Salisbury Wiltshire walkabout 22.12.18

On Saturday 22nd December 2018 after my Stonehenge Winter Solstice walk I thought Id make the most of it and visit Salisbury whilst in Wiltshire!

So a short 15 minute journey I park up in the Salisbury Central Car Park.

I walk out onto Fisherton Street.

I pass the Salisbury General Infirmary.

IThe Salisbury Infirmary had a long history as a hospital. The first Lord Feversham, who died in 1763, left a sum of £500 towards the establishment of a county hospital and at a general meeting on 23 September 1766 a committee was established. The Earl of Pembroke was nominated as visitor, the Earl of Radnor as president, and Robert Cooper as treasurer, while Dr Henry Hele and Dr Jacob were appointed as physicians.

A site was purchased and the existing houses on it were opened for the reception of patients on 2 May 1767. Meanwhile, plans were drawn up by John Wood, the Younger of Bath for a new four-storey building on the site with over 100 beds. When the new red-brick building was completed and opened in 1771, the existing houses were removed. The hospital was later much enlarged, with a wing added on one side in 1845 and the other side in 1869, and further 20th-century extensions.

A new outpatients department, dedicated to T. E. Lawrence, the British military officer, was opened in 1936. The hospital joined the National Health Service in 1948. The building was recorded as Grade II listed in 1972, under the name General Infirmary.

It was in the intensive care unit at the Infirmary that the Thin Lizzy singer Phil Lynott died from an alcohol and drugs related illness in January 1986.  After services transferred to the Salisbury District Hospital in 1991 the Infirmary closed in 1993. The building was subsequently converted for residential use.

Salisbury General Infirmary.

United Reform Church

Salisbury: clock tower on Fisherton Street A Salisbury doctor named John Roberts had this clock tower built in 1892 as a memorial to his wife.

Bridge over the River Avon to The Maltings Shopping Centre

The site of this Wetherspoon pub has been occupied by an inn since the 15th century. By c1520, it was known as the King’s Head, retaining that name until it was rebuilt in the 1880s. The County Hotel was, itself, a change of name some time during the 1880s or 1890s. Before then, it was the King’s Head and Brewery. The King’s Head was an inn with a long pedigree. In 1623, John Taylor, the ‘Water Poet’, demonstrated that the Avon could be made navigable by rowing his boat from London. On reaching Fisherton Bridge, he lodged at the King’s Head Inn.

These licensed premises were refurbished by J D Wetherspoon and reopened in July 2002. The building had been the Town House for the last decade or so of the 20th century, but was previously named the County Hotel for around 100 years.

An advertisement, dated 1912, proudly proclaims that the County Hotel was ‘Patronised by Royalty, the chief Military Officers and County Families’. The building had been renamed the County Hotel in around 1890.

Prior to that it was called the King’s Head, an inn with a very long pedigree. The King’s Head Inn is recorded as early as 1526. Earlier still, an inn is recorded here, alongside Fisherton Anchor, in 140, when it was demised to Hugh Willett.

 I cross the road and walk alongside the Kings Head and the Avon.

I leave the riverside path and walk out onto Crane Street passing the Diocese of  Salisbury building. 

Mentioned as "Le Crane" in Bishop's rental of 1455. The south range of building at right angles to street mid C14. The street range late C16 circa 1575 .

91 Crane St, Diocese of  Salisbury building

I turn right by Prezzo and onto the High Street.

High Street Gate / Porter's Lodge

Built between 1327 and 1342 the High Street gate is the main point of entry into the Cathedral Close. It housed the small lock-up jail for those convicted of misdeeds within the Liberty of the Close. Beside the gate stands the Porters Lodge. The post of porter to the Close was a much sought-after sinecure for the servants of kings and nobles in the middle ages. Before the building of St Osmund`s Roman Catholic Church in Exeter Street a Roman Catholic Chapel was registered as being in the lodge.

I now walk onto Choristers Square.

In front of me is the amazing Salisbury Cathedral.

Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, and one of the leading examples of Early English architecture. The main body of the cathedral was completed in 38 years, from 1220 to 1258.

Since 1549, the cathedral has had the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom, at 404 feet (123 m). Visitors can take the "Tower Tour" where the interior of the hollow spire, with its ancient wooden scaffolding, can be viewed. The cathedral also has the largest cloister and the largest cathedral close in Britain at 80 acres (32 ha). It contains a clock which is among the oldest working clocks in the world, and has the best surviving of the four original copies of Magna Carta. In 2008, the cathedral celebrated the 750th anniversary of its consecration.

The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury, currently Nick Holtam.

As a response to deteriorating relations between the clergy and the military at Old Sarum Cathedral, the decision was taken to resite the cathedral, and the seat of the bishopric was moved to New Sarum, or Salisbury. The move occurred during the tenure of Richard Poore, a rich man who gave the land on which the new cathedral was built. Construction was paid for by donations, principally from the canons and vicars of southeast England, who were asked to contribute a fixed annual sum until the building was completed.A legend tells that the Bishop of Old Sarum shot an arrow in the direction he would build the cathedral; but the arrow hit a deer that died in the place where Salisbury Cathedral is now. The cathedral crossing, Old Sarum, and Stonehengeare reputed to be aligned on a ley line, although Clive L. N. Ruggles asserts that the site, on marshland, was chosen because a preferred site several miles to the west could not be obtained.

From Darkness to Light Illuminations

Visitors approaching the Cathedral via the West walk will encounter Light Wave by Squidsoup, the team behind Enlightenment, the stunning installation that hung in the North Porch during our Magna Carta celebrations in 2015. This immersive walk-through experience comprises 500 light and audio spheres, suspended in a 20-metre wave formation, which softly glow and play plainsong creating a dreamlike experience. Light Wave will be on from 16:00 to 22:30 daily.

The foundation stone was laid on 28 April 1220. Much of the freestone for the cathedral came from the Teffont Evias Quarry.As a result of the high water table on the new site, the cathedral was built on foundations only 4 feet (1.2 m) deep, and by 1258 the nave, transepts, and choir were complete. The only major sections begun later were the cloisters, added in 1240, the chapter house in 1263, the tower and spire, which at 404 feet (123 m) dominated the Wiltshire skyline from 1320. Because most of the cathedral was built in only 38 years, it has a single consistent architectural style, Early English Gothic.

Although the spire is the cathedral's most impressive feature, it has proved to be troublesome. Together with the tower, it added 6,397 tons (6,500 tonnes) to the weight of the building. Without the addition of buttresses, bracing arches and anchor irons over the succeeding centuries, it would have suffered the fate of spires on other great ecclesiastical buildings (such as Malmesbury Abbey, 1180 to 1500; Lincoln Cathedral, 1311 to 1549; and Chichester Cathedral, 1402 to 1861) and fallen down; instead, Salisbury became the tallest church spire in the country on the collapse at Lincoln in 1549. The large supporting pillars at the corners of the spire are seen to bend inwards under the stress. The addition of reinforcing tie-beams above the crossing, designed by Christopher Wren in 1668, halted further deformation. The beams were hidden by a false ceiling, installed below the lantern stage of the tower.

Significant changes to the cathedral were made by the architect James Wyatt in 1790, including replacement of the original rood screen and demolition of a bell tower which stood about 320 feet (98 m) northwest of the main building. Salisbury is one of only three English cathedrals to lack a ring of bells, the others being Norwich Cathedral and Ely Cathedral. However, its medieval clock does strike the time with bells every 15 minutes. In total, 70,000 tons of stone, 3,000 tons of timber and 450 tons of lead were used in the construction of the cathedral.

On 25 October 2018, there was an attempted theft of the Magna Carta from the cathedral; the alarms were triggered and a 45-year-old man was later detained on suspicion of attempted theft, criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon. The glass case containing the document was broken, but the Magna Carta itself suffered no damage.

On the Cloister Garth, Lumen by David Ogle RBS, will sit among the grand Cedars that were planted to commemorate Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne. This installation of 5 tree-like structures will form a luminous canopy of interlocking neon branches up to 3 metres high which will bathe the stone arches with a vibrant glow. View the Light from 08:30 to 18:30 and until 20:00 on our late night openings.

It would have been amazing to have stayed late for the light up of the xmas display,shame but take a look at the video.

The chapter house is notable for its octagonal shape, slender central pillar and decorative medieval frieze. It was redecorated in 1855-9 by William Burges. The frieze circles the interior above the stalls and depicts scenes and stories from the books of Genesis and Exodus, including Adam and Eve, Noah, the Tower of Babel, and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The chapter house also displays the best-preserved of the four surviving original copies of Magna Carta. This copy came to Salisbury because Elias of Dereham, who was present at Runnymede in 1215, was given the task of distributing some of the original copies. Elias later became a canon of Salisbury and supervised the construction of the cathedral.

Salisbury Cathedral is unusual for its tall and narrow nave, and has visual accentuation due to the use of light grey Chilmark stone for the walls and dark polished Purbeck marble for the columns. It has three levels: a tall pointed arcade, an open gallery and a small clerestory. Lined up between the pillars are notable tombs such as that of William Longespée, half brother of King John and the illegitimate son of Henry II, who was the first person to be buried in the cathedral.

British Prime Minister. Served as Conservative Party Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974. After the Conservatives lost the 1974 election, Heath was defeated for party leader by future Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. On a side-note, his name, "Mr. Heath," was immortalised in the song "Taxman," written and recorded by The Beatles.

The cathedral is the subject of famous paintings by John Constable. As a gesture of appreciation for John Fisher, Bishop of Salisbury, who commissioned this painting, Constable included the bishop and his wife in the canvas . The view depicted in the paintings has changed very little in almost two centuries.

The cathedral is also the subject of William Golding's novel The Spire which deals with the fictional Dean Jocelin who makes the building of the spire his life's work. The construction of the cathedral is an important plot point in Edward Rutherfurd's historical novel Sarum, which explores the historical settlement of the Salisbury area. The cathedral has been mentioned by the author Ken Follett as one of two models for the fictional Kingsbridge Cathedral in his historical novel The Pillars of the Earth. It was also used for some external shots in the 2010 miniseries based on Follett's book and was shown as it is today in the final scene. The cathedral was the setting for the 2005 BBC television drama Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle, written by Rhidian Brook and directed by Susanna White. Kevin McCloud climbed the cathedral in his programme called Don't Look Down! in which he climbed high structures to conquer his fear of heights. The cathedral was the subject of a Channel 4 Time Team programme which was first broadcast on 8 February 2009.

Carved wood chairs in the morning chapel

I leave the Cathedral and walk across the square to The Salisbury Museum, but at a £8 entry fee I give it a miss.

I pass Arundels. 

Arundells, a charming and peaceful house, is located within Salisbury’s magnificent Cathedral Close and is the former home of Sir Edward Heath KG MBE, Prime Minister and Statesman.

Sir Edward bequeathed Arundells to the Charitable Foundation set up in his name following his death in 2005. He very much wanted as many people as possible to “share the beauty of Arundells” and to enjoy his diverse and very personal collection of art work, photographs, sailing memorabilia and political cartoons.

The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Museum

1,200 items from the Berkshire & Wiltshire Regiment exhibited in a restored, historical residence.

I reach Mompession House, being a NT member I pop in for a visit, all the rooms had a different era Christmas theme.

Mompesson House is an 18th-century house located in the Cathedral Close.

The building was constructed for Sir Thomas Mompesson, MP for the constituency of Salisbury in 1679, 1695 and 1701. The site was purchased at the end of the 17th century and the house reflects the classic Queen Anne style of that period with Chilmark stone facing. To the right of the main house stands the brick-built service building which was constructed on the site of the old Eagle Inn that closed in 1625. Thomas's son Charles completed the building in 1701, his initials and date can be seen on the heads of the water downpipes. In due course the Longueville family acquired the house through marriage. The Townsend family occupied the house from 1846 to 1939 and the flamboyant artist Miss Barbara Townsend, mentioned in Edith Olivier's book, Four Victorian Ladies of Wiltshire, lived there for the whole of her 96 years. The Bishop of Salisbury, Neville Lovett, lived there from 1942-46. In 1952 the freehold was purchased from the Church Commissioners by the architect, Mr Dennis Martineau who immediately gave it to the present owners.

Small Drawing room set out in Xmas 1920s

Large Drawing Room set out in Xmas 1870s

Dining Room set out in Xmas regency Period

Mompesson House was used as a location for the 1995 film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.

Xmas 1950s

 I left the house and head off back down The High Street back through High Street Gate.

I cross Crane St and continue on the High Street and pass Old George Mall.

At the end of High St I turn right onto Silver St and up to The Poultry Cross.

The Poultry Cross is a market cross in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, marking the site of former markets. Constructed in the 14th century and modified in the 18th century it stands at the junction of Silver Street and Minster Street. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed structure.

The Poultry Cross is the only one remaining of four market crosses that once stood in Salisbury. The others were the Cheese Cross in the present Cheesemarket area, Barnard's Cross (livestock) at the junction of Barnard Street and Culver Street and another which designated a market for wool and yarn at the east end of the present Market Place near the War Memorial.

The presence of a market cross on the Poultry Cross site dates to 1307 and the name to about a century later. The present stone structure was built in the late 15th century. The original flying buttresses were removed in 1711, as can be seen in the painting of 1800 by JMW Turner; the present buttresses date from 1852–4, when the upper parts of the cross were rebuilt to the designs of the architect Owen Browne Carter.[4]

The present-day site is used as part of Salisbury Market on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The Poultry Cross

Opposite The Poultry Cross is the Haunch of Venison.

Probably the oldest hostelry in Salisbury and certainly the most haunted - The Haunch of Venison provides refreshment in the historic downstairs bar and in the unique restaurant upstairs. The enormous oak beams, which can be seen throughout, pre-date the building by several hundred years and are thought to come from early sailing vessels.

I walk up Butcher Row pass many old buildings.

At the top of Butcher Row I turn left onto Queen Street.

Here I enter a Christmas Market in Guildhall Square.

The Guildhall today is the fourth such building within the City of Salisbury.

The first Guildhall dates back to medieval times, when it was known as “The Bishop’s Guildhall”. At that time the building was under the control of the Bishop who exercised his feudal rights of criminal and civil justice.

The new Guildhall was built on the site of the old one. Alterations were then made to the building in 1829 which included the addition of the Grand Jury Room, extensions to the courts and new accommodation for the judges. Since that date, other alterations have been made, including extensive internal alterations. Since 1835 the building has been under the control of local government and is now managed by Salisbury City Council.

The Guildhall and Xmas Market.

This Moonshine was potent stuff!

Ice Skating

A bit of xmas shopping and music.

I leave the market and cut through to St Thomas Beckett church of Salisbury.

The big town church of Salisbury was built around 1220 as a place of worship for the masons working on the 13th-century Salisbury Cathedral. It was rebuilt around 1450 and bears the emblems of the townspeople who paid for it.

The Last Judgment mural was completed in 1475. The work was painted over in 1593 (well after the Reformation) and remained hidden until it was discovered and restored in 1881.

The church's most notable feature, the Last Judgment or "Doom" mural, fills the wall above the chancel arch and greets you as you walk in. Pre-restoration drawings confirm that this composition is original to 1475 and the details are familiar from other 15th-century murals. The color has faded quite a bit, but the completeness of the work is remarkable, as is the detailed backdrop featuring buildings, trees and landscape.

As in other depictions of this scene, the Doom mural depicts Christ in judgment with the apostles in the center, with the blessed on the left and the damned on the right. A frightening Devil can be seen to the right of the arch, with an ale-wife beneath him. Interestingly, the demons lack the customary instruments of torture. This being a town church, bishops but no merchants are included among the damned! The two saints at the foot of the mural are St. James and St. Osmund.

The nave and aisles of St. Thomas' Church are in the Perpendicular style. Slim pillars are topped with foliated capitals, and clear glass windows overlook the market buildings outside. The carved timber roof includes crested and painted beams and more than 100 angels in various locations.

The south chapel, built by William Swayne around 1450, displays a primitive mural of nativity scenes on its north wall and a fine classical reredos and wrought-iron screen. There are fragments of medieval stained glass in the windows, including the Virgin tending a garden of lilies.

In the north aisle, look for the coat of arms of Elizabeth I, with lion and dragon supporters. This would have hung above the chancel arch when the mural was painted over.

I walk on through to the Maltings Shopping Centre.

I am now back at the car after a 2 mile walk and a long journey home after very little sleep!

The story of Salisbury began 2,500 years ago when an iron age fort was built on Salisbury Hill about 2 miles north of the modern town center. In the 6th century AD the Saxons invaded Wiltshire. In 552 Saxons and Celts fought a battle at Salisbury Hill. The Celts were defeated and fled westwards. The fort probably lay abandoned for centuries.

However by the early 11th century a settlement had grown up on the site of the old fort. In 1003 the Vikings raided Wilton some of the survivors may have fled to the safety of Salisbury Hill and founded a new settlement. The new town had a mint and a market.

About 1069 William the Conqueror built a wooden castle to overlook the settlement and keep the inhabitants in line. In 1075 a bishop moved his seat there. However Sarisberie, as it was called, was a small settlement, much smaller than nearby Wilton. It probably only had a population of a few hundred.

SALISBURY IN THE MIDDLE AGES

The modern town of Salisbury began about the year 1217 when the Bishop decided to move his seat to land owned by the church south of the hill. Perhaps there was friction between the clergy and the soldiers in the Norman castle. A shortage of water on the hill may have been another reason for the move. He created a new town on the plain. The Bishop laid out streets in a grid pattern and leased plots of land for building houses. So a new settlement grew up at Salisbury but the town at Old Sarum continued for centuries.

The new town of Salisbury was given a charter in 1227 (a charter was a document granting the townspeople certain rights). By 1219 Salisbury had a market and an annual fair. In Middle Ages fairs were like markets but they were held only once a year. People would come from all over Wiltshire to buy and sell at a Salisbury fair.

Medieval Salisbury was very successful. This was partly because it was on the road from Wilton to Southampton. It was also on the road from London to Exeter. (In those days Exeter was a large and important town and much traffic went between those two towns). In 1244 a stone bridge was built across the Avon, which increased the traffic flowing through Salisbury. Obviously travellers would stop at Salisbury and spend money in the town.

However the main industry in Medieval Salisbury was making wool cloth. The wool was woven. It was then fulled. Before it was dyed the wool was beaten in a mixture of water and clay to clean and thicken it. This was called fulling. Wooden hammers worked by watermills beat the wool.

Much of this wool was exported through Southampton. Salisbury grew to be one of the largest towns in England by the 15th century with a population of perhaps 8,000.

Work on Salisbury Cathedral began in 1220 and continued until 1258. The tower and spire were added in 1334. The Bishops Palace was also built in the 13th century. Then in 1269 Salisbury was divided into 3 parishes.

Meanwhile in the 13th century the friars arrived in Salisbury. The friars were like monks but instead of withdrawing from the world they went out to preach. In Salisbury there were 2 orders of friars, the Franciscans (called grey friars because of their grey costumes) and the Dominicans (known as black friars). In the late 14th century the Hospital of the Holy Trinity was founded where monks cared for the sick and poor as best they could.

SALISBURY IN THE 16th CENTURY

In 1538 Henry VIII closed the friaries in Salisbury. However the 2 'hospitals' continued to function.

During the 17th century the wool industry in Salisbury slowly declined. The population of the town also declined slightly to about 7,000. Salisbury was a large and important town in the Middle Ages but by 1700 it had dwindled into a medium sized market town. On the other hand in 1612 Salisbury was given a new charter. This one made the town completely independent of the Bishop.

Like all towns in those days Salisbury suffered from outbreaks of the plague. It struck in 1563, 1604 and 1627.

SALISBURY IN THE 17th CENTURY

In 1642 came civil war between king and parliament. For 2 years Salisbury escaped the fighting then in October 1644 a royalist army occupied the town. In December 1644 a parliamentary army attacked Salisbury and quickly defeated the royalists taking many of them prisoner. However in January 1645 another royalist army attacked Salisbury. They drove out the parliamentary troops. Salisbury remained in royalist hands until January 1646. By then the king was losing the war and he withdrew his troops from Salisbury as they were needed elsewhere.

The civil war ended in 1646 but in 1655 a royalist uprising took place. Not many men from Salisbury were willing to join the revolt. The uprising was soon crushed and 7 rebels were hanged in Salisbury. Others were transported to the West Indies.

The Joiners Hall was built in the 16th century. Matrons College for the widows of clergymen was built by Bishop Seth Ward in 1685.

SALISBURY IN THE 18th CENTURY

One of Salisbury's famous buildings, Mompesson House, was built in 1701 for Charles Mompesson a merchant.

However during the 18th century Salisbury remained a market town of only local importance. Cloth manufacture was still the main industry in Salisbury but it continued to gradually decline. Furthermore Salisbury suffered outbreaks of smallpox in 1723 and in 1752.

Yet there were some improvements in Georgian Salisbury. Salisbury gained its first newspaper in 1715. Then in 1737 an Act of Parliament formed a body of men with powers to pave, clean and light the streets of Salisbury with oil lamps. They also appointed a force of night watchmen. An infirmary was built in Salisbury in 1774 and a theater was built in 1777.

SALISBURY IN THE 19TH CENTURY

In 1801 Salisbury had a population of 7,668. By the standards of the time it was a fair sized town. However Salisbury grew little in the early 19th century and had a population of less than 9,500 in 1851. In the late 19th century the population grew more rapidly. It reached 17,000 by 1901.

In the 19th century the industrial revolution transformed Britain but it largely passed Salisbury by. Salisbury remained a market town and the old cloth industry died out altogether.

However there were some improvements in Salisbury during the 19th century. In 1833 Salisbury gained gas street light and 1836 a modern police force was created in the town. Then in 1847 the railway arrived.

However in 1849 Salisbury suffered a severe outbreak of cholera and 192 people died. Afterwards, in the 1850s sewers were dug under the town and a piped water supply was created. Salisbury museum was founded in 1860. In 1892 a public swimming pool opened.

The original settlement at Salisbury was on a hill north of the town. By the early 19th century it had dwindled to almost nothing. It became a 'rotten borough' where 10 voters elected 2 MPs! This situation was finally ended in 1832. Then in 1882 Old Sarum was finally extinguished when it became a public park.

SALISBURY IN THE 20th CENTURY

In the 20th century Salisbury continued to grow quite rapidly but it remained an agricultural town. Today one of the main industries in Salisbury is tourism.

The first cinema in Salisbury opened in 1908. Then in the 1920s and 1930s the first council houses were built. Some of them were needed to replace demolished slums. More council houses were built in Salisbury after 1945.

Old George Mall opened in 1968. A new library opened in Salisbury in 1975. A new swimming pool opened in 1976. The Redcoats In The Wardrobe Museum opened in 1982. The Maltings Shopping Centre opened in 1986. Wilton Shopping Village opened in 1998.

SALISBURY IN THE 21st CENTURY

In the 21st century Salisbury is a thriving market town. Today the population of Salisbury is 40,000.