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Great Britain is like a huge antique wardrobe with expensive finishes and shelves made of the strongest and most solid wood. The shelves of this cabinet, in turn, are filled with beautiful caskets-cities with all their splendor of decoration: well-groomed parks and gardens, ancient estates and cathedrals, clear lakes and ponds. Let’s open one of the boxes and get acquainted with the amazing places of Salisbury, a city with a long history, which has witnessed a variety of events, is currently known in connection with the Skripal case, but time will pass, and this episode will sink into oblivion, leaving unperturbed and beautiful walls of the city.
10 Parish Church of St. Thomas and St. Edmund
The church is the same age as the town, and for eight centuries now it has been gathering parishioners from the surrounding area within its walls.
At first, the building was made of wood and, there is an opinion that it was intended for the workers who built the main cathedral of the city, Salisbury, at that time. The main part of the building, which has survived to this day, belongs to the 15th century, and the interior decoration is made in the Victorian style. The attention of visitors, first of all, is attracted by the canvas depicting the Last Judgment, located above the altar arch. This is the main pearl of the temple, dates back to 1475. During the Reformation period (at the end of the 16th century) it was hidden from people, but at the end of the 19th century it was found again as a result of restoration work. The fresco is considered to be the largest and most complete on this subject among those preserved in the country.
9. Salisbury Guildhall
The Guildhall is located on Salisbury Market Square. The City Hall burned down and was rebuilt several times. Initially, it was in the department of the bishop, but later passed into the hands of the city authorities. The last version of the building dates from 1795. Today, after a series of reconstruction works, offices and meeting rooms of the city council are located here, and a very effective combination of historical interiors and modern comfort makes it possible to provide part of the premises for exhibitions and ceremonial receptions and events.
8. House of Mompesson
A small mansion was built at the very beginning of the 18th century for the local deputy Thomas Mompesson. The house is designed in the classical style of the Queen Anne period, with Hilmark stone used for cladding. The building has changed many owners from well-born families and spiritual persons to artistic natures. Today there is a museum here, and guests can plunge into the atmosphere of past centuries through the interiors of rooms with antique furniture and utensils, porcelain figurines and lamps. Visitors can stroll through the garden and have a cup of tea. Fans of the works of Jane Austen are also recommended to look here, because the shooting of one of her novels “Sense and Sensibility” took place here.
7. High Street Gate
Before visiting the main cathedral of Salisbury, you must pass the High Street Gate, which in itself is a magnificent monument of architecture of the 14th century. The building was erected from 1327 to 1342 and initially housed a small prison. Nearby is the porter’s house. In the Middle Ages, the work of a porter was in great demand and representatives of the nobility actively used their services. The gate itself is decorated with a coat of arms on one side, and on the other side there is a statue of King Edward VII, whose stone vestments correspond to the Middle Ages. Today High Street Gate is the main entrance to the grounds of Salisbury Cathedral.
6. Great Eves Park
To visit the park, it is best to choose sportswear. The terrain here is quite gloomy, but majestic, and more like a forest.
Traveling along numerous paths, the traveler falls into the power of the main inhabitants of the territory – yew trees. Some specimens are of scientific interest, as they reach a thousand years of age. Hundreds of old-timer yews will amaze guests with their unusual twisted shapes. The walk will be especially interesting for people who prefer silence and pristine nature with minimal human influence. Good place for meditation.
5. wilton house
The estate is located to the west of Salisbury and is a perfectly preserved example of a medieval manor. In the 8th century, Wilton Abbey was located here. In the 16th century, the territory with the remains of buildings was transferred by the king to the Pembroke family. Since then, the estate has been rebuilt many times and modified from the late Gothic to the Palladian style. In the interiors of the Wilton House there are many paintings by famous masters: Rubens, Rembrandt, van Dyck. The furniture was made by the most famous cabinet makers. The most attractive for tourists are the Rooms of one and two cubes, with chic stucco ceilings and antique furniture, as well as the picturesque Palladium Bridge, located in the park adjacent to the mansion. By the way, a lot of costumed dramas were filmed in Wilton House, and the area in front of the main entrance is annually occupied by the most luxurious cars in the world as part of the annual event.
The owners of the mansion are still the Pembroke dynasty.
4. Market
The territory of the market in the city was determined in the 13th century, when the new city had already measured out its streets and erected houses. First, under the patronage of the church, and then the city council, there was a clear distribution of shopping arcades and temporary stalls, later replaced by permanent stores. The market had special places for the trade of cheese, milk, fruits, vegetables, fish, herbs and poultry. The modern market square is an open space with many restaurants, bars and shops. Wooden-brick houses, preserved from the old times, as well as a large number of tourists, help to plunge into the atmosphere of the noisy and bustling shopping malls of the Middle Ages.
3. Old Sarum
Today, Old Sarum is only a hill located north of Salisbury, having a flat top and earthen ramparts around, as well as the remains of an ancient settlement, but a settlement was located on this place a very long time ago. Archaeologists say that signs of life appeared here about three thousand years BC. The city itself began its existence in the 11th century. Trade routes passed here, and it was repeatedly conquered by the Normans and Saxons. A fortress was built on the hill, first wooden, and then stone, a castle and a cathedral appeared. The latter was destroyed by a storm, and it was decided to build a new temple in a remote place due to conflicts between the authorities and the clergy, as well as a lack of water resources. And unexpectedly, the inhabitants of Old Sarum also reached out to the territory near the built cathedral, transferring their dwellings here, to the settlement, which received the name New Sarum. Old Sarum slowly emptied and fell into decay, in the 19th century the town officially ceased to exist. Today, Old Sarum is a historical monument of England, and anyone can visit this place, which offers a beautiful view of New Sarum – Salisbury.
2. Military Museum
Fans of military themes will be very inspired by a trip to the museum of the infantry regiments of Berkshire and Wiltshire. The building where it is located was built in 1254 and looks through all the windows at the main cathedral of the city. The building was used for a long time to store the vestments of the Bishop of Salisbury, for which he received the nickname “The Closet” among the common people.
Today it houses the Museum of the Royal Regiments. Visitors can learn about their history from the period of the 18th century to the present through a very extensive collection of exhibits, including documents, uniforms and weapons. Portraits of the most distinguished military men, as well as royal persons, under whose patronage these regiments have always been, adorn the walls of the halls.
1. salisbury cathedral
The temple was erected in the 13th century, construction lasted about 40 years. The building is designed in the same Gothic style. Only one element, the spire, appeared a century later, but thanks to its height of 123 meters, it made the cathedral the tallest building of medieval architecture in the UK. The unique property of the cathedral is the working mechanical clock, created in 1386.
In the middle of the 15th century, an annex, a library building, appeared near the temple. Today you can see a perfectly preserved copy of the Magna Carta, the first legal document from medieval England.
The temple has a very vast territory, the Cathedral Courtyard, with many lovely lawns and old buildings from different eras.