Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral
You are listening to the choir from Cambridge College


Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire is one of the most beautiful in the UK. It is certainly the tallest, with a spire reaching to 123 metres (404 ft).
It is well known to many people as the cathedral featured in the paintings of Turner and Constable.

Yes - there is an 'i' in Salisbury (Unlike the page title which is spelt 'Salsbury' since many people misspell it that way. )

Work on building the cathedral started in 1220 and the main building was completed by 1258. The tower and spire were added between 1297 and 1320.

The cathedral is mostly built from limestone quarried from Tisbury 19 miles away. Surprisingly, for such a large building, it's foundations are only 2 metres deep and rest on waterlogged gravel from the nearby River Avon. This picture was taken when the Avon had drowned it's flood plain.

The cathedral pre-dates the present city of Salisbury which was built around it. It replaced the cathedral built 1092 at nearby Sarisburia (Now Old Sarum). Sarisburia cathedral was build within a hill fort and was too small for the church at the time.

Try the view from the top of the tower

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