Salisbury, NC's got a sister, in England

By J.S. Fletcher and Kathy Newbern © 2009

After spending two terrific days aboard the naming cruise for the new Celebrity Equinox, we headed for London via tour bus that would make a couple of stops before dropping us off at our hotel, the City Inn Westminster for the evening.

Our first stop was Salisbury, England, referred to as “the city in the countryside” in the UK, and directly linked to a nearby Raleigh neighbor, Salisbury, NC, as their sister city. Although Salisbury, England, is completely up to date, its ourward beauty is that it maintains a magnificent medieval look with cobblestone streets, narrow alleyways, half-timbered buildings, traditional English eating houses and colorful shopping areas, all linked through nearly 800 years of existence. Nevertheless, the Salisbury Cathedral is the main attraction.

Construction started on Salisbury Cathedral in 1220 on Salisbury Water Meadows, a boggy area that was partially drained by sopping up water with sheep’s wool. The primary construction took 38 years between 1220 and 1258, but the tower and spire, the tallest in Britain at 404 feet, were completed by 1330. The spire now leans 27.5 inches to the south and 17.5 inches to the west.

60,000 tons of Chilmark and 10,000 tons of Purbeck Stone were used to build the Cathedral. 28,000 tons of oak were used for the roof, as well as 420 tons of lead. Reverence must be given to those whose skills of masonry and engineering enabled them to make it rise.

Today, driving into the city and seeing the structure from afar gives an idea of not only the amount of work involved but also the significance of the massive building. It is at once beautiful, a testament to religion, and also a menacing fortress that stands monument to the powerful people who built it. Even miles away, it is imposing and makes visitors, now and for nearly eight centuries, take notice that they are approaching something mighty.

As the Cathedral Church of the Salisbury diocese and so the Mother Church of several hundred parishes in Wiltshire and Dorset, it has been in constant use since it opened. Hundreds of thousands of visitors every year make a pilgrimage to it. A half-million tourist pass through.

Inside you will not only see the impressive architecture of Britain’s finest 13th Century Cathedral, but ornate burial monuments, prayer stalls, the largest and earliest set of Quire stalls in Britain, Europe's oldest working clock (AD1386), which has "ticked" more than 5 million times since it was first built, and the Chapter House, which contains an delightful 13th Century stone frieze of Bible stories as well as the best preserved of only four surviving original Magna Carta (AD1215) documents.

In 1215, King John of England signed the Magna Carta at Runneymede (which we visited in 2005 while researching our novel Holiday on Thames). Written on parchment in Latin, the Magna Carta contained 63 clauses, of which only three remain as law today. The most famous is considered the basic tenet of our law system today:

“No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled. Nor will we proceed with force against him except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.”

The Magna Carta has come to symbolize of the rule of law in England, protecting the rights of the individual, and is said to have inspired documents the constitutions of the United States, the former USSR, Japan, Germany and many Commonwealth and other countries.

Salisbury was a great stop and when we have more time, we’ll return. Now we are off to Stonehenge.

And as to that delicacy most Americans know as Salisbury Steak – it’s probably best to order it in Salisbury, NC, because it was invented by an American physician, Dr. J. H. Salisbury (1823–1905).

If You Need a Guide: We recommend Rosamund Forester, a Blue Badge Guide and Institute of Tourist Guides member. Reach her at info@bluebadgeguide.com, or phone +44 (0) 20 8871 2862 or +44 (0) 7802 721 864 by cell.

(All Photos J.S. Fletcher and Kathy M. Newbern © 2009)
 

If you liked this story, then check out the next stop on our tour: Stonehenge.

International Travel Examiner J.S. Fletcher and spouse, Kathy M. Newbern, report on luxury destinations, spas and cruising around the globe. They are award-winning members of the Society of American Travel Writers and operate their personalized romance novel business.