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Salisbury Travel Guide: 277 reviews and 621 photos
Salisbury is heaped in history if you look down to the bare roots. Salisbury isn't the original name for this pretty part of the South West, it started off on a hilly Bronze-Age hilltop which was called Soverodonium by the Romans after the invasion. A small city was begun here, then the name changed again after the Normans came in 1066 & it became Serum. For a good look into the history I recommend Serum by Edward Rutherford, it gives a in depth look into the distant past of Salisbury & how it began. There was a much smaller cathedral at Serum it's outline still exists today, & there are also two legends about how the present cathedral was built. One was that Bishop Poor had a dream of God telling him where the new cathedral was to be built, the other is of a Knight who fired an arrow from a long bow & where it landed the foundations were to be laid. The arrow itself landed on marshy ground, & is why sometimes there is bad flooding inside & out. There's a picture of a man in a rowing boat inside the cathedral; the shot was taken in 1913. The clergy wanted to move as they were not getting on well with the soldiers, & on coming back one day from the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge, they found all the doors were locked; plus the weather conditions were not always suitable.
The new cathedral was started in 1220 & finished in 1258. Salisbury cathedral was a catholic church under the name of St Mary's until the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry 8th. The foundations consist of faggots & bulrushes covered by 2ft of gravel; the faggots still exist & were discovered during renovations 10yrs ago. We have the tallest spire in England at 505ft & the oldest clock in the world which is operated by weights & pulleys. The Americans once wanted it, but we said "no way". If you look at the spire you would see that it tilts slightly towards the right, this is because the structure is sinking! There are tours up the spire to see the bells working. Ear-plugs recommended here as they are very loud. The close is the biggest in England with 2 museums & lots of posh houses. Edward Heath (MP) has a house round here, & one of the houses (Mompesson) was used in sense & sensibility; it also has connections with the Tidworth Drummer legend, while I will explain later.
Salisburýs trade was built upon the sheep industry; our local breed is the Wiltshire Horn which (sorry to all you vegetarians) has juicy meat. Salisbury was hit badly by the Plague in the early 16th century, & Cholera in the 17th resulting in the infirmary hospital in Fisherton St to be built, I will also explain about this later too.
- Pros:History, surroundings
- Cons:Traffic wardens, rain
- In a nutshell:Lots to see & explore
Reviews (47)
Horse and Groom pub
Restaurants
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Park and Ride
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There are three park and ride area's near to Salisbury, they are: Britford Park Wilton The Beehive. There are plane... more travel advice
Salisbury Arts Centre
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Once an old church, Salisbury Arts centre is on the edge of Salisbury in grounds of it’s own. Based at St Edmonds Church... more travel advice
Salisbury Lifestyles
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We are devoted to giving people in and around the Salisbury area with physical or learning disabilities a better way of... more travel advice
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Comments (5)
Most of what is written above is fine but the pub doesn't have a thatched roof. The current style of roof (red tiles) has been in place for at least 100 years, probably longer.
Now we've come back! What a great city :)
Thought Salisbury was lovely when we visited in the 1980's, especially the cathedral. However, had I seen your horses I would have chosen them over ALL the other sights. Salisbury sure has more than its fair share of ghosts!
For Stratford read Stratford-Sub-Castle, not the one where Shakespeare grew up.
Thats so sad about Warrior you must have been very upset....
We were, his grave is being tidied up at the moment.