Old
Sarum is a great earthwork, with its huge banks and ditches,just a
couple of miles north of Salisbury.
Its an interesting place in its own right but is conveniently on the
main route between Salisbury and Stonehenge. The Stonehenge
bus from Salisbury stops outside.
The banks were begun almost 5000 years ago, and remained intact until
the Roman invasion. At this time it was called Sorviodunum.
When the Normans came they quickly realised its strategic importance
and constructed a motte and bailey castle within the old earthworks.
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Entrance
Bridge to Old Sarum |
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This
was replaced by a stone keep in 1100, and a royal palace was erected
within the banks in 1130. In the meantime the first cathedral on the
site was completed in 1092, but it burned down only 5 days after it
was consecrated. A new, larger cathedral was completed around 1190.
Relations between the clerics of the cathedral and the castle guard
were punctuated with outbreaks of petulance and occasional violence.
The churchmen became so exasperated that in 1219 Bishop Richard Poore
decided that enough was enough, and he determined to build a new cathedral
at a location several miles to the south. A settlement grew up around
the site of the new cathedral, and it is this settlement that is the
modern city of Salisbury.
With the shift of settlement away from Old Sarum to New Sarum (Salisbury)
the old site lapsed and the castle fell into disuse. Despite the fact
that the site was derelict, Old Sarum continued to send a representative
to Parliament until the mid 19th century.
Today, visitors can see remains of both the castle and the second
cathedral, though little of that building exists beyond an outline
of the walls on the grass, (see picture below).
English Heritage own the site. You are free to roam the grounds including
the ruins of the Cathedral. |
There is an admission charge to the earthworks/castle.
English Heritage have a gift shop and a shop selling ice cream etc.
There is lots of grass and majestic views across the countryside.
Old
Sarum Official Web Site |
Ruins
of Cathedral at Old Sarum |
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Getting
To Old Sarum
Wilts and Dorset run frequent public buses to Old Sarum
from Salisbury Bus Station. One of these, route 3 is the bus that
goes onto Stonehenge.
See Getting to Stonehenge
page.
Being only a couple of miles from Salisbury its quite pleasant to
walk to Old Sarum from Salisbury. The route follows the River Avon
before you climb up to Old Sarum at the top of the hill.
See Salisbury to Old
Sarum Walk
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