127-665: Old Sarum , in Wiltshire , South West England , is the ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury . Situated on a hill about two miles (three kilometres) north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road , the settlement appears in some of the earliest records in the country. It is an English Heritage property and is open to the public. The great stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury were erected nearby and indications of prehistoric settlement have been discovered from as early as 3000 BC. An Iron Age hillfort
254-556: A Novichok nerve agent. Salisbury is within the county of Wiltshire , and the administrative district of the same name. For local government purposes, it is administered by the Wiltshire Council unitary authority. Salisbury forms a civil parish with a parish council known as the Salisbury City Council . Since the local boundary review of 2020, two electoral wards – St Edmund and Harnham East – cover
381-605: A ghost word or corruption of the medieval Latin and Norman forms of the name Salisbury, such as the Sarisburie that appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086. (These were adaptions of the earlier names Searoburh, Searobyrig, and Searesbyrig, calques of the indigenous Brittonic name with the Old English suffixes - burh and - byrig , denoting fortresses or their adjacent settlements.) The longer name
508-583: A great cathedral . A royal palace was built within Old Sarum Castle for King Henry I and was subsequently used by Plantagenet monarchs. This heyday of the settlement lasted for around 300 years until disputes between the Sheriff of Wiltshire and the Bishop of Salisbury finally led to the removal of the church into the nearby plain . As New Salisbury grew up around the construction site for
635-697: A salient between the River Bourne and the Hampshire Avon , near a crossroads of several early trade routes. During the Iron Age , sometime between 600 and 300 BC, a hillfort ( oppidum ) was constructed around it. The Romans may have occupied the site or left it in the hands of an allied tribe. At the time of the Saxon invasions , Old Sarum fell to King Cynric of Wessex in 552. Preferring settlements in bottomland, such as nearby Wilton ,
762-507: A 4-mile radius of the city centre and are listed in approximately clockwise order: The civil parish of Salisbury, which does not include some of the city's suburbs such as Laverstock, Ford , Britford and Netherhampton , had a population of 40,302 at the 2011 census . The urban zone , which contains the wards immediately surrounding the city, had a population of 62,216 at the 2011 Census. The wards included in this figure are Laverstock , Britford , Downton , Alderbury , Odstock and
889-676: A centre at Corsham Court in Corsham , and Oxford Brookes University maintains a minor campus in Swindon (almost 50 km from Oxford). Swindon is the UK's second largest centre of population (after Milton Keynes ) without its own university. Service Children's Education has its headquarters in Trenchard Lines in Upavon , Wiltshire. The county registered a population of 680,137 in
1016-670: A foe of Caesar 's, his sons submitted to Augustus as client kings . Their realm became known as the Regni and the overthrow of one of them, Verica , was the casus belli used to justify the Emperor Claudius 's invasion. The settlement appeared in the Welsh Chronicle of the Britons as Caer -Caradog or Gradawc ( Old Welsh : kaer gradaỽc ) and as Caer-Wallawg. Bishop Ussher argued for its identification with
1143-466: A golden great bustard , which had been extinct in England since 1832 but is now the subject of a breeding programme on Salisbury Plain . It is surrounded by a green and white circle, representing the stone circles at Stonehenge and Avebury and also the six surrounding counties. The field consists of alternating green and white stripes, which reference the banner of arms of the council but also represent
1270-760: A league record points tally of 103. After Salisbury City went into liquidation in 2014, a new club, Salisbury , was formed in 2015 and will play in the National League South for the 24/25 season. Wiltshire County Cricket Club play in the Minor Counties league. Swindon Robins Speedway team, who competed in the top national division, the SGB Premiership , had been at their track at the Blunsdon Abbey Stadium near Swindon since 1949. In 2020 they stopped racing due to
1397-466: A programme of theatre, live music, dance, public sculpture, street performance and art exhibitions. Salisbury also houses a producing theatre, Salisbury Playhouse , which produces between eight and ten plays a year, as well as welcoming touring productions. The Salisbury Museum is housed in the King's House , a Grade I listed building whose history dates back to the 13th century, opposite the west front of
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#17327719729161524-433: A proportion is caused orographically (uplift over hills). Autumn and winter are rainiest, caused by Atlantic depressions, which are then most active. Even so, any month can be the wettest or driest in a given year but the wettest is much more likely to be Oct-Mar, and the driest Apr-Sept. In summer, a greater proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. It
1651-521: A result of elections held in 2021, Wiltshire Council comprises 61 Conservatives , 27 Liberal Democrats , seven Independents and three Labour members. Swindon Borough Council has 34 Conservative councillors and 23 Labour members. Until the 2009 structural changes to local government , Wiltshire (apart from Swindon) was a two-level county, divided into four local government districts – Kennet , North Wiltshire , Salisbury and West Wiltshire – which existed alongside Wiltshire County Council , covering
1778-638: A strong artistic community, with galleries situated in the city centre, including the Young Gallery (incorporating the John Creasey Museum ), located in Salisbury Library. In the 18th century, John Constable made a number of celebrated landscape paintings featuring the cathedral's spire and the surrounding countryside. Salisbury's annual International Arts Festival, started in 1973, and held in late May to early June, provides
1905-437: A village pond. When confronted by the excise men they raked the surface to conceal the submerged contraband with ripples, and claimed that they were trying to rake in a large round cheese visible in the pond, really a reflection of the full moon. The officials took them for simple yokels or mad and left them alone, allowing them to continue with their illegal activities. Many villages claim the tale for their own village pond, but
2032-725: A walkway that links Harnham with the rest of the city, is at times impassable. Water-meadows at Harnham, fed by two branches of the River Nadder , are first documented in the 17th century. East Harnham Meadows , in the floodplain of the Avon , is a Site of Special Scientific Interest . There are civil airfields at Old Sarum (where the experimental aircraft the Edgley Optica was developed and tested) and at Thruxton near Andover . Salisbury has many areas and suburbs, most of them being former villages that were absorbed by
2159-455: Is John Glen ( Conservative ), who was first elected in 2010. Salisbury is approximately halfway between Exeter and London being 80 miles (128 km) east-northeast of Exeter , 78 miles (126 km) west-southwest of London and also 34 miles (55 km) south of Swindon , 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Southampton and 32 miles (51 km) southeast of Bath . The geology of the area, as with much of South Wiltshire and Hampshire ,
2286-435: Is a cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire , England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon , Nadder and Bourne . The city is approximately 20 miles (30 kilometres) from Southampton and 30 miles (50 kilometres) from Bath . Salisbury is in the southeast of Wiltshire, near the edge of Salisbury Plain . An ancient cathedral was north of the present city at Old Sarum . A new cathedral
2413-569: Is also home to a University Technical College , UTC Swindon , specialising in engineering. A second UTC, South Wiltshire UTC , was based in Salisbury but closed in August 2020. Wiltshire is one of the few remaining English counties without a university or university college; the closest university to the county town of Trowbridge is the University of Bath . However, Bath Spa University has
2540-422: Is broadly oval shaped, measuring 400 m (1,300 ft) in length and 360 m (1,180 ft) in width. It consists of a double bank and intermediate ditch with an entrance on the eastern side. Numerous other hillforts of the same period can be found locally, including Figsbury Ring to the east and Vespasian's Camp to the north. The archaeologist Sir R. C. Hoare described it as "a city of high note in
2667-403: Is distinctive in having a significantly higher number of people in various forms of manufacturing (especially electrical equipment and apparatus, food products, and beverages, furniture, rubber, pharmaceuticals , and plastic goods) than the national average. In addition, there is higher-than-average employment in public administration and defence , due to the military establishments around
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#17327719729162794-497: Is frequent. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects south-west England; however, convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998, there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton (Somerset). Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection , though
2921-493: Is largely chalk. The rivers which flow through the city have been redirected, and along with landscaping, have been used to feed into public gardens. They are popular in the summer, particularly in Queen Elizabeth Gardens, as the water there is shallow and slow-flowing enough to enter safely. Because of the low-lying land, the rivers are prone to flooding, particularly during the winter months. The Town Path,
3048-535: Is often the northern half of the county that sees most of the showers with south-westerly winds in summer, whereas in the south of the county, the proximity of a relatively cold English Channel often inhibits showers. In autumn and winter, however, the sea is often relatively warm, compared with the air passing over it and can often lead to a higher rainfall in the south of the county (e.g. Salisbury recorded over 200mm of rain in Nov 2009 and January 2014). Average rainfall for
3175-759: Is represented in the Football League by Swindon Town , who play at the County Ground stadium near Swindon town centre. They joined the Football League on the creation of the Third Division in 1920, and have remained in the league ever since. Their most notable achievements include winning the Football League Cup in 1969 and the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1970, two successive promotions in 1986 and 1987 (taking them from
3302-574: The " Cair Caratauc" listed among the 28 cities of Britain by the History of the Britons traditionally ascribed to Nennius . Cynric , king of Wessex , captured the hill in 552. It remained part of Wessex thereafter but, preferring settlements in bottomland like nearby Wilton , the Saxons largely ignored Old Sarum until the Viking invasions led King Alfred to restore its fortifications. In
3429-408: The 2011 Census . Wiltshire (outside Swindon) has a low population density of 1.4 persons per hectare, when compared against 4.1 for England as a whole. Historical population of Wiltshire county: At the 2016 European Union membership referendum , Wiltshire voted in favour of Brexit . Wiltshire is represented by eight Parliamentary constituencies . Seven are entirely within the county, while
3556-686: The Ancient Britons listed in the History of the Britons (9th century), has been identified with Salisbury. Alternative names for the city, in the Welsh Chronicle of the Britons (12th century) were Caer-Caradog , Caer-Gradawc , and Caer-Wallawg. By the Roman era, the name had become Sorbiodūnum ; the first part was of unknown origin, although the Brittonic suffix -dūnon meant "fortress". The name first recorded during
3683-714: The Boer War , World War I and World War II. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry lives on as Y (RWY) Squadron, based in Swindon, and B (RWY) Squadron, based in Salisbury, of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry . Around 1800, the Kennet and Avon Canal was built through Wiltshire, providing a route for transporting cargoes from Bristol to London until the development of the Great Western Railway . Information on
3810-732: The Dorset Downs in the west to Dover in the east. The largest area of chalk in Wiltshire is Salisbury Plain , which is used mainly for arable agriculture and by the British Army as training ranges. The highest point in the county is the Tan Hill – Milk Hill ridge in the Pewsey Vale , just to the north of Salisbury Plain, at 295 m (968 ft) above sea level. The chalk uplands run north-east into West Berkshire in
3937-887: The Fourth Division to the Second ), promotion to the Premier League as Division One play-off winners in 1993 (as inaugural members), the Division Two title in 1996, and their promotion to League One in 2007 after finishing third in League Two . Chippenham Town is the area's highest-ranked non-league football club; they currently play in the National League South after winning the Southern Premier League in 2016/17, with
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4064-796: The Gazette and Herald and Wiltshire Times . Places of interest in Wiltshire include: Areas of countryside in Wiltshire include: Roads running through Wiltshire include The Ridgeway , an ancient route, and Roman roads the Fosse Way , London to Bath road and Ermin Way . National Cycle Route 4 and the Thames Path , a modern long distance footpath , run through the county. Routes through Wiltshire include: New Sarum Salisbury ( / ˈ s ɔː l z b ər i / SAWLZ -bər-ee , locally / ˈ s ɔː z b ər i / SAWZ -bər-ee )
4191-616: The Marlborough Downs ridge, and south-west into Dorset as Cranborne Chase . Cranborne Chase, which straddles the border, has, like Salisbury Plain, yielded much Stone Age and Bronze Age archaeology . The Marlborough Downs are part of the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), a 1,730 km (670-square-mile) conservation area. In the north-west of the county, on the border with South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset ,
4318-430: The River Nadder and the Hampshire Avon . It was first known as "New Sarum" or New Saresbyri . The town was laid out on a grid . Work on the new cathedral building, the present Salisbury Cathedral, began in 1221. The site was supposedly established by shooting an arrow from Old Sarum, although this is certainly a legend: the distance is over three kilometres (2 mi). The legend is sometimes amended to claim that
4445-731: The South Cotswolds constituency extends into southern parts of Gloucestershire. At the 2024 general election , the Conservatives won three seats ( East Wiltshire , Salisbury , and South West Wiltshire ); Labour two ( Swindon North and Swindon South ); and the Liberal Democrats three ( Chippenham , Melksham and Devizes , and South Cotswolds). The ceremonial county of Wiltshire consists of two unitary authority areas, Wiltshire and Swindon, governed respectively by Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council . As
4572-530: The Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles , which together are a UNESCO World Heritage Site , and other ancient landmarks. Much of the plain is a training area for the British Army . The city of Salisbury is notable for its medieval cathedral . Large country houses open to the public include Longleat , where there is also a safari park , and the National Trust 's Stourhead . The county, in
4699-426: The new cathedral in the early 13th century, the buildings of Old Sarum were dismantled for stone and the old town dwindled. Its long-neglected castle was abandoned by Edward II in 1322 and sold by Henry VIII in 1514. Edward Rutherfurd 's 1987 novel Sarum traces the history of the town. Although the settlement was effectively uninhabited, its landowners continued to have parliamentary representation into
4826-500: The " M4 corridor effect", which attracts business, and the attractiveness of its countryside, towns and villages. The northern part of the county is richer than the southern part, particularly since Swindon is home to national and international corporations such as Intel , Motorola , Patheon , Catalent (formerly known as Cardinal Health ), Becton-Dickinson , WHSmith , Early Learning Centre and Nationwide , with Dyson located in nearby Malmesbury . Wiltshire's employment structure
4953-626: The 'cheese and milk cross', which indicated that market and was in the triangle between the HSBC bank and the Salisbury Library; a third cross near the site of the present war memorial, which marked a woollen and yarn market; and a fourth, called Barnwell or Barnard's Cross, in the Culver Street and Barnard Street area, which marked a cattle and livestock market. Today, only the Poultry Cross remains, to which flying buttresses were added in
5080-636: The 1110s and began work on a royal palace during the 1130s, prior to his arrest by Henry's successor, Stephen . After this arrest, the castle at Old Sarum was allowed to fall into disrepair, but the sheriff and castellan continued to administer the area under the king's authority. Bishop of Salisbury Hubert Walter was instrumental in the negotiations with Saladin during the Third Crusade , but he spent little time in his diocese prior to his elevation to archbishop of Canterbury . The brothers Herbert and Richard Poore succeeded him and began planning
5207-401: The 1190s, the plain between Old Sarum and Wilton was one of five specially designated by Richard I for the holding of English tournaments . An early 12th-century observer, William of Malmesbury , called Sarum a town "more like a castle than city, being environed with a high wall", and noted that "notwithstanding that it was very well accommodated with all other conveniences, yet such was
Old Sarum - Misplaced Pages Continue
5334-473: The 14th century shows some continued habitation, but the settlement was largely abandoned and Edward II ordered the castle's demolition in 1322. The castle grounds were sold by Henry VIII in 1514. From the reign of Edward II in the 14th century, the borough of Old Sarum elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons despite having, from at least the 17th century, no resident voters. One of
5461-631: The 17th century, English Civil War Wiltshire was largely Parliamentarian . The Battle of Roundway Down , a Royalist victory, was fought near Devizes . In 1794, it was decided at a meeting at the Bear Inn in Devizes to raise a body of ten independent troops of Yeomanry for the county of Wiltshire, which formed the basis for what would become the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry , who served with distinction both at home and abroad, during
5588-514: The 19th century, making it one of the most notorious of the rotten boroughs that existed before the Reform Act of 1832 . Old Sarum served as a pocket borough of the Pitt family . Old Sarum is also the name of a modern settlement north-east of the monument, where there is a grass strip airfield and a small business park, and large 21st-century housing developments. The present name seems to be
5715-783: The 19th century. The Market Hall, later known as the Corn Exchange , was completed in 1859. In 1226, Henry III granted the Bishop of Salisbury a charter to hold a fair lasting eight days from the Feast of the Assumption of Mary (15 August). Over the centuries the dates of the fair have moved around, but in its modern guise, a funfair is now held in the Market Place for three days from the third Monday in October. From 1833 to
5842-414: The 261 civil parishes of Wiltshire is available at Wiltshire Council's Wiltshire Community History website which has maps, demographic data, historic and modern pictures and short histories. The local nickname for Wiltshire natives is " Moonrakers ". This originated from a story of smugglers who managed to foil the local Excise men by hiding their alcohol, possibly French brandy in barrels or kegs, in
5969-424: The 9th century written as Wiltunscir , is named after the former county town of Wilton . Wiltshire is notable for its pre- Roman archaeology . The Mesolithic , Neolithic and Bronze Age people that occupied southern Britain built settlements on the hills and downland that cover Wiltshire. Stonehenge and Avebury are perhaps the most famous Neolithic sites in the UK. In the 6th and 7th centuries Wiltshire
6096-568: The Anglo-Saxon era was Searoburg ( dative Searobyrig ), around the end of the 9th century. This was a partial calque of the Roman name, with burg being the Old English word for "fort". Middle English Sarisberie was abbreviated as Sar , which in turn gave rise to the latinization "Sarum". The hilltop at Old Sarum lies near the Neolithic sites of Stonehenge and Avebury and shows some signs of early settlement. It commanded
6223-561: The Covid-19 Pandemic and subsequently announced in 2022 that they would not be returning. Swindon Wildcats compete in the English Premier Ice Hockey League , the second tier of British ice hockey, and play their home games at Swindon's Link Centre . A flag to represent Wiltshire, the "Bustard Flag", was approved by a full meeting of Wiltshire Council on 1 December 2009. It depicts in the centre
6350-523: The EU. 62.49% of the civil parish's population declared their religion to be Christianity, while 27.09% stated "no religion" and 8.02% declined to state their religion. 0.79% of the population declared their religion to be Islam , 0.41% Buddhism , 0.40% Hinduism and 0.80% as another religion. 95.89% of the civil parish's population considered their "main language" to be English, while 1.12% considered it to be Polish , 0.28% considered it to be Bengali and 0.24% considered it to be Tagalog . 99.43% of
6477-412: The Queen's Gate, and St Nicholas's Gate were original, while a fifth was constructed in the 19th century to allow access to Bishop Wordsworth's School, in the Cathedral Close. During his time in the city, the composer Handel stayed in a room above St Ann's gate. The original site of the city at Old Sarum, meanwhile, fell into disuse. It continued as a rotten borough : at the time of its abolition during
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#17327719729166604-418: The Saxons largely ignored Old Sarum until the Viking invasions led King Alfred (King of Wessex from 871 to 899) to restore its fortifications. Along with Wilton, however, it was abandoned by its residents to be sacked and burned by the Dano - Norwegian king Sweyn Forkbeard in 1003. It subsequently became the site of Wilton's mint . Following the Norman invasion of 1066, a motte-and-bailey castle
6731-823: The UK average in 1998, and was only marginally above the rate for South West England. Wiltshire has 30 county secondary schools, publicly funded, of which the largest is Warminster Kingdown , and eleven private secondaries, including Marlborough College , St Mary's Calne , Dauntsey's near Devizes , and Warminster School . The county schools are nearly all comprehensives , with the older pattern of education surviving only in Salisbury , which has two grammar schools ( South Wilts Grammar School and Bishop Wordsworth's School ) and three non-selective schools. There are four further education colleges, which also provide some higher education: New College (Swindon); Wiltshire College (Chippenham, Trowbridge and Salisbury); Salisbury Sixth Form College ; and Swindon College . Wiltshire
6858-501: The administration of the City of New Sarum under its former charters, but its successor, Wiltshire County 's Salisbury District , continued to be accorded its former city status. The name was finally formally amended from "New Sarum" to "Salisbury" during the 2009 changes occasioned by the 1992 Local Government Act , which established the Salisbury City Council. On 4 March 2018, former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were poisoned in Salisbury with
6985-446: The airfield is still operational, but only by prior arrangement. Around 800 homes were built on the north side of the Portway between 2008 and 2016, and this area (which includes Old Sarum Primary School) is also called Old Sarum. From 2018, further housing called Longhedge Village, around 750 homes accessed from the A345 , was built immediately north of the earlier development. These areas all fall within Laverstock civil parish, while
7112-403: The arrow struck a white deer, which continued to run and died on the spot where the cathedral now rests. The structure was built upon wooden faggots on a gravel bed with unusually shallow foundations of 18 in (45 cm) and the main body was completed in only 38 years. The 123 m or 404 ft tall spire, the tallest in the UK, was built later. With royal approval, many of the stones for
7239-414: The best-preserved of the four surviving copies of Magna Carta . New Sarum was made a city by a charter from King Henry III in 1227 and, by the 14th century, was the largest settlement in Wiltshire. The city wall surrounds the Close and was built in the 14th century, again with stones removed from the former cathedral at Old Sarum. The wall now has five gates: the High Street Gate, St Ann's Gate,
7366-421: The bishop, William Ayscough , who had been involved with the government. In 1483, a large-scale rebellion against Richard III broke out, led by his own 'kingmaker', Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham . After the revolt collapsed, Buckingham was executed at Salisbury, near the Bull's Head Inn. An act of Parliament , the River Avon Navigation (Christchurch to New Sarum) Act 1664 ( 16 & 17 Cha. 2 . c. 12)
7493-440: The cathedral on 29 March 1217 or 1218. The chapter voted unanimously for the move and agreed to pay for it by withholding various portions of their prebends over the next seven years. On Easter Monday , 1219, a wooden chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary was begun near the banks of the Hampshire Avon ; on Trinity Sunday , Bishop Poore celebrated mass there and consecrated a cemetery . On St Vitalis 's Day, April 28, 1220,
7620-417: The cathedral's length and involved the large-scale levelling of the ecclesiastical district in the northwest quadrant of the town. He began work on a royal palace during the 1130s, prior to his arrest by Henry's successor Stephen . This palace was long thought to have been the small structure whose ruins are located in the small central bailey; it may, however, have been the large palace recently discovered in
7747-402: The centre of Salisbury and staffed by predominantly young women who had no previous mechanical experience but were trained for specific tasks in the aircraft construction process. Supporting the factories were many workers producing small components in home-based workshops and garden sheds. Sub-assemblies were built in the city centre factories and then transported to High Post airfield (north of
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#17327719729167874-705: The chalk and grass of the county's downlands. The white can also represent peace, and the green joy, hope or safety. The flag has been registered in the flag registry of the vexillological charity the Flag Institute . Wiltshire has twenty-one towns and one city : A list of settlements is at List of places in Wiltshire . Local TV coverage is covered by BBC West and ITV West Country ; however, Swindon and Salisbury receive BBC South and ITV Meridian . The county's local radio stations are BBC Radio Wiltshire , Heart West , Greatest Hits Radio South West and Greatest Hits Radio South (covering Salisbury and surrounding areas). County-wide local newspapers are
8001-416: The chalk into Greensand and Oxford Clay in the centre of the county. In the south west of the county is the Vale of Wardour . The south-east of the county lies on the sandy soils of the northernmost area of the New Forest . Chalk is a porous rock, so the chalk hills have little surface water. The main settlements in the county are therefore situated at wet points. Notably, Salisbury is situated between
8128-433: The chalk of Salisbury Plain and marshy flood plains. The county has a green belt mainly along its western fringes as a part of the extensive Avon Green Belt . It reaches as far as the outskirts of Rudloe/ Corsham and Trowbridge, preventing urban sprawl particularly from the latter in the direction of Bradford-on-Avon , and affording further protection to surrounding villages and towns from Bath in Somerset. Along with
8255-456: The city centre within the A36 ring road , and the rest of the unitary and city council areas are covered by six further wards. Laverstock and Ford parish council has the same boundary as the Laverstock ward, as well as part of the Old Sarum and Upper Bourne Valley ward, at unitary level. The Bishopdown Farm estate on the outskirts of Salisbury is now part of Laverstock and Ford, joining Hampton Park and Riverdown Park. Prior to 2009, Salisbury
8382-400: The city, in Durnford parish) and Chattis Hill (northeast, near Stockbridge ), where the aircraft were assembled, test flown and then distributed to RAF airfields across England. A total of over 2000 Spitfires were produced. The whole process was carried out in secret without the knowledge of even the local people and only emerged into public knowledge after the production of a film describing
8509-433: The clerics debauching the castellan's female relations. In the end, the clerics were refused permission to reenter the city walls following their rogations and processions . This caused Peter of Blois to describe the church as "a captive within the walls of the citadel like the ark of God in the profane house of Baal ". He advocated Let us descend into the plain! There are rich fields and fertile valleys abounding in
8636-421: The construction of the first Salisbury cathedral but neither lived to see its completion in 1092. Osmund was a cousin of William the Conqueror and Lord Chancellor of England ; he was responsible for the codification of the Sarum Rite , the compilation of the Domesday Book , and—after centuries of advocacy from Salisbury's bishops—was finally canonized by Pope Callixtus III in 1457. The Domesday Book
8763-399: The construction of the first Salisbury cathedral , though neither lived to see its completion in 1092. Osmund served as Lord Chancellor of England (in office c. 1070–1078); he was responsible for the codification of the Sarum Rite , the compilation of the Domesday Book , which was probably presented to William at Old Sarum, and, after centuries of advocacy from Salisbury's bishops,
8890-506: The county is around 800 mm (31 in), drier parts averaging 700mm (28ins)and the wettest 900mm (around 35ins). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added (GVA) of Wiltshire at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. The Wiltshire economy benefits from
9017-579: The county, particularly around Amesbury and Corsham . There are sizeable British Army barracks at Tidworth , Bulford and Warminster , and the Royal School of Artillery is at Larkhill. Further north, RAF Lyneham was home to the RAF's Hercules C130 fleet until 2011; the MoD Lyneham site is now a centre for Army technical training. Wiltshire is also distinctive for the high proportion of its working-age population who are economically active (86.6% in 1999–2000) and its low unemployment rates . The gross domestic product (GDP) level in Wiltshire did not reach
9144-686: The county. The south-west is also downland, and contains the West Wiltshire Downs , the Vale of Wardour to their south, and part of Cranborne Chase in the far south of the county. The north-west of Wiltshire is part of the Cotswolds , a limestone area. The county's two major rivers are both called the Avon; the northern Avon enters the county in the north-west and flows in a south-westerly direction before leaving it near Bradford-on-Avon , and
9271-520: The early part of the 9th century, it was a frequent residence of Egbert of Wessex and, in 960, King Edgar assembled a national council there to plan a defence against the Danes in the north . Along with Wilton , it was abandoned by its residents to be sacked and burned by the Dano - Norwegian king Sweyn Forkbeard in 1003. It subsequently became the site of Wilton 's mint . A motte-and-bailey castle
9398-461: The eastern area of the outer bailey. In 1917, during World War I , farmland about 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east of Old Sarum, along the Portway , was developed as the 'Ford Farm' aerodrome . That became Old Sarum Airfield , which remained in operation with a single grass runway until at least 2019 with a small business park which developed along the north edge of the airfield. As of January 2023
9525-408: The foundation of the future stone cathedral was begun. The settlement that grew up around it was called New Salisbury, then (at least formally) New Sarum, then finally Salisbury . The former cathedral was formally dissolved in 1226. The inhabitants of the new city gradually razed the old, constructing Salisbury Cathedral and other buildings from the materials at Old Sarum. Evidence of quarrying into
9652-470: The fruits of the earth and watered by the living stream. There is a seat for the Virgin Patroness of our church to which the world cannot produce a parallel. Herbert Poore's successor and brother Richard Poore eventually moved the cathedral to a new town on his estate at Veteres Sarisberias ("Old Salisburies") in 1220. The site was at "Myrifield" ("Merryfield"), a meadow near the confluence of
9779-428: The garrison troops. Bishop Herbert received permission for the move from Richard I , who was agreeably disposed towards the diocese after discovering it held £ 90 000 in coin in trust for his father, in addition to jewels, vestments, and plate , but was forced to delay the change after John's succession. By papal order, Herbert's brother Richard Poore was translated from Chichester to succeed him in 1217;
9906-517: The gasworks were producing not only coal gas but also coke , which was sold off as the by-product of gas-making. Ammoniacal liquor, another by-product, was mixed with sulphuric acid, dried and ground to make a powder which was sold as an agricultural fertiliser. The clinker from the retort house was sold to a firm in London to be used as purifier beds in the construction of sewage works . Salisbury power station supplied electricity to Salisbury and
10033-546: The growth of the city. The boundaries of these areas are for the most part unofficial and not fixed. All of these suburbs are within Salisbury's ONS Urban Area, which had a population of 44,748 in 2011. However, not all of these suburbs are administered by the city council, and are therefore not within the eight wards that had a combined population of 40,302 in 2011. Two parishes are part of the urban area but outside Salisbury parish. Surrounding parishes, villages and towns rely on Salisbury for some services. The following are within
10160-471: The king's behalf; it was thereafter allowed to fall into disrepair but the sheriff and castellan continued to administer the area under the king's authority. Medieval Sarum also seems to have had industrial facilities such as kilns and furnaces. Residential areas were principally located in the two southern quadrants, built up beside the ditch protecting the inner bailey and Norman castle. Henry II held his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine , prisoner at Old Sarum. In
10287-410: The largest ethnic minority group was 'other white' comprising 3.6% of the population as of 2011. There is not much contrast between areas when it comes to ethnic diversity. The ward of St Edmund and Milford is the most multiethnic, with 86.0% of the population being White British. The least multiethnic is the ward of St Francis and Stratford, which contains suburbs in the north of the city, with 94.8% of
10414-663: The loyalty of many of James's commanders was in doubt. The first blood was shed at the Wincanton Skirmish , in Somerset . In Salisbury, James heard that some of his officers had deserted, such as Edward Hyde , and he broke out in a nosebleed, which he took as an omen that he should retreat. His commander in chief, the Earl of Feversham , advised retreat on 23 November, and the next day John Churchill defected to William. On 26 November, James's own daughter, Princess Anne , did
10541-514: The members in the 18th century was William Pitt the Elder . In 1831, Old Sarum had eleven voters, all of whom were landowners who lived elsewhere, making Old Sarum the most notorious of the rotten boroughs . The 1832 Reform Act subsumed the Old Sarum area into an enlarged borough of Wilton . The fortified site was an extra-parochial area and became a civil parish in 1858, but the civil parish
10668-575: The mid-1980s, the Salisbury Gas Light & Coke Company, which ran the city's gasworks, was one of the major employers in the area. The company was formed in 1832 with a share capital of £8,000, and its first chairman was the 3rd Earl of Radnor . The company was incorporated by a private Act of Parliament in 1864, and the Gas Orders Confirmation Act 1882 empowered it to raise capital of up to £40,000. At its peak,
10795-540: The monument itself – separated from modern development by about 0.6 miles (1 km) of farmland – is within the Salisbury City area. Wiltshire Wiltshire ( / ˈ w ɪ l t . ʃ ər , - ʃ ɪr / ; abbreviated to Wilts ) is a ceremonial county in South West England . It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to
10922-401: The name distinguished it from Sarum or New Sarum , names used in some contexts for the newer settlement. There is evidence that early hunters and, later, farming communities occupied the site. A protective hill fort , named Sorviodunum , was constructed by the local inhabitants around 400 BC during the Iron Age by creating enormous banks and ditches surrounding the hill. The hillfort
11049-404: The neighbouring town of Wilton , among others, however it does not include the towns of Amesbury or Romsey , as these support their own local populations and are further afield. At the 2011 census the population of the civil parish was 95.73% white (91.00% White British ), 2.48% Asian (0.74% Indian , 0.41% Bangladeshi , 0.40% Chinese ), 0.45% black and 1.15% mixed race. Within the parish,
11176-437: The new cathedral were taken from the old one ; others came from Chilmark . They were probably transported by ox-cart, owing to the obstruction to boats on the River Nadder caused by its many weirs and watermills. The cathedral is considered a masterpiece of Early English architecture . The spire's large clock was installed in 1386, and is one of the oldest surviving mechanical clocks in the world. The cathedral also contains
11303-535: The newly established Wilts & Dorset operator. The Scout company failed in 1921 after wartime disruption and competition from larger makers. Shopping centres include The Old George Mall, The Maltings, Winchester Street, and the Crosskeys precinct. Major employers include Salisbury District Hospital . The closure of the Friends Life office, the second largest employer, was announced in 2015. Salisbury
11430-404: The next year, Sarum's dean and chapter presented arguments to Rome for the cathedral's relocation. The investigation of these claims by the papal legate Cardinal Gualo verified the chapter's claims that the site's water was both expensive and sometimes restricted by the castellans; that housing within the walls was insufficient for the clerics, who were required to rent from the laity; that
11557-500: The outer bailey. It was also listed as a Grade I site in 1972. Between 1909 and 1915, W.H. St J. Hope , W. Hawley , and D.H. Montgomerie excavated the site for the Society of Antiquaries of London . A second excavation occurred in the 1950s under John W. G. Musty and Philip Rahtz . In 2014, an on-site geophysical survey of the inner and outer bailey by the University of Southampton revealed its royal palace, as well as
11684-526: The population being White British. The city is represented by six other wards. Within the parish, the largest ethnic minority group was 'other white' comprising 3.6% of the population as of 2011. 86.43% of the civil parish's population were born in England, 3.94% were born elsewhere in the UK. 4.94% were born elsewhere in the EU (including the Republic of Ireland ), while 4.70% of the population were born outside
11811-478: The population claimed to be able to speak English well or very well. In 2001, 22.33% of Salisbury's population were aged between 30 and 44, 42.76% were over 45, and 13.3% were between 18 and 29. Salisbury holds a Charter market on Tuesdays and Saturdays and has held markets regularly since 1227. In the 15th century the Market Place had four crosses: the Poultry Cross , whose name describes its market;
11938-583: The possession of the crown and the church. At the time of the Domesday Survey , the industry of Wiltshire was largely agricultural; 390 mills are mentioned, and vineyards at Tollard and Lacock. In the succeeding centuries sheep-farming was vigorously pursued, and the Cistercian monastery of Stanley exported wool to the Florentine and Flemish markets in the 13th and 14th centuries. In
12065-409: The prime reason to relocate the cathedral but seems to have only been part of the issue. The late 12th-century canon Peter of Blois described his prebendary as "barren, dry, and solitary, exposed to the rage of the wind" and the cathedral "as a captive on the hill where it was built, like the ark of God shut up in the profane house of Baal ." Holinshed records that the clerics brawled openly with
12192-572: The reforms of 1832, its Member of Parliament (MP) represented three households. In May 1289, there was uncertainty about the future of Margaret, Maid of Norway , and her father sent ambassadors to Edward I . Edward met Robert the Bruce and others at Salisbury in October 1289, which resulted in the Treaty of Salisbury , under which Margaret would be sent to Scotland before 1 November 1290 and any agreement on her future marriage would be delayed until she
12319-521: The relocation of the cathedral into the valley almost immediately. Their plans were approved by King Richard I but repeatedly delayed: Herbert was first forced into exile in Normandy in the 1190s by the hostility of his archbishop Walter and then again to Scotland in the 1210s owing to royal hostility following the papal interdiction against King John . The secular authorities were particularly incensed, according to tradition, owing to some of
12446-527: The remotest periods by the several barrows near it, and its proximity to the two largest stone circles in England, namely, Stonehenge and Avebury ." At the time of the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century, the area of Old Sarum seems to have formed part of the territory of the Atrebates , a British tribe apparently ruled by Gaulish exiles. Although the dynasty's founder Commius had become
12573-590: The rest of South West England , Wiltshire has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than counties further east. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Although there is a marked maritime influence, this is generally rather less pronounced than it is for other south-western counties, which are closer to the sea. July and August are the warmest months with mean daily maxima of approximately 22 °C (71.6 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 °C (33.8 °F) or 2 °C (35.6 °F) are usual and air frost
12700-464: The same area and carrying out more strategic tasks, such as education and county roads. However, on 1 April 2009 these five local authorities were merged into a single unitary authority called Wiltshire Council. With the abolition of the District of Salisbury, a new Salisbury City Council was created at the same time to carry out several citywide functions and to hold the city's charter. The county
12827-562: The same, and James returned to London the same day, never again to be at the head of a serious military force in England. Following the destruction by the Luftwaffe of the Southampton factories building Supermarine Spitfires in 1940, production was dispersed to shadow factories elsewhere in the south of England. Salisbury was the major centre of production, supplemented by Trowbridge and Reading . Several factories were set up in
12954-407: The south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to the west. The largest settlement is Swindon , and Trowbridge is the county town . The county has an area of 3,485 km (1,346 square miles) and a population of 720,060. The county is mostly rural, and the centre and south-west are sparsely populated. After Swindon (183,638), the largest settlements are the city of Salisbury (41,820) and
13081-404: The southeast quadrant of the outer bailey. This palace was 170 m × 65 m (560 ft × 210 ft), surrounded a large central courtyard, and had walls up to 3 m (10 ft) thick. A 60-metre-long (200 ft) room was probably a great hall and there seems to have been a large tower. At the time of Roger's arrest by King Stephen , the bishop administered the castle on
13208-647: The southern Avon rises on Salisbury Plain and flows through Salisbury, then into Hampshire. The far south-east contains part of the New Forest . Much of the county is protected: the Marlborough Downs; West Wiltshire Downs, Vale of Wardour, and Cranbourne Chase; and the Cotswolds are all part of designated national landscapes , and the New Forest is a national park . Salisbury Plain is noted for
13335-514: The story is most commonly linked with The Crammer in Devizes . Two-thirds of Wiltshire, a mostly rural county, lies on chalk , a kind of soft, white, porous limestone that is resistant to erosion, giving it a high chalk downland landscape. This chalk is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and stretching from
13462-543: The street plan of the medieval city. The survey made use of soil resistivity to electric current , electrical resistivity tomography , magnetometry , and ground-penetrating radar . The team planned to return in 2015 to complete a similar survey of the Romano-British site to the south of the hillfort. The Old Sarum monument is now administered by English Heritage , and non-members are charged for admission. A paved carpark and grass overflow carpark are provided in
13589-540: The surrounding area from 1898 to 1970. The power station was at Town Mill and was owned and operated by Salisbury Electric Light and Supply Company Limited prior to the nationalisation of the British electricity supply industry in 1948. The coal-fired power station was redeveloped several times to incorporate new plant including a water-driven turbine. From the Middle Ages to the start of the 20th century, Salisbury
13716-475: The towns of Chippenham (37,548) and Trowbridge (37,169). For local government purposes the county comprises two unitary authority areas, Swindon and Wiltshire . Undulating chalk downlands characterize much of the county. In the east are Marlborough Downs , which contain Savernake Forest . To the south is the Vale of Pewsey , which separates the downs from Salisbury Plain in the centre of
13843-581: The underlying rock is the resistant oolite limestone of the Cotswolds . Part of the Cotswolds AONB is also in Wiltshire, in the county's north-western corner. Between the areas of chalk and limestone downland are clay valleys and vales . The largest of these vales is the Avon Vale . The Avon cuts diagonally through the north of the county, flowing through Bradford-on-Avon and into Bath and Bristol . The Vale of Pewsey has been cut through
13970-477: The want for water that it sold at a great rate". Holinshed denied this and noted that the hill was "very plentifully served with springs and wells of very sweet water"; excavation has discovered numerous wells (including one within the Norman keep) but suggests that they were so deep as to make their use more cumbersome than carting water uphill from the rivers. The issue was presented to kings Richard and John as
14097-687: The whole process. In July 2021 a memorial to the workers, in the form of a life-size fibreglass model Mk IX Spitfire, was unveiled in Castle Road, Salisbury (near the rugby club) on the site of one of the factories. At the time of the 1948 Summer Olympics , held in London, a relay of runners carried the Olympic Flame from Wembley Stadium , where the Games were based, to the sailing centre at Torbay via Slough , Basingstoke , Salisbury, and Exeter . The 1972 Local Government Act eliminated
14224-468: The wind was sometimes so strong that divine offices could not be heard and the roof was repeatedly damaged; and that the soldiers of the royal fortress restricted access to the cathedral precinct to the common folk during Ash Wednesday and on other occasions for providing the Eucharist and the clerics felt imperilled by their circumstances. Pope Honorius III thereupon issued an indulgence to relocate
14351-432: Was consecrated on 5 April 1092 but suffered extensive damage in a storm, traditionally said to have occurred only five days later. Bishop Roger was a close ally of Henry I who served as his viceroy during the king's absence to Normandy and directed the royal administration and exchequer along with his extended family. He refurbished and expanded Old Sarum's cathedral in the 1110s. This work ultimately doubled
14478-522: Was abolished in 1894 and merged with Stratford sub Castle . In 1891 the parish had a population of 13. The site and surrounding area is now the northernmost part of Salisbury civil parish. The site of the castle and cathedral is considered a highly important British monument: it was among the 26 English locations scheduled by the 1882 Ancient Monuments Protection Act , the first such British legislation. That protection has subsequently continued, expanding to include some suburban areas west and south-east of
14605-470: Was an important centre for music in the 18th century. The grammarian James Harris , a friend of Handel , directed concerts at the Assembly Rooms for almost 50 years up to his death in 1780. Many of the most famous musicians and singers of the day performed there. Salisbury holds an annual St George's Day pageant, the origins of which are claimed to go back to the 13th century. Salisbury has
14732-534: Was at the western edge of Saxon Britain, as Cranborne Chase and the Somerset Levels prevented the advance to the west. The Battle of Bedwyn was fought in 675 between Escuin , a West Saxon nobleman who had seized the throne of Queen Saxburga , and King Wulfhere of Mercia . In 878 the Danes invaded the county. Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, large areas of the country came into
14859-579: Was built by 1069, three years after the Norman conquest . The castle was held directly by the Norman kings; its castellan was generally also the sheriff of Wiltshire . In 1075, the Council of London established Herman as the first bishop of Salisbury ( Seriberiensis episcopus ), uniting his former sees of Sherborne and Ramsbury into a single diocese which covered the counties of Dorset , Wiltshire , and Berkshire . He and Saint Osmund began
14986-653: Was built near the meeting of the rivers and a settlement grew up around it, which received a city charter in 1227 as New Sarum . This continued to be its official name until 2009 , when Salisbury City Council was established. Salisbury railway station is an interchange between the West of England Main Line and the Wessex Main Line . Stonehenge , a UNESCO World Heritage Site , is 8 miles (13 kilometres) northwest of Salisbury. Cair-Caratauc , one of 28 cities of
15113-531: Was constructed by 1070. The castle was held directly by the Norman kings; its castellan was generally also the sheriff of Wiltshire . In 1075 the Council of London established Herman as the first bishop of Salisbury , uniting his former sees of Sherborne and Ramsbury into a single diocese which covered the counties of Dorset , Wiltshire, and Berkshire . In 1055, Herman had planned to move his seat to Malmesbury , but its monks and Earl Godwin objected. Herman and his successor, Saint Osmund , began
15240-461: Was erected around 400 BC, controlling the intersection of two trade paths and the Hampshire Avon . The site continued to be occupied during the Roman period , when the paths were made into roads . The Saxons took the British fort in the 6th century and later used it as a stronghold against marauding Vikings . The Normans constructed a motte and bailey castle, a stone curtain wall, and
15367-483: Was finally canonised by Pope Callixtus III in 1457. The cathedral was consecrated on 5 April 1092 but suffered extensive damage in a storm, traditionally said to have occurred only five days later. Bishop Roger was a close ally of Henry I (reigned 1100–1135): he served as viceroy during the king's absence in Normandy and directed, along with his extended family, the royal administration and exchequer . He refurbished and expanded Old Sarum's cathedral in
15494-536: Was first abbreviated as Sar̅ , but, as such a mark was used to contract the Latin suffix -um (common in placenames), the name was confused and became Sarum sometime around the 13th century. The earliest known use was on the seal of the St Nicholas hospital at New Salisbury , which was in use in 1239. The 14th-century Bishop Wyvil was the first to describe himself as episcopus Sarum . The addition of 'old' to
15621-457: Was in Scotland. The Parliament of England met at New Sarum in the years 1324, 1328, and 1384. In 1450, a number of riots broke out in Salisbury at roughly the same time as Jack Cade led a famous rebellion through London. The riots occurred for related reasons, although the declining fortunes of Salisbury's cloth trade may also have been influential. The violence peaked with the murder of
15748-517: Was noted for its cutlery industry . Early motor cars were manufactured in the city from 1902 by Dean and Burden Brothers, using the Scout Motors brand. In 1907, the company moved to a larger factory at Churchfields; each car took six to eight weeks to build, mostly using bodies made elsewhere by coachbuilders. By 1912, 150 men were employed and the company was also making small commercial vehicles and 20-seater buses, some of which were later used by
15875-518: Was part of the now-abolished non-metropolitan county of Wiltshire. It was governed by Wiltshire County Council at the county level and Salisbury District Council, which oversaw most of south Wiltshire as well as the city. Salisbury (previously officially New Sarum) has had city status since time immemorial. The Member of Parliament for the Salisbury constituency , which includes the city, Wilton , Old Sarum, Laverstock and surrounding rural areas,
16002-744: Was passed on 2 March 1665 for making the River Avon navigable from Christchurch to the city of New Sarum. and the work completed, only for the project to be ruined shortly thereafter by a major flood. Soon after, during the Great Plague of London , Charles II held court in Salisbury's cathedral close. Salisbury was the site chosen to assemble James II 's forces to resist the Glorious Revolution . He arrived to lead his approximately 19 000 men on 19 November 1688. His troops were not keen to fight Mary or her husband William, and
16129-575: Was probably presented to William I at Old Sarum in 1086, the same year he convened the prelates , nobles , sheriffs , and knights of his dominions there to pay him homage by the Oath of Salisbury . Two other national councils were held there: one by William Rufus in 1096 and another by Henry I in 1116, which has sometimes been described as the first English Parliament . William Rufus confirmed its bishop in various additional sources of income, which were later confirmed by Henry II . The cathedral
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