Get in
Salisbury is about a 2 hour drive from the Baltimore (BWI) airport or about 3 hours from Washington Dulles Airport (IAD). It is a pretty drive that passes over the Chesapeake Bay on the Bay Bridge.
There is also a small airport in Salisbury (SBY), which is serviced by US Airways.
Do
Eat
Sleep
Get out
Salisbury is a quick 40 minute drive to the Atlantic Coast. Ocean City is a popular nearby destination.
Salisbury (, ˈsɔːlz.bɹi or ˈzɔːwz.bri — moving from RP to local dialect) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England. The city forms the largest part of the Salisbury district. It has also been called New Sarum to distinguish it from the original site of settlement at Salisbury, Old Sarum, but this alternative name is not in common use. Similarly, a native of Salisbury may be known as a "Sarumite", but this term is also not commonly used. In 1990 Salisbury was twinned with Saintes in France, and in 2006 with Xanten in Germany. The city is located in the south-east of Wiltshire, at the edge of Salisbury Plain.
Salisbury railway station serves the city, and is the crossing point between the West of England Main Line and the Wessex Main Line making it a regional interchange.
Salisbury is at the confluence of five rivers: the Nadder, Ebble, Wylye and Bourne are tributary to the Avon (Celtic for 'river'), which flows to the south coast and into the sea at Christchurch, Dorset.
History
The location was chosen for a settlement because of the abundance of water. The city's origins go back to the Iron Age. The Romans called it "Sorviodunum". There was a battle between the West Saxons and the Britons here, after which the place was called "Searoburh". The Normans built a castle and called it "Searesbyrig" or "Seresberi". By 1086, in the Domesday Book, it was called "Salesberie". The site of the castle is now known as Old Sarum. Old Sarum was a rotten borough that was abolished as at the time, one MP represented three households. The bury element is a form of borough, which has cognates in words and place names throughout the Germanic languages. For a fuller explanation, see borough.
The origins of the name "Sarum" are obscure. It most likely derives from the fact that Sarum came into use when documents were written in contracted Latin. It was easier to write Sar with a stroke over the "r", than write the complete word "Saresberie". That mark of was also the common symbol for the Latin termination "um". Hence "Sar" with a stroke over the r was copied as "SarUM". One of the first known uses of "Sarum" is on the seal of Saint Nicholas Hospital, Salisbury, which was in use in 1239. Bishop Wyville (1330-1375) was the first Bishop to describe himself "episcopus Sarum".
The first cathedral was built at Old Sarum by St Bishop Osmund between 1075 and 1092. A larger building was built on the same site in c.1120. However, deteriorating relations between the clergy and the military at Old Sarum led to the decision to resite the cathedral elsewhere. Thus the city of New Sarum, known as Salisbury, was founded in 1220, and the building of the new cathedral begun by Bishop Richard Poore in that year. The main body was completed in only 38 years and is a masterpiece of Early English architecture. The stones which make up the cathedral came from Old Sarum. The 123 metre (404 feet) spire was built later and is the tallest spire in the UK.
The cathedral is built on a gravel bed with unusually shallow foundations of 18 inches upon wooden faggots: the site is supposed to have been selected by firing an arrow from Old Sarum, although this is clearly legend due to the distance involved. It is sometimes claimed the arrow hit a white deer, which continued to run and died on the spot where the Cathedral now exists.
The cathedral's library contains the best preserved of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta.
In 1386, a large mechanical clock was installed at Salisbury Cathedral, the oldest surviving mechanical clock in Britain.
The city wall surrounds the Close and was built in the 14th century. There are five gates in the wall, four are original, a fifth was created in the 19th century to allow access to Bishop Wordsworth's School located inside the Cathedral Close. They are known as the High Street Gate, St Ann's Gate, the Queen's Gate, and St Nicholas's Gate. A room located above St Ann's Gate is where the composer Handel stayed, and whilst there wrote several works. During the Great Plague of London, Charles II held court in the Close.
The novel Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, is an imaginary retelling of the history of Salisbury.
Economy
Salisbury holds a market on Tuesdays and Saturdays and has held markets regularly since 1227. In the 15th century the Market Place was dotted with stone crosses marking the centres for certain trades and goods. Today only the Poultry Cross remains, although the addition of flying buttresses was made in 1852.
In 1226, King Henry III granted the Bishop of Salisbury a charter to hold a fair lasting 8 days from the Feast of the Assumption of Mary (15 August). Over the centuries the dates for 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. However, there is still an ancient law stating that the fair can be held in the Cathedral Close.
The world famous Stonehenge prehistoric stone circle is about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Salisbury and greatly aids the local economy. The city itself, Old Sarum and the original cathedral also attract visitors.
Shopping centres include The Old George Mall, The Maltings, and Winchester Street. The BBC conducted a survey in 2006 of towns around the country and Salisbury was among the 40% and shrinking number of "home towns" as opposed to "clone towns".
Major employers include: Salisbury District Hospital, Friends Provident and Pains Wessex.
Culture
Salisbury 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 with many of the most famous musicians and singers of the day performing there. Salisbury has a strong artistic community, with galleries situated in the city centre, including one in the public library. In the 18th century, John Constable made a number of celebrated landscape paintings featuring the cathedral spire and the surrounding countryside. Salisbury's annual International Arts Festival, held in late May to early June, provides a programme of theatre, live music, dance, public sculpture, street performance and art exhibitions.
Some buildings in Salisbury are reputed to be haunted. Ghost tours are popular with locals and visitors. One such building is the local Odeon cinema located in the House of John Halle. It is the oldest building in the UK to contain a cinema.
Geography
Salisbury is located in a valley. The geology of the area, like much of South Wiltshire and Hampshire, is largely chalk. The rivers that 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, particularrdens are water meadows, the water is controlled by weirs. Because of the low-lying land, the rivers are prone to flooding particularly during the winter months. The Town Path, a walkway that links Harnham with the rest of the city is at times unpassable.
A frequent cause of concern to the people of Salisbury is the lack of adequate roads. There is no motorway that links the ports of Southampton and Bristol meaning that all traffic must pass through the city.
The closest town is Wilton which is the ancient capital of the former county and kingdom of Wessex.To the north the town of Amesbury, which includes Stonehenge. Other places, to the west of the city, include Barford St Martin, Tisbury and Gillingham (Dorset). To the east can be found the garrison town of Tidworth, and slightly further lies Andover. Alderbury and Romsey are to the south, as is Salisbury's largest neighbour, Southampton. Finally to the north are Warminster and Westbury.
To the north and east is a large flat expanse of Salisbury Plain. This area is used by the military for manoeuvres and weaponry testing. There is a military aviation base at Middle Wallop, a civil airfield at Thruxton and another airfield at Old Sarum where the experimental aircraft the Edgley Optica was developed and tested.
Leisure
Media
Salisbury is served by its own radio station, Spire FM. BBC Radio Wiltshire is a regional station for the whole of the county. The Salisbury Journal is the local newspaper.
Local event information can be found on The Best of Salisbury website
Salisbury falls into the BBC's southern region. Commercial TV is supplied by Meridian.
Salisbury now has its own On Demand Video TV Station called Vision News TV found at It serves West Hampshire, South Wiltshire and North Dorset; providing local news, views and stories affecting the area. While most of the material is professionally produced, the station encourages the public to submit their own videos, photos and written reports.
Trivia
References
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