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Archive for February 23rd, 2021

Ancient buildings in Salisbury

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, Domesday Villages of England, Fun Stuff, historical houses of the uk, It's my life, project 101, Travel, tagged English Heritage, grade ii listed buildings, historic buildings in Salisbury, medieval architecture, Salisbury Cathedral, the close Salisbury on February 23, 2021| 8 Comments »

Good morning 😃😃 So, here we go. Over the last few days I’ve done some extensive walking, all round Salisbury to find you the oldest and most interesting of the buildings. Some of them date back to medieval times, circa 13th century, and certainly the inns date to the 15th and 16th centuries, with lots of renovations, repairs and restoration I’m sure.

I’ve not listed them in order of age, that would take a fair amount of time and I’m short on that atm, so I’ll just post them as I saw them over the last 3 days.

But I will say, there’s something quite extraordinary to be able to touch a wooden post that dates back to 1500!!! I mean seriously…think about how much has happened in the last 500+ years, and how many people have passed by or visited these buildings.

Without doubt I have to start with the Cathedral. Possibly not the oldest building in the area, but certainly the most famous. I know from reading many of the information posts dotted around, especially at the churches, that there are Saxon and Norman remains in some buildings, but mostly that is limited to the churches.

What I really appreciate about Salisbury is that pretty much wherever you are in the city, you can see the spire of the cathedral…no tall buildings compete.

‘Salisbury Cathedral is the most beautiful structure in England, and the Close around it the most beautiful space’. (‘Notes from a Small Island’ Bill Bryson.)

Starting off with what I do know, this building was part of a larger set of buildings all linked to the Bishops of the Cathedral which if course dates back to the early 13th century; started in 1220. I can recommend reading this article about The Close and its history. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol6/pp72-79

The Wardrobe housing The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Museum. The original building on the site was constructed in 1254. It was rebuilt in the 15th century and was used to store the robes of the Bishop of Salisbury; hence it was known as the “Bishop’s Wardrobe” or “The Wardrobe“.