Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral has the tallest church spire in Britain, and the whole thing was added to a building never designed to carry it.
Published
Quick Facts
- Location
- Salisbury, Wiltshire
- Built
- Main building 1220 to 1258; tower and spire added in the 14th century
- Spire height
- About 123 metres (404 feet), the tallest church spire in the UK
- Cloisters
- Among the largest in England
- Magna Carta
- Home to one of the four surviving 1215 copies
- Clock
- One of the oldest working mechanical clocks in the world, dating from about 1386
- Founded by
- Bishop Richard Poore, who moved the see from Old Sarum
- Famous painter
- John Constable painted it repeatedly in the 1820s
A spire that shouldn't be standing
Look up at Salisbury's spire and you are looking at a medieval gamble. The cathedral was built in under forty years, from 1220 to 1258, with a low central tower and no plan for anything grander. Then, in the 14th century, the masons added a tower and a spire of roughly 123 metres, making it the tallest in Britain. The original foundations were shallow, laid on gravel with little beneath them. The extra weight of the stone pushed the four main piers beneath the tower visibly out of line, and you can still see the slight bend in them today. The builders used clever fixes. Timber scaffolding was left inside the tower and spire, where much of it remains. Later, in the 17th century, Sir Christopher Wren inspected the building and recommended iron ties to hold it together.
The city that moved downhill
Salisbury Cathedral stands where it does because of a bad relationship between clergy and soldiers. The earlier cathedral stood inside the hilltop fortress of Old Sarum, a windswept place with a shortage of water and a cramped site hemmed in by the castle garrison. Bishop Richard Poore got permission to move the cathedral to open meadows beside the River Avon. Building began in 1220. A new town grew up around it, originally called New Sarum, and that town became modern Salisbury. The result is unusual among English cathedrals. Most were built over centuries in a muddle of styles, but Salisbury was put up quickly, so it is almost all Early English Gothic, with long, narrow lancet windows and a remarkable unity of design.
Magna Carta, clocks and a ceiling of water
The cathedral keeps one of the four surviving copies of the 1215 Magna Carta in its Chapter House, the octagonal room with a slender central column and a medieval stone frieze of Old Testament scenes. Then there is the clock. The mechanism dates from about 1386 and is counted among the oldest working mechanical clocks in the world. It has no face. It was built to strike the hours, not display them, and it ticks away in the nave. In the nave, look down as well as up. A shallow font installed in 2008 holds still water that mirrors the arches and vaults above. It is a very modern piece of design that has become one of the most photographed spots in the building.
Constable's obsession
John Constable painted Salisbury Cathedral again and again in the 1820s, helped by his friend John Fisher, the Bishop of Salisbury's nephew. Their friendship gave him access to the grounds and the best views. His famous view from the Bishop's Grounds shows the spire rising over trees, and the painting that followed, which features a rainbow and a stormy sky, is one of the most celebrated landscapes in British art. The famous view across the water meadows is still recognisable today. The meadows are the best place to stand if you want to see what he saw. From there, the spire looks improbably thin against the sky.
The Close and what to look for
The cathedral sits in the largest cathedral close in Britain, a wide lawn of grass ringed by elegant houses from the medieval period onwards. It feels like a village within the city, and the grass sweeps right up to the walls of the cathedral itself. The cloisters are among the largest in England, and unusually they were built on the plan of the cathedral rather than being tacked on later. Inside, the tomb of William Longespée, half-brother of King John, is a striking memorial. When it was opened in the 18th century, a dead rat was found inside his head, a story often retold and a favourite with guides. Look also for the stained glass, including the Prisoners of Conscience window by Gabriel Loire, installed in 1980.
Notable people
- Richard Poore
- John Constable
- John Fisher
- Christopher Wren
- William Longespée
- Gabriel Loire
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