railway station
Salisbury railway station serves the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It is from on the West of England line to . This is crossed by the Wessex Main Line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. The station is operated and s ...
is the crossing point of the West of England Main Line
The West of England line (also known as the West of England Main Line) is a British railway line from , Hampshire, to in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter; the line intersects with the Wessex M ...
, from to , and the Wessex Main Line
The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth. The Wessex Main Line intersects the Reading to Taunton Line at and th ...
from to . The station is operated by South Western Railway. Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
hourly trains call from , Bristol Temple Meads, to Southampton Central and .
Sport and leisure
The city has a football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team, Salisbury F.C.
Salisbury Football Club is an English football club based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Formed in 2015 after the liquidation of Salisbury City, the club currently plays in the , under the management of Brian Dutton.
Ground
The club play their ...
, who play in the and are based at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium
The Raymond McEnhill Stadium is a purpose-built 5,000 capacity Association football, football stadium in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the home of Salisbury F.C., Salisbury Football Club and Salisbury F.C. Women.
History
In 1997, Salisbu ...
, on the northern edge of the city. Non-league
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
clubs are Bemerton Heath Harlequins F.C.
Bemerton Heath Harlequins Football Club is a association football, football club based in the Bemerton area of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Established in 1989 as a merger of Bemerton Athletic, Moon and Bemerton Boys, they are currently membe ...
and Laverstock & Ford F.C.
Salisbury Rugby Club, which is based at Castle Road, play in Southern Counties South
Counties 1 Southern South (formerly known as Southern Counties South) is a level 7 league in the Rugby Football Union South West Division, the rugby union governing body for South West England, part of the Rugby Football Union. When league rug ...
. South Wilts Cricket Club
South Wilts Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club based in the cathedral city of Salisbury, Wiltshire.
South Wilts is one of Wiltshire's leading cricket clubs, having won the Southern Premier Cricket League five times along with a ha ...
is based at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Sports Club
The Salisbury and South Wiltshire Sports Club (also known as the County Ground) is a sports ground in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, which is used for Hockey, Cricket and other sports.
Hockey
The club runs Women's and Men's teams and has a fl ...
and play in the Southern Premier Cricket League
The Southern Premier Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in central southern England. The League was founded in 1969 under the name Southern Cricket League, and in 2000 it adopted the name Southern Premi ...
. Salisbury Hockey Club is also based at the Salisbury and South Wilts Sports Club.
The Five Rivers Leisure Centre and Swimming Pool, which was opened in 2002, is just outside the ring road. Salisbury Racecourse
Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October.
History
Racing at t ...
is a flat racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
course to the south-west of the city. Five Rivers Indoor Bowls Club and Salisbury Snooker Club share a building on Tollgate Road, behind the College.
Old Sarum Airfield
Old Sarum Airfield is a grass strip airfield north-north-east of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.
The adjacent areas are a mix of vacant land, residential and industrial sites. Residential areas are to the south and east, occupying the old air ...
, north of the city centre, is home to a variety of aviation-based businesses, including flying schools and the APT Charitable Trust for disabled flyers.
The city's theatre is the Salisbury Playhouse
Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the English city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was built in 1976 and comprises the 517-seat Main House and the 149-seat Salberg, a rehearsal room and a community & education space. It is part of Arts Council En ...
. The City Hall is an entertainment venue and hosts comedy, musical performances (including those by the resident Musical Theatre Salisbury) as well as seminars and conventions. Salisbury Arts Centre
Salisbury Arts Centre is a venue for theatre, music, dance, comedy, family shows, films, exhibitions, and workshops in Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom. It is run by Wiltshire Creative, a charity which provides opportunities for members of t ...
, housed in a redundant church, has exhibitions and workshops.
Salisbury is well-supplied with pubs
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
. The ''Haunch of Venison'', overlooking the Poultry Cross, operates from a 14th-century building; one of its attractions is a cast of a mummified
A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...
hand, supposedly severed during a game of cards. The ''Rai d’Or'' has original deeds dating from 1292. It was the home of Agnes Bottenham, who used the profits of the tavern to found Trinity Hospital next door in circa 1380.
Notable people
Born before 1900
*John of Salisbury
John of Salisbury (late 1110s – 25 October 1180), who described himself as Johannes Parvus ("John the Little"), was an English author, philosopher, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres.
Early life and education
Born at Salisbury, En ...
(c.1120–1180) author, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres
The oldest known list of bishops of Chartres is found in an 11th-century manuscript of Trinity Abbey, Vendôme. It includes 57 names from Adventus (Saint Aventin) to Aguiertus (Agobert) who died in 1060. The most well-known list is included in the ...
, born at Salisbury
*Simon Forman
Simon Forman (31 December 1552 – 5 or 12 September 1611) was an Elizabethan astrologer, occultist and herbalist active in London during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and James I of England. His reputation, however, was severely tarnishe ...
(1552 in Quidhampton, Fugglestone St Peter
Fugglestone St Peter was a small village, manor, and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, lying between the town of Wilton and the city of Salisbury. The civil parish came to an end in 1894 when it was divided between the adjoining parishes, and ...
– 1611) astrologer, occultist and herbalist
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...
*John Bevis
John Bevis (10 November 1695 in Salisbury, Wiltshire – 6 November 1771) was an English doctor, electrical researcher and astronomer. He is best known for discovering the Crab Nebula in 1731. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, being ...
(1695 in Old Sarum – 1771) doctor, electrical researcher and astronomer, discovered the Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula (catalogue designations Messier object, M1, New General Catalogue, NGC 1952, Taurus (constellation), Taurus A) is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus (constellation), Taurus. The common name ...
in 1731
* James Harris (1709–1780) politician and grammarian, born and educated in Salisbury
*James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury
James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury, GCB (21 April 1746 – 21 November 1820) was an English diplomat.
Early life (1746 – 1768)
Born at Salisbury, the son of James Harris, an MP and the author of ''Hermes'', and Elizabeth Clarke of Sandfor ...
(1746 in Salisbury – 1820) diplomat, politician and MP
*Sir John Stoddart
Sir John Stoddart (6 February 1773 – 16 February 1856) was an English journalist and lawyer, who served as editor of ''The Times''.
Biography
Stoddart, who was born at Salisbury, was the eldest son of John Stoddart, who was a lieutenant ...
(1773 in Salisbury – 1856) writer and lawyer, and editor of ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
''
*Sir George Staunton, 2nd Baronet
Sir George Thomas Staunton, 2nd Baronet (26 May 1781 – 10 August 1859) was an English traveller and Orientalist.
Early life
Born at Milford House near Salisbury, he was the son of Sir George Leonard Staunton (1737–1801), first baronet, dip ...
(1781 at Milford House near Salisbury – 1859) traveller and Orientalist
*Henry Fawcett
Henry Fawcett (26 August 1833 – 6 November 1884) was a British academic, politician, statesman and economist.
Background and education
Henry Fawcett was born in Salisbury, and educated at King's College School and the University of Cambri ...
PC (1833 in Salisbury – 1884) academic, statesman and economist
*John Neville Keynes
John Neville Keynes ( ; 31 August 1852 – 15 November 1949) was a British economist and father of John Maynard Keynes.
Biography
Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, Keynes was the child of John Keynes (1805–1878) and his wife Anna Maynard Neville ...
(1852 in Salisbury – 1949) economist and father of John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...
*Sir James Macklin
Sir James Macklin, DL, JP (23 September 1864 – 17 April 1944) was an English jeweller and farmer, active in public life in Wiltshire.
Early life and business career
Macklin was born in West Harnham on 23 September 1864, the son of James Mack ...
(1864 in Harnham – 1944) jeweller, farmer and six times Mayor of Salisbury
The following were mayors of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England:
15th–16th centuries
*1387: John Hethe, MP for Salisbury, 1388
*1388,1391: John Moner, MP for Salisbury, 1397
*1395–1397: Richard Spencer, 4 times MP for Salisbury, 1395–1411 ...
1913/1919
*Herbert Ponting
Herbert George Ponting, FRGS (21 March 1870 – 7 February 1935) was a professional photographer. He is best known as the expedition photographer and cinematographer for Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition to the Ross Sea and South Pol ...
(1870 in Salisbury – 1935) professional photographer, the expedition photographer and cinematographer for Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...
's Terra Nova Expedition
The ''Terra Nova'' Expedition, officially the British Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition to Antarctica which took place between 1910 and 1913. Led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the expedition had various scientific and geographical objec ...
* Lieutenant James Cromwell Bush (1891 in Salisbury – 1917) World War I flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
* Lieutenant Colonel Tom Edwin Adlam (1893 in Salisbury – 1975) recipient of the Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
Since 1900
*William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel ''Lord of the Flies'' (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 1980 ...
(1911–1993) novelist, schoolteacher, taught Philosophy in 1939, and English from 1945 to 1961 at Bishop Wordsworth's School
Bishop Wordsworth's School is a Church of England boys' grammar school in Salisbury, Wiltshire for boys aged 11 to 18. The school is regularly amongst the top-performing schools in England, and in 2010 was the school with the best results in the ...
*Daphne Pochin Mould
Dr Daphne Desiree Charlotte Pochin Mould (15 November 1920 – 29 April 2014) was a photographer, broadcaster, geologist, traveller, pilot and Ireland's first female flight instructor. She had a strong interest in archaeology and took thousands ...
(1920 in Salisbury – 2014) photographer, broadcaster, geologist, traveller, pilot and Ireland's first female flight instructor
* John Rowan (1925 in Old Sarum – 2018 in London) author, one of the pioneers of Humanistic Psychology and Integrative Psychotherapy
*Iona Brown
Iona Brown, OBE, (7 January 19415 June 2004) was a British violinist and conductor.
Early life and education
Elizabeth Iona Brown was born in Salisbury and was educated at Cranborne Chase School, Dorset. Her parents, Antony and Fiona, were b ...
(1941 in Salisbury – 2004 in Salisbury) violinist and conductor, from 1968 to 2004 lived in Bowerchalke
Bowerchalke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southwest of Salisbury. It is in the south of the county, about from the boundary with Dorset and from that with Hampshire. The parish includes the hamlets of Mead End, Mi ...
*Ray Teret
Raymond Teret (24 October 1941 – 5 May 2021) was an English radio disc jockey who started his career in the 1960s. In December 2014 he was convicted of rape and indecent assault, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.[Jeffrey Tate
Sir Jeffrey Philip Tate (28 April 19432 June 2017) was an English conductor of classical music. Tate was born with spina bifida and had an associated spinal curvature. After studying medicine at the University of Cambridge and beginning a me ...]
(1943 in Salisbury – 2017) conductor of classical music
*John Rhys-Davies
John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor best known for portraying Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and Gimli in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. His other roles include Michael Malone in the 1993 series ''The Untoucha ...
(born in 1944 in Salisbury), actor known for playing Gimli in The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
film series
*Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels ( ; born 21 February 1946) is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing in 10 ''Star Wars'' films. He is the only actor to have either appeared in or been involved with all theatrical films in the series, and h ...
(born in 1946 in Salisbury), actor known for playing C-3PO
C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to as ...
in the Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
franchise
*Jonathan Meades
Jonathan Turner Meades (born 21 January 1947) is an English writer and film-maker, primarily on the subjects of place, culture, architecture and food. His work spans journalism, fiction, essays, memoir and over fifty highly idiosyncratic tele ...
(born 1947 in Salisbury), writer, food journalist, essayist and film-maker
*Prof. Martyn Thomas
Martyn Thomas CBE FREng FIET FRSA (born 1948) is a British independent consultant and software engineer.
Overview
Martyn Thomas founded the software engineering company Praxis in 1983, based in Bath, southern England. He has a special inte ...
(born 1948 in Salisbury) software engineer, entrepreneur and academic
*Richard Digance
Richard Digance (pronounced DYE-jance; born 24 February 1949) is an English comedian and folk singer.
Early life
Digance was born in Plaistow, East London. After his family moved to nearby East Ham, he attended Vicarage Lane Primary School ...
(born 1949), comedian and folk singer, lives in Salisbury
* Kenneth Macdonald, Baron Macdonald of River Glaven (born 1953) Director of Public Prosecutions of England and Wales 2003–2008 and head of the Crown Prosecution Service; attended Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury
*Carolyn Browne
Carolyn Browne (born 19 October 1958) is a British diplomat who was the British Ambassador to Kazakhstan from 2013 to 2018.
Early life
She is the daughter of the late Brigadier Christopher Browne OBE and Margaret Howard. She attended the Sou ...
(born 1958), diplomat, Ambassador to Kazakhstan; attended South Wilts Grammar School for Girls
South Wilts Grammar School, formerly South Wilts Grammar School for Girls, is a grammar school in Salisbury, south Wiltshire, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. Established in 1927, the school converted to an academy in 2011. In 2020, the name ...
*Teresa Dent
Teresa Ogilvy Dent CBE (born 1959) is the CEO of Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, a British charitable organisation promoting game and wildlife management as an essential part of nature conservation, since 2001.
Biography
Teresa Dent attended ...
(born 1959), CEO of Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (formerly the Game Conservancy Trust) is a British charitable organisation promoting game and wildlife management as a part of nature conservation, whilst working with the shooting and hunting community. For ...
, lives in Salisbury
*Martin Foyle
Martin John Foyle (born 2 May 1963) is an English former professional footballer and manager who is the Head of Recruitment at club St Mirren. In his 20-year playing career he played 533 League games, scoring 155 goals. As a manager, he took ...
(born 1963 in Salisbury), footballer and manager, played 533 League games, scoring 155 goals
*Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich were an English rock band active during the 1960s. Formed in Salisbury in 1964, the band consisted of David John Harman (Dave Dee), Trevor Leonard Ward-Davies (Dozy), John Dymond (Beaky), Michael Wilson (Mick) ...
(formed 1964), 1960s pop/rock group, most of whom came from Salisbury or Wiltshire
*Clare Moody
Clare Miranda Moody (born 30 October 1965) is a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South West England from 2014 to 2019.
Early life and career
Clare Miranda Moody w ...
(born 1965), Labour Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
for South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
2014–2019, lives in Salisbury
*Joseph Fiennes
Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor of film, stage, and television. Journalist Zoe Williams observed that "he seemed to be the go-to actor for English cultural history". Fiennes is particul ...
(born 1970 in Salisbury) film and stage actor, educated in the town
* David Mitchell (born 1974 in Salisbury), comedian, actor, writer and television presenter
*Max Waller
Maximilian Thomas Charles Waller (born 3 March 1988) is a former English professional cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a leg break bowler. He played first-class, List A and Twenty20 cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club.
Walle ...
(born 1988 in Salisbury), cricketer who plays for Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor ...
*Henni Zuël
Henrietta "Henni" Koyack ( Brockway and Zuël; born 6 January 1990) is an English professional golfer and the youngest ever player to join the Ladies European Tour as an amateur. She was a nominee for Britain's Best Awards for Home Grown Talent ...
(born 1990 in Salisbury) professional golfer, youngest player to join the Ladies European Tour as an amateur
Media
BBC Radio Wiltshire
BBC Radio Wiltshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the English county of Wiltshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Prospect Place in Swindon.
According to RAJAR, the station had a weekly aud ...
is the BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio (also referred to as Local BBC Radio) is the BBC's local and regional radio division for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of forty stations.
History
The popularity of pirate radio was to challenge a change within ...
public service station for the county, which sometimes broadcasts from or about the city. Salisbury used to have its own local radio station, Spire FM, which was purchased by Bauer Radio
Bauer Media Audio UK is a UK-based radio division of the Bauer Media Group.
History
In early 2008, German magazine publisher Bauer bought the radio division of British company Emap, which had been established as East Midland Allied Press in ...
in 2019. Its frequency now transmits Greatest Hits Radio Salisbury
Spire FM was a UK radio station based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was awarded the licence to broadcast to Salisbury and the surrounding areas by the Radio Authority, now Ofcom, in 1991. The station took its name from the spire of Salisbury Cathed ...
, which broadcasts national and regional music programmes with local news bulletins.
Regional television services are provided by BBC South
BBC South is the BBC English Region serving
Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, Berkshire and parts of Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Surrey, West Sussex and Wiltshire, with geographic coverage varying betwee ...
and ITV Meridian
ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned an ...
, and a local television
The terms local programme, local programming, local content or local television refers to a television program made by a television station or independent television producer for broadcast only within the station's transmission area or television ...
channel "That's Salisbury" is provided by That's TV
That's TV is a national television network in the United Kingdom, broadcasting via Sky, Freesat and Freeview. That's TV started off as the owner of a number of Local television in the United Kingdom, local television licences in several conur ...
.
The ''Salisbury Journal
The ''Salisbury Journal'' is the local newspaper for the Salisbury area of England. Founded in 1729, it was revived by William Collins in 1736, who used it to oppose the government of Sir Robert Walpole. Benjamin Collins took over the publicatio ...
'' is the local paid-for weekly newspaper
A weekly newspaper is a general-news or Current affairs (news format), current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and electronic publishing, digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly new ...
, which is available in shops every Thursday. The local free weekly newspaper from the same publisher is the ''Avon Advertiser'', which is delivered to houses in Salisbury and the surrounding area.
In popular culture
The two names for the city, ''Salisbury'' and ''Sarum'', are humorously alluded to in a 1928 limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
from ''Punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
'':
The ambiguous pronunciation was also used in the following limerick, which also alludes to 'Hants', the shortened form of Hampshire:
*Salisbury is the origin of "Melchester" in Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
's novels, such as ''Jude the Obscure
''Jude the Obscure'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy, which began as a magazine serial in December 1894 and was first published in book form in 1895 (though the title page says 1896). It is Hardy's last completed novel. The protagonist, Jude Fawley ...
'' (1895).
*A lively account of the Salisbury markets, as they were in 1842, is contained in Chapter 5 of ''Martin Chuzzlewit
''The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit'' (commonly known as ''Martin Chuzzlewit'') is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between 1842 and 1844. While he was writing it ...
'' by Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
.
*The fictitious Kingsbridge Cathedral in TV miniseries, ''The Pillars of the Earth
''The Pillars of the Earth'' is a historical novel by British author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century, the novel covers the time between the ...
'' (2010), based on a historical novel by the same name by Ken Follett
Kenneth Martin Follett, (born 5 June 1949) is a British author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 160 million copies of his works.
Many of his books have achieved high ranking on best seller lists. For example, in the ...
, is modelled on the cathedrals of Wells and Salisbury. The final aerial shot of the series is of Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury.
The buildi ...
.
*The 1987 novel '' Sarum'' by Edward Rutherfurd
Edward Rutherfurd is a pen name for Francis Edward Wintle (born in 1948). He is best known as a writer of epic historical novels that span long periods of history but are set in particular places. His debut novel, '' Sarum'', set the pattern f ...
describes the history of Salisbury.
*The novel ''The Spire
''The Spire'' is a 1964 novel by English author William Golding. "A dark and powerful portrait of one man's will", it deals with the construction of a 404-foot-high spire loosely based on Salisbury Cathedral,Paul, Leslie. "The Spire That Stay ...
'' by William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel ''Lord of the Flies'' (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 1980 ...
tells the story of the building of the spire of an unnamed cathedral similar to Salisbury Cathedral.
*Band Uriah Heep released an album and song called ''Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
'' in 1971.
*Progressive rock band Big Big Train
Big Big Train are an English progressive rock band formed in Bournemouth in 1990. The current line-up includes band founder Gregory Spawton (bass, guitars and keyboards), along with Nick D'Virgilio (drums, guitars and keyboards) and Rikard Sj ...
wrote two songs in their ''Folklore'' album in which the Salisbury Giant appears.
*''The Salisbury Poisonings
''The Salisbury Poisonings'' is a fact-based television drama, starring Anne-Marie Duff, Rafe Spall and Annabel Scholey which portrays the 2018 Novichok poisonings and decontamination crisis in Salisbury, England, and the subsequent Amesbury ...
'' is a three-part television drama which portrays the 2018 Novichok poisoning crisis, first broadcast on BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
in June 2020.
Climate
Salisbury experiences an oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Cfb'') similar to almost all of the United Kingdom. The nearest Met Office weather station to Salisbury is Boscombe Down, about 6 miles to the north of the city centre. In terms of the local climate, Salisbury is among the sunniest of inland areas in the UK, averaging over 1650 hours of sunshine in a typical year. Temperature extremes since 1960 have ranged from in January 1963
to during July 2006.
The lowest temperature to be recorded in recent years was during December 2010.
See also
* List of Grade I listed buildings in Salisbury
There are 38 buildings and structures listed as Grade I by Historic England in the city of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.
Twenty-one are within the Cathedral Close. Elsewhere there are:
* 3 churches
* 2 residences
* 2 inns
* 6 buildings that ha ...
* St Osmund's Church, Salisbury
St Osmund's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It was built from 1847 to 1848 and designed by Augustus Pugin in the Gothic Revival style. It is located on Exeter Street next to Bishop Wordsworth's School in the cit ...
Explanatory notes
References
External links
*
*
Salisbury
at VisitWiltshire
Let Me Tell You: Salisbury
– a BBC film about life in the city in 1967 a
BBC Wiltshire
Historic Salisbury photos
at BBC Wiltshire
{{Authority control
Cities in South West England
Civil parishes in Wiltshire
Towns in Wiltshire