Magna Carta and other Salisbury, United Kingdom Things to Do Tips

The chapter house (no photos allowed) has one of the four surviving original texts of the Magna Carta. (Two of the originals are in the British Library. One is at Lincoln Castle.) I had not gotten over to the British Library while I was in London.

They had translations into various languages (the original is in Latin) on wooden paddles.

Part of the translation:

JOHN, by the grace of God King of England, .. to his archbishops, bishops.. servants, and to all his.. loyal subjects, Greeting.

KNOW THAT BEFORE GOD...

(1) FIRST, THAT WE HAVE GRANTED TO GOD, and by this present charter have confirmed for us... that the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired...

TO ALL FREE MEN OF OUR KINGDOM we have also granted,..all the liberties written out below...

(13) The city of London shall enjoy all its ancient liberties and free customs....

(20) For a trivial offence, a free man shall be fined only in proportion to the degree of his offence, and for a serious offence correspondingly, but not so heavily as to deprive him of his livelihood...

(35) There shall be standard measures of wine, ale, and corn (the London quarter), throughout the kingdom. There shall also be a standard width of dyed cloth, russett, and haberject, namely two ells within the selvedges...

(38) In future no official shall place a man on trial upon his own unsupported statement, without producing credible witnesses to the truth of it...

(40) To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice...

(45) We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or other officials, only men that know the law of the realm and are minded to keep it well...

Both we and the barons have sworn that all this shall be observed in good faith and without deceit. Witness...

Given by our hand in the meadow that is called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth day of June in the seventeenth year of our reign (i.e. 1215: the new regnal year began on 28 May).

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Phone: Recorded information 01722 5551
Website: http://www.bl.uk/collections/treasures/magnatranslation.html

The cathedral was built all at once over just 38 years in the 1200s. It has an old clock c. 1386 (which only strikes the hour - it has no face - it is supposed the oldest working clock in the world), and inside-the-church flying buttresses to stabilize the steeple which is 123 m tall, and is tilting 75 cm to the SW.

This is because the original plans for the church only had 4 Purbeck 'marble' piers which were to support only a small lantern tower. The tower they ended up with is the tallest in England

They give our grandson an animal hunt game to play while going through the cathedral.

Requested Voluntary Donations
Adults £3.80
Seniors/students £3.30
Children (5-17) £2.00
Families £8.50

Voluntary is a misnomer here unless it means something different in English English. You weren't getting in unless you anted up.

The website says "If you are a UK taxpayer, please ask for a Gift Aid envelope. (Through Gift Aid we can reclaim from the government the tax you have already paid on this donation, which represents an additional 28% on top of what you give during your visit.)"

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Phone: 01722 555124 group booking
Directions: From London, take the M3 then the A303 and the A345, approximately a 2 hour drive.
Website: http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/