Salisbury is a quiet market city in Wiltshire, in southern England, dominated by the spire of its cathedral, the tallest in the country. Surrounded by meadows crossed by four rivers, with a centre of timber-framed and Georgian houses, it is also the ideal base for visiting Stonehenge, about fifteen kilometres away.
The new city of 1220
Salisbury is a "new" city: in 1220 the bishop decided to leave the ancient settlement of Old Sarum, an Iron Age hillfort where a Norman castle and a windswept, waterless cathedral stood, and to build a new cathedral in the valley. Around the building site grew the city of New Sarum, laid out on a regular grid, and in 1227 it gained the right to hold a market, which still takes place every Tuesday and Saturday. The ruins of Old Sarum, a few kilometres to the north, can still be visited and offer a fine view of the cathedral.
The cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral was built in just 38 years, between 1220 and 1258, and is therefore the most unified example of Early English Gothic. Its spire, added in the following century, reaches 123 metres and is the tallest in the United Kingdom; you can climb to its base on a guided tour. Inside is the oldest working mechanical clock in the world, from the 14th century, and the chapter house displays the best preserved of the four surviving originals of the Magna Carta of 1215. Around the cathedral lies the Cathedral Close, the largest in Britain, a great lawn surrounded by historic houses, including the National Trust's Mompesson House and the Salisbury Museum.
The city and surroundings
The centre keeps old pubs and timber-framed houses, such as the Haunch of Venison, and the market place with the Poultry Cross. A walk across the Harnham Water Meadows leads to the spot from which John Constable painted his famous view of the cathedral. As well as Stonehenge, nearby you can visit the splendid house and gardens of Wilton House and the landscape garden of Stourhead, one of the most famous English gardens.
Practical information
Salisbury has about 41,000 inhabitants and can be reached by train from London Waterloo in about an hour and a half. In summer a tour bus links the station to Stonehenge and Old Sarum.
See also Stonehenge, UNESCO sites and British cities.