Harum Sarum (Salisbury Cathedral)

Member Name: MykReeve

Product:	Salisbury Cathedral
Date:	09/06/01 (370 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Oldest working clock in the world, Tallest spire in England, Impressive Gothic architecture, Enthusiastic staff

Disadvantages: Entrance fee, Parts of the Cathedral are covered in scaffolding

On the journey back from a recent trip to Dorchester, I stopped off at Salisbury Cathedral on the way back into London. It's an imposing building, surrounded with large meticulously maintained green lawns, and boasting the tallest church spire in England. Dating back to 1220, Salisbury Cathedral is one of Britain's finest medieval cathedral, and it has not weathered terrifically well.

Around the outside of the building (particularly in the area around the East end of the church) are large signs warning visitors not to go too close, for fear of being hit by falling masonry. Large areas of the cathedral, particularly around the spire, have been heavily buttressed at some later date, and other areas have been strengthened with pieces of scaffolding. Still, despite all this conspicuous work to ensure that the cathedral remains standing, it remains an impressive sight.

INSIDE THE CATHEDRAL

There is an admission fee to go around Salisbury Cathedral, or rather, there isn't, there is a "suggested donation" that you will be asked for. It's not particularly cheap, either - £3.50 (£2.50 concessions). Nevertheless, the interior of the cathedral really is impressive enough to warrant the entrance fee... sorry, mandatory donation.

The visitor entrance to the cathedral takes you through the Cloisters. Salisbury Cathedral's cloisters are very impressive. These were built in the mid-13th century, and are the largest of any cathedral in England. The central Cedars of Lebanon were planted to commemorate Queen Victoria's accession to the throne in 1837.

Upon entering the cathedral proper, you find yourself at the West end of the church, and can look along the length of the cathedral towards the High Altar, and the imposing stained glass windows above it. The Gothic architecture is exemplary, and particularly impressive, given that the main part of the cathedral was built in just 38 years, in the 13th century
!

On the north side of the nave, at the West end of the church, is probably the most impressive of the cathedral's features, in my opinion. A medieval clock, thought to be the oldest working clock in the world, dating back to 1386, sits ticking away the seconds. The clock was originally designed for a separate belltower near the cathedral, to initiate the striking on the hours, however, in 1792 it was moved into the cathedral itself. The clock has no face, consisting for the most part of huge metal cogs, each slowly rotating.

Heading East along the church, you pass several tombs along the nave. In the centre of the church, you can look up into the spire. The spire itself was constructed several years after the building itself was completed. Beneath the spire, on the floor of the church, is an 18th century plaque indicating the extent to which the spire has tilted away from the vertical over the years – some 75 centimetres!

To the East of the spire crossing is the quire. Most of the woodwork in the quire dates back to the original 13th century construction, and is very ornate. The High Altar at the end of the quire contains stone from the older, 1092, cathedral just along the road at Old Sarum.

To the North of the High Altar is a small Chantry Chapel, constructed for Edmund Audley, who was Bishop of the cathedral in the early 16th century. Much of the original colouring remains, however the figures in the niches of the chapel were destroyed in the Reformation.

East of the High Altar can be found the Trinity Chapel. This was the location of the first altar to be consecrated within Salisbury Cathedral, back in 1226. The body of the Bishop who founded Old Sarum's 1092 cathedral, Bishop Osmund, rests beneath a tomb slab in the centre of the Trinity Chapel. The Chapel itself is dedicated to prisoners of conscience around the world, and an Amnesty International symbol sits prominently beside the altar. The East win
dow was designed in 1980 by Gabriel Loire to represent prisoners of conscience around the world. It's a very impressive set of stained-glass windows, predominantly blue in colour, lending a very sombre mood to the place.

Returning to the Cloisters, you proceed into the Chapter House of the cathedral.

CHAPTER HOUSE

The cathedral's imposing octagonal chapter house was originally built in the late 13th century as a meeting place for the governing body of the cathedral. Nowadays, it's used to display the cathedral's treasures, which consist of Church silver and silver gilt, and numerous medieval manuscripts. Probably the most interesting of the manuscripts, however, is one of the four remaining original copies of the Magna Carta. (Two of the other four are in the British Library in London, and the other is in Lincoln Castle, in case you were wondering).

The Salisbury Cathedral copy of the document is in particularly good condition, and is displayed in such a way that visitors can actually lean over and read it... well, supposing they can read Latin, that is. King John's seal has not survived, unfortunately, but in other respects, this copy of the document is extremely well preserved.

Around the outside of the Chapter House is an impressive frieze depicting the events of the Biblical books of Genesis and Exodus. Immediately recognisable are events such as Noah's Ark and Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Less recognisable perhaps is the surprisingly gruesome scene of Cain murdering Abel. If you ask the spectacularly over-eager staff in the Chapter House, they'll give you a list of which biblical story is depicted in each section of the frieze.

GENERAL THOUGHTS

Salisbury Cathedral is very easy to get to, and parking near the cathedral is surprisingly plentiful, even on a Bank Holiday weekend... or maybe we were just lucky! The cathedral produces two leaflets for v
isitors; 'Welcome to Salisbury Cathedral' gives you a tour of the cathedral pointing out some of the most interesting features; and 'All Creatures Great & Small' which points out some of the animals hidden within the stonework, carvings and embroidery of the church, which should make the tour a bit more fun for children.

If you want to go up the spire, then tours with extremely limited numbers of places run every few hours Monday to Saturday, and it'll cost you an additional £3. Details of this are available on the cathedral's website at http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk.

CONCLUSIONS

Salisbury Cathedral is a very impressive building, and a fine example of Gothic architecture. Touring the cathedral will take about an hour and a half, and is well worth a visit, even though it is something of a cheek for them to demand an admission fee.

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