Salisbury Cathedral (Cathedral Church Of The Blessed Virgin Mary) (Part One).

Salisbury Cathedral.

Artist: John Constable.

Date: Circa 1825.

This File: 9 December 2014.

User: Tohma

(Wikimedia Commons)

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.

Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of The Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican Cathedral in Salisbury, England. The Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the Seat of the Bishop of Salisbury.

The building is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early-English Gothic architecture.[3] Its main body was completed in thirty-eight years, from 1220 to 1258.

The Spire was built in 1320. It was heightened to 404 feet (123 metres) and has been the tallest Church Spire in The United Kingdom since 1561.[4] 

Salisbury Cathedral.

Photo: 13 April 2016.

Source: https://www.wyrdlight.com

Author: Antony McCallum

(Wikimedia Commons)

Visitors can take the “Tower Tour”, in which the interior of the hollow Spire, with its ancient wooden scaffolding, can be viewed. 

The Cathedral has the largest Cloister and the largest Cathedral Close in Britain at eighty acres (thirty-two hectares).[3] It contains a Clock which is among the oldest working examples in the World, and has one of the four surviving original copies of Magna Carta. In 2008, the Cathedral celebrated the 750th anniversary of its Consecration.[5]

Possibly as a response to deteriorating relations between the Clergy and the Military at Old Sarum Cathedral, the decision was taken to re-site the Cathedral, with the Seat of the Bishopric being moved to New Sarum, or Salisbury. The move occurred during the tenure of Richard Poore, the Cathedral’s Bishop.[6]

The Choir,

Salisbury Cathedral.

Photo: 8 July 2014.

Source: Own work.

Attribution: “Photo by DAVID ILIFF.

Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0”.

Author: Diliff

(Wikimedia Commons)

Construction was paid for by donations, principally from the Canons and Vicars of South-East England, who were asked to contribute a fixed annual sum until the building was completed.[7] 

A legend tells that the Bishop of Old Sarum, Richard Poore, shot an arrow in the direction he would build the Cathedral; the arrow hit a deer, which died in the place where Salisbury Cathedral is now.[A]

The Foundation Stone was laid on 28 April 1220 by William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, and by Ela of Salisbury, 3rd Countess of Salisbury.[9][10] Much of the Freestone for the Cathedral came from the Teffont Evias Quarry.[11] 

The Nave,

Salisbury Cathedral.

Photo: 8 July 2014.

Source: Own work.

Attribution: “Photo by DAVID ILIFF.

Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0”.

Author: Diliff

(Wikimedia Commons)

As a result of the high Water Table on the new site, the Cathedral was built on Foundations only four feet (1.2 metres) deep, and, by 1258, the Nave, Transepts, and Choir were complete.[12] 

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 metres) dominated the skyline from 1320. 

Because most of the Cathedral was built in only thirty-eight years, it has a single consistent architectural style, Early-English Gothic. 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.[13]

PART TWO FOLLOWS.