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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

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 1227Easton, 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 and Andover, as well as intermediate-distance services. Other operators include Stagecoach South, Stagecoach (Amesbury, Tidworth, Andover); Beeline (Warminster); and First West of England, First (Warminster, Trowbridge, Bath). Salisbury has a Park and Ride 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, 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 (train operating company), South Western Railway. Great Western Railway (train operating company), Great Western Railway hourly trains call from , Bristol Temple Meads, to Southampton Central and .


Sport and leisure

The city has a Association football, football team, Salisbury F.C., who play in the and are based at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium, on the northern edge of the city. Non-League football, Non-league clubs are Bemerton Heath Harlequins F.C. and Laverstock & Ford F.C. Salisbury RFC, Salisbury Rugby Club, which is based at Castle Road, play in Southern Counties South. South Wilts Cricket Club is based at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Sports Club and play in the Southern Premier Cricket League. 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 is a flat racing 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, 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, housed in a redundant church, has exhibitions and workshops. Salisbury is well-supplied with Public house, pubs. The ''Haunch of Venison'', overlooking the Poultry Cross, operates from a 14th-century building; one of its attractions is a cast of a Mummy, mummified 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 (c.1120–1180) author, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres, born at Salisbury *Simon Forman (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 *John Bevis (1695 in Old Sarum – 1771) doctor, electrical researcher and astronomer, discovered the Crab Nebula in 1731 * James Harris (1709–1780) politician and grammarian, born and educated in Salisbury *James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury (1746 in Salisbury – 1820) diplomat, politician and MP *Sir John Stoddart (1773 in Salisbury – 1856) writer and lawyer, and editor of ''The Times'' *Sir George Staunton, 2nd Baronet (1781 at Milford House near Salisbury – 1859) traveller and Oriental studies, Orientalist *Henry Fawcett PC (1833 in Salisbury – 1884) academic, statesman and economist *John Neville Keynes (1852 in Salisbury – 1949) economist and father of John Maynard Keynes *Sir James Macklin (1864 in Harnham – 1944) jeweller, farmer and six times Mayor of Salisbury 1913/1919 *Herbert Ponting (1870 in Salisbury – 1935) professional photographer, the expedition photographer and cinematographer for Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition *James Bush (RFC officer), Lieutenant James Cromwell Bush (1891 in Salisbury – 1917) World War I flying ace *Tom Adlam, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Edwin Adlam (1893 in Salisbury – 1975) recipient of the Victoria Cross


Since 1900

*William Golding (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 (1920 in Salisbury – 2014) photographer, broadcaster, geologist, traveller, pilot and Ireland's first female flight instructor *John Rowan (psychologist), John Rowan (1925 in Old Sarum – 2018 in London) author, one of the pioneers of Humanistic Psychology and Integrative Psychotherapy *Iona Brown (1941 in Salisbury – 2004 in Salisbury) violinist and conductor, from 1968 to 2004 lived in Bowerchalke *Ray Teret (1941 in Salisbury – 2021) radio disc jockey and convicted rapist, sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2014 *Sir Jeffrey Tate (1943 in Salisbury – 2017) conductor of classical music *John Rhys-Davies (born in 1944 in Salisbury), actor known for playing Gimli in The Lord of the Rings film series *Anthony Daniels (born in 1946 in Salisbury), actor known for playing C-3PO in the Star Wars franchise *Jonathan Meades (born 1947 in Salisbury), writer, food journalist, essayist and film-maker *Prof. Martyn Thomas (born 1948 in Salisbury) software engineer, entrepreneur and academic *Richard Digance (born 1949), comedian and folk singer, lives in Salisbury *Ken Macdonald, 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 (born 1958), diplomat, Ambassador to Kazakhstan; attended South Wilts Grammar School for Girls *Teresa Dent (born 1959), CEO of Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, lives in Salisbury *Martin Foyle (born 1963 in Salisbury), footballer and manager, played 533 League games, scoring 155 goals *Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich (formed 1964), 1960s pop/rock group, most of whom came from Salisbury or Wiltshire *Clare Moody (politician), Clare Moody (born 1965), Labour Member of the European Parliament for South West England (European Parliament constituency), South West England 2014–2019, lives in Salisbury *Joseph Fiennes (born 1970 in Salisbury) film and stage actor, educated in the town *David Mitchell (comedian), David Mitchell (born 1974 in Salisbury), comedian, actor, writer and television presenter *Max Waller (born 1988 in Salisbury), cricketer who plays for Somerset County Cricket Club *Henni Zuël (born 1990 in Salisbury) professional golfer, youngest player to join the Ladies European Tour as an amateur


Media

BBC Radio Wiltshire is the BBC Local Radio 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 in 2019. Its frequency now transmits Greatest Hits Radio Salisbury, which broadcasts national and regional music programmes with local news bulletins. Regional television services are provided by BBC South and Meridian Broadcasting, ITV Meridian, and a Local television in the United Kingdom, local television channel "That's Salisbury" is provided by That's TV. The ''Salisbury Journal'' is the local paid-for weekly newspaper, 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 (poetry), limerick from ''Punch (magazine), Punch'': 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 Thomas Hardy's Wessex, "Melchester" in Thomas Hardy's novels, such as ''Jude the Obscure'' (1895). *A lively account of the Salisbury markets, as they were in 1842, is contained in Chapter 5 of ''Martin Chuzzlewit'' by Charles Dickens. *The fictitious Kingsbridge Cathedral in TV miniseries, ''The Pillars of the Earth (TV miniseries), The Pillars of the Earth'' (2010), based on a historical novel by the same name by Ken Follett, 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 (novel), Sarum'' by Edward Rutherfurd describes the history of Salisbury. *The novel ''The Spire'' by William Golding tells the story of the building of the spire of an unnamed cathedral similar to Salisbury Cathedral. *Band Uriah Heep (band), Uriah Heep released an album and song called ''Salisbury (album), Salisbury'' in 1971. *Progressive rock band Big Big Train wrote two songs in their ''Folklore'' album in which the Salisbury Giant appears. *''The Salisbury Poisonings'' is a three-part television drama which portrays the 2018 Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, Novichok poisoning crisis, first broadcast on BBC One in June 2020.


Climate

Salisbury experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification ''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 2006 European heat wave, 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 * St Osmund's Church, Salisbury


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 Salisbury, Cities in South West England Civil parishes in Wiltshire Towns in Wiltshire