Salisbury

Salisbury is a cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It has a population of 41,820 people and is located where the rivers Avon, Nadder, and Bourne meet. The city is about 20 miles from Southampton and 30 miles from Bath.

Originally, an ancient cathedral stood north of the current city at Old Sarum. Later, a new cathedral was built near the rivers, and a settlement grew around it. In 1227, this area received a city charter and was called New Sarum. It kept this official name until the Salisbury City Council was established. Salisbury railway station connects the West of England Line and the Wessex Main Line.

Nearby, about 8 miles northwest of Salisbury, lies Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Toponymy

Old names for Salisbury include Cair-Caratauc, which was one of 28 cities of the Ancient Britons mentioned in the History of the Britons. Other old Welsh names were Caer-Caradog, Caer-Gradawc, and Caer-Wallawg.

During the time of the Romans, the city was called Sorbiodūnum. The part "_dūnon" came from the Brittonic language and meant "fortress". Later, in the Anglo-Saxon period, it was known as Searoburg, a name that came from the Roman one. The word "_burg" means "fort" in Old English. In Middle English, the name changed to Sarisberie, which was sometimes shortened to Sar.

History

Old Sarum

Main articles: Old Sarum, Old Sarum Cathedral, and Old Sarum Castle

A reconstruction of Old Sarum in the 12th century

The hilltop at Old Sarum is close to the Neolithic sites of Stonehenge and Avebury and shows signs of very early people living there. It was in a good spot between the River Bourne and the Hampshire Avon, near old trade routes. During the Iron Age, between 600 and 300 BC, people built a hillfort there. The Romans might have used the site or left it to friends. Later, in 552, it became part of the kingdom of Cynric of Wessex. The Saxons did not use the place much, but after Viking attacks, King Alfred fixed up its walls again. After this, it was sacked and burned by a Dano-Norwegian king. After the Norman invasion in 1066, a castle was built there by 1070. The castle was important and held by the kings of England.

Salisbury viewed from Old Sarum

In 1075, a leader named Herman became the first bishop of Salisbury, joining two areas together. He wanted to move the church to Malmesbury, but people did not agree. Later, Saint Osmund helped build the first Salisbury cathedral, finished in 1092. He also helped make important rules and records for the country. The cathedral was damaged in a big storm soon after it was finished. A leader named Bishop Roger helped the king and built more at Old Sarum, but after he was arrested, the castle fell apart.

New Sarum

The Great West Front of Salisbury Cathedral

A bishop named Hubert Walter helped make peace with a leader named Saladin but did not spend much time in Salisbury. Two brothers, Herbert and Richard Poore, planned to move the cathedral to a new place in the valley. King Richard I agreed, but it took many years. Finally, Richard Poore moved the cathedral to a new town called “New Sarum” in 1220. The new place was at the meeting point of the River Nadder and the Hampshire Avon, first called “Myrifield” or “Merryfield”.

Building the new cathedral, now called Salisbury Cathedral, started in 1221. The tall tower, the tallest in the United Kingdom, was built later. Many stones came from the old cathedral, and others from a place called Chilmark. The cathedral is famous for its beautiful style and contains a well-kept copy of the Magna Carta.

Minster Street, c. 1870

New Sarum became a city in 1227 by order of King Henry III and grew to be the largest town in Wiltshire by the 14th century. A wall was built around the town, and several gates were made. The composer Handel once stayed in a room above one of the gates. The old place at Old Sarum was used less and less.

In 1450, there were riots in Salisbury connected to troubles in London. In 1483, there was a big upset against Richard III, and a leader named Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham was executed in Salisbury after things went wrong.

In 1940, during World War II, Salisbury became an important place for building airplanes called Spitfires after factories in Southampton were destroyed. Many young women helped build these airplanes in secret. In 2021, a large model airplane was put up to remember them.

20th and 21st centuries

In 2018, two people were hurt in Salisbury when a very bad chemical was used.

Governance

Salisbury is located in the county of Wiltshire. It is managed by the Wiltshire Council, which handles local government for the area. Salisbury also has its own parish council called the Salisbury City Council.

Salisbury Guildhall, completed in 1795, is now the meeting place of the City Council.

Since 2020, the city centre is covered by two electoral wards named St Edmund and Harnham East, inside the A36 ring road. Other parts of the city are covered by six more wards. Nearby areas like Laverstock and Ford have their own parish council.

Before 2009, Salisbury was part of the old county of Wiltshire and had a different local government setup. The city has held city status for a very long time. The current Member of Parliament for Salisbury and nearby areas is John Glen from the Conservative party, who has been in office since 2010.

Geography

Salisbury is found about halfway between Exeter and London. It is 80 miles from Exeter, 78 miles from London, and 34 miles from Swindon. It is also 20 miles from Southampton and 32 miles from Bath.

The area around Salisbury is made mostly of chalk. The rivers that flow through the city have been moved and used to create gardens. These gardens are popular in summer because the water is shallow and slow, making it safe to enter. However, because the land is low, the rivers can flood, especially in winter.

Queen Elizabeth Gardens, showing part of the River Avon diverted through the gardens

There are airfields near Salisbury, including one at Old Sarum and another at Thruxton near Andover.

Salisbury has many areas and suburbs, most of which were once villages. These areas do not have fixed boundaries. Some of these areas are Bemerton, Lower Bemerton, Bemerton Heath, Hampton Park, Laverstock and Ford, City Centre, Churchfields, East Harnham, West Harnham, Harnham Hill, Stratford-sub-Castle, St Paul's, St Francis, Fisherton, St Mark's, Bishopdown, Milford, St Edmund, Petersfinger, Netherhampton, Paul's Dene, Friary Estate (formerly Bugmore), and St Martin's.

Many nearby parishes, villages, and towns depend on Salisbury for services. Some of these places include Britford, Odstock, Quidhampton, Nunton, Homington, Old Sarum, Little Durnford, Fugglestone St Peter, Alderbury, Bodenham, Downton, Wilton, Charlton All Saints, Ditchampton, Bulbridge, Coombe Bissett, Ugford, South Newton, Winterbourne Earls, Winterbourne Gunner, and Winterbourne Dauntsey.

Demography

The civil parish of Salisbury has a population of 40,302 people, according to the 2011 census. This area does not include some of the city's suburbs like Laverstock, Ford, Britford, and Netherhampton.

The urban zone around Salisbury, which includes nearby wards, had a population of 62,216 in 2011. These wards include places like Laverstock, Britford, Downton, Alderbury, Odstock, and the town of Wilton. Towns like Amesbury and Romsey are not part of this urban zone.

Most people in Salisbury identify as white, with 95.73% of the population falling into this group. The largest minority group is "other white," making up 3.6% of the population. Many people were born in England, with 86.43% of the population having been born there. A smaller number were born in other parts of the UK, the EU, or outside the EU.

Most people in Salisbury say their main language is English, with 95.89% reporting this. A small number speak other languages like Polish, Bengali, or Tagalog. Almost everyone, 99.43%, says they can speak English well or very well.

Ethnic Groups, 2011
	Salisbury CP	Salisbury UA	Wiltshire
White British	91.0%	91.3%	93.4%
Asian	2.5%	2.4%	1.3%
Black	0.5%	0.4%	0.7%

Economy

Salisbury has a long history of markets, holding a charter market on Tuesdays and Saturdays since 1227. In the past, the Market Place had four crosses for different kinds of trading, but today only the Poultry Cross remains. A funfair is held in the Market Place for three days each October.

The 15th-century Poultry Cross marked the section of the market trading in poultry.

From 1833 to the mid-1980s, the Salisbury Gas Light and Coke Company was a major employer, making gas and selling by-products like coke and fertiliser. Salisbury power station supplied electricity from 1898 to 1970. The city was also known for its cutlery industry and once made early motor cars. Today, shopping centres like The Old George Mall and The Maltings are popular, and Salisbury District Hospital is a major employer.

Culture

Salisbury was a key place for music in the 1700s. A friend of the famous composer Handel led concerts there for nearly 50 years. Many well-known musicians and singers performed in the city.

Salisbury High Street

Salisbury holds a special event each year on St George's Day, a tradition that may have started in the 1200s. The city has many artists and galleries, including the Young Gallery, which has a museum inside. Famous painter John Constable created beautiful paintings of the cathedral and nearby countryside. Every year, Salisbury holds an arts festival with theatre, music, dance, and art shows. The city also has a theatre that puts on new plays and welcomes visiting performances.

The Salisbury Museum

The Salisbury Museum is located in King's House, a very old building from the 1200s. It has a special exhibit about Stonehenge with fun, hands-on displays. Visitors can see the skeleton of the Amesbury Archer and explore a collection of old items from General Augustus Pitt Rivers. There is also a costume gallery where children can try on clothes and imagine being characters from Salisbury’s history.

Twin towns and sister cities

Salisbury has friendly connections with towns in other countries. It has been linked with Saintes in France since 1990 and with Xanten in Germany since 2005. It is also a sister city to Salisbury, North Carolina and Salisbury, Maryland in the United States.

Education

Long ago, in the 13th and 14th centuries, Salisbury was a place where people studied. Students learned about important ideas and religion at a school called the College of the Valley Scholars, started by Bishop Giles of Bridport in 1262.

Today, Salisbury has many schools. It is home to special schools for older students, South Wilts Grammar School for girls and Bishop Wordsworth's School for boys. There are also other schools nearby, like Salisbury Cathedral School and Sarum Academy. Students can continue their studies at Salisbury Sixth Form College or Wiltshire College, which works together with Bournemouth University.

Transport

Road

Salisbury is where several important roads meet, including the A30, the A36, and the A338. There are also roads like the A343, A345, A354, and A360 ending here. You can park your car outside the city and take a bus to the center through a park-and-ride system. The A36 almost makes a circle around the city, and the A3094 helps connect the southwest part.

Bus

Buses go from Salisbury to places like Southampton, Bournemouth, Andover, Devizes, and Swindon, but there are fewer buses on Sundays. Salisbury Reds, part of Go South Coast, is the main bus company here. Another company, Wheelers Travel, goes to Shaftesbury and Andover. Other bus companies include Stagecoach and Beeline. Salisbury has a park-and-ride bus system with five spots around the city.

The old Salisbury bus station, which opened in 1939, closed in January 2014 because it cost too much to run and not many people used it. The space where it was, on the northeast side of the city center, is now homes for older people, which opened in February 2018.

Railways

Salisbury station is where two main train lines cross. One line goes from London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids, and the other goes from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. The station is run by South Western Railway. Trains from Great Western Railway also stop here, going to places like Cardiff Central, Bristol Temple Meads, Bath Spa, Southampton Central, and Portsmouth Harbour.

Churches

Salisbury has many churches besides its main cathedral. Some important ones include St Martin, St Thomas, and St Lawrence. St Martin's Church is one of the oldest, with parts dating back to the 1200s. St Thomas' Church features a large, old painting above its altar.

Other churches were built in later years to serve growing communities. St Paul's Church was built in 1853, and St Mark's in 1894. The city also has churches for different religious groups, including Baptist and Methodist congregations that have been around for centuries.

Sport and leisure

Salisbury has a football team called Salisbury F.C. that plays in the National League South at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium. There are also other football clubs like Bemerton Heath Harlequins F.C. and Laverstock & Ford F.C..

The city has a rugby club, Salisbury Rugby Club, and a cricket club, South Wilts Cricket Club, both based at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Sports Club. There is also a hockey club, Salisbury Hockey Club, at the same sports club.

People can enjoy activities at the Five Rivers Leisure Centre and Swimming Pool, opened in 2002, and at Salisbury Racecourse for horse racing. There are also places to play bowls and snooker.

Old Sarum Airfield offers aviation activities, including flying schools. The city has a theatre called the Salisbury Playhouse, and the City Hall hosts comedy and musical performances. The Salisbury Arts Centre features exhibitions and workshops.

Salisbury has many pubs, including the Haunch of Venison and the Rai d'Or, which have historical buildings and stories.

Notable people

Born before 1900

Some famous people were born in Salisbury before the year 1900. These include John of Salisbury, an important writer and church leader, and John Bevis, a doctor who discovered a famous star cluster called the Crab Nebula. Others include James Harris, a politician, and Herbert Ponting, a well-known photographer who travelled with explorers.

Since 1900

Many notable people have been born in Salisbury since 1900. William Golding, who wrote famous books, taught at a local school. John Rhys-Davies and Anthony Daniels are actors known for playing famous characters in movies. Other well-known faces from Salisbury include Michael Crawford, who performed in musicals, and David Mitchell, a comedian and television presenter.

Media

BBC Radio Wiltshire is a public service radio station for the area, sometimes talking about news from the city. Salisbury once had its own radio station called Spire FM, but it is now part of Greatest Hits Radio Salisbury, which plays music and gives local news.

Television in the area is brought to you by BBC South and ITV Meridian, with a local channel called "That's Salisbury" from That's TV. The city also has a weekly newspaper called the Salisbury Journal, available every Thursday, along with a free paper called the Avon Advertiser.

In popular culture

The names of Salisbury have been used in fun poems and stories. In a funny old poem from 1928, the city’s name was used in a playful way. Writers have also used Salisbury as a setting or inspiration in many books and songs. For example, the writer Thomas Hardy used a version of Salisbury called “Melchester” in his novels. Charles Dickens wrote about Salisbury markets in one of his books, and a TV series based on a novel by Ken Follett shows a cathedral very much like Salisbury’s.

Famous musicians have also mentioned Salisbury in their work. A television drama called The Salisbury Poisonings told the story of an important event that happened in 2018.

Climate

Salisbury has an oceanic climate, which is similar to most of the United Kingdom. It is one of the sunniest places in the country, with over 1,650 hours of sunshine each year. The temperature can vary quite a bit, with the coldest recorded at -12.4 °C (9.7 °F) and the hottest at 34.5 °C (94.1 °F).