Salisbury Cathedral - the Gothic Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in the city of Salisbury, is considered the purest example of English Gothic.
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| Salisbury Cathedral |
General Information
Salisbury Cathedral cannot be confused with anything - its tallest pale gray spire in Britain (121 m) rises above the medieval city, stretching in the lowlands between the hills. Salisbury Cathedral was built in an incredibly short time - 38 years, from 1220 to 1258. Richard Poore, Bishop of Salisbury, ordered its foundation in the flood meadow of the Avon River, when the inhabitants of the ancient village with a church on the Old Sarum Hill were forced to leave it in 1220. The walls of the cathedral are made of local stone quarried 19 km from the city. In the 1260s, construction began on the octagonal chapter building, which took 40 years to build. The spire, erected in the 1320s, rises to a height of 123 m and is the highest in the country.
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| Salisbury Cathedral |
At the end of the 17th century, the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren was called upon to solve some of the problems caused by the height and weight of the spire. In the mid-19th century, Sir George Gilbert Scott spearheaded yet another phase of the spire's restoration. Today the spire deviates by less than 1 m, and the foundation has sunk into the swampy soil by only a couple of meters. The very fact that the cathedral has been preserved in all its splendor is a testament to the skill of medieval builders.
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| Salisbury Cathedral |
The extremely tall spire that looks stable is actually the least fortified in all of Britain. In the mid-19th century, Sir George Gilbert Scott spearheaded yet another phase of the spire's restoration. Today the spire deviates by less than 1 m, and the foundation has sunk into the swampy soil by only a couple of meters. The very fact that the cathedral has been preserved in all its splendor is a testament to the skill of medieval builders.
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| Salisbury Cathedral |
History
Salisbury Cathedral is a medieval gem dating back to 1258, when it was moved, for strategic reasons, from its former location in Old Sarum. It is one of the best examples of Early English Gothic, characterized by long pointed pointed windows. It also has the largest cloisters and the highest spire in all of England. But, in addition to its remarkable architectural characteristics, in its 750 years of history the cathedral has been the protagonist and or witness of many anecdotal, very curious events.