Not so long ago, the alleged poisoners of Sergei and Yulia Skripal announced that they had come to England to see the famous "Solberetskiy" Cathedral. Numerous jokers immediately responded to this statement on the Internet. Of course, they commented, Salisbury has two world-class landmarks: the cathedral and the doorknob at the Skripals' house. We won't talk about the pen. But the cathedral is worthy of all attention …
The cathedral in the English town of Salisbury, standing at the confluence of five rivers - the Avon, Abble, Nadder, Wylie and Bourne - is very ancient and famous.
A new stone in a new place
Let's start with the fact that there were two "Salisbury" cathedrals. The first, earlier one, was built in 1092 in the well-fortified town of Siresburg, or Sorsbury, or Salisbury, whose name over the centuries turned into Sarum, and then into Old Sarum. Then there was a castle. The first cathedral was squeezed into the boundaries of the castle, behind the fortress walls.
He, like the rest of the fortress, dominated the adjacent lowland. The hill on which the first cathedral stood was reclaimed since the 3rd millennium BC. The first Paleolithic settlement dates back to this time. And the famous Stonehenge is not far away. In the Iron Age, the most important trade routes of prehistoric England crossed here. It was then, around 400 BC, that a permanent settlement appeared here, which in the era of the Romans was already a town. In the early Middle Ages, the advantages of the hill were appreciated by the Vikings, who founded a robber fort here, and after the conquest of England by the Norman Duke William, a castle was built here, and then a royal palace.
Of course, what is a castle without a cathedral? This is how the first cathedral appeared. But he stood in its original form for a very short time. Already after 20 years, the cathedral had to be rebuilt and restored. And 80 years later, the building underwent an almost complete restructuring. On this first cathedral every now and then fell various troubles. Either lightning will hit him, or storm winds will cause destruction. But the most destructive was the human factor - an endless squabble began between the Bishop of Salisbury and the local sheriff. Once the monks returned to their cathedral from the procession and found that its doors were firmly blocked with boards. By order of the sheriff. Since the cathedral on the hill was already significantly dilapidated, and in Sarum itself there were problems with water supply (deep wells did not save the situation), it was decided to leave, so to speak, from the zone of influence of the civil authorities.
And in 1220 the bishop laid the first stone of a new cathedral a few kilometers from the hill - on a marshy lowland. There are even several local legends about how the site was chosen for this cathedral. According to one of them, Bishop Pur stood on the fortress wall and fired an arrow with his own hand. In the place where she got, and began to build a new temple. According to another version, the Virgin Mary herself appeared to the bishop in a dream, who indicated exactly where and what kind of cathedral she wanted to receive. Be that as it may, but from this time - the founding of the new Cathedral of the Virgin Mary - the modern town of Salisbury begins. It quickly expanded around the new church. Moreover, Bishop Pur took an active part not only in the construction of the temple itself, but also in the planning of the new town.
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In record time
Unlike other medieval cities, Salisbury was built according to the episcopal master plan - with straight streets leading to the threshold of the house of Our Lady. In addition to the bishop himself, the architect Elias Derchem, invited by the church, was engaged in construction work. Immediately, the builders faced enormous challenges. If it was not difficult to build a church on a hill, then the lowland abounded with high groundwater. In a word, the new cathedral was to be built practically on a swamp. Here it is worth mentioning the malice of the civil authorities: they refused the bishop to purchase a drier site, where such problems would not arise. And in order for the whole structure not to collapse, it was necessary to thoroughly strengthen the foundation, but at the same time not to make it too deep. The foundation depth of this cathedral is only about 1.2 meters. Here, obviously, fate intervened:on the plot given for construction there was a powerful gravel pad. It is she who supports the foundation of the structure.
Basically, the new temple was built in 38 years and consecrated already in 1258. For the Middle Ages, this is a record time. True, the cathedral that we see today and the one that was erected almost 800 years ago are different from each other. The 13th-century cathedral had a nave, transepts and a huge choir (140 meters long), but there was still no famous Gothic spire 123 meters high - it was completed only in 1320, like the Gothic Cathedral tower. But by the end of the 13th century, galleries already existed around the courtyard (cloister), the Bishop's House and the Chapter Hall with a magnificent carved frieze on biblical themes.
The spire and turret, of course, made the structure itself much heavier - by more than 6 thousand tons. And without the use of buttresses and fastening arches, they would simply collapse. However, they still stand. It's all about the ingenious architectural solution. The hollow spire is supported by supporting pillars that carry all the weight. True, the famous architect Christopher Wren had to carry out construction work in order to prevent the structure from losing stability. Otherwise the Salisbury cathedral would have suffered the same fate as the Chichester cathedral - it had collapsed.
Like all Gothic cathedrals, Salisbury Cathedral is decorated with numerous sculptures, and its lancet windows feature stained glass windows. The windows allow a lot of light into the cathedral, and the sparkling columns and walls are especially noticeable in this light. The walls and columns are built from two types of local limestone. One, known to all, is white limestone. The other is dark-colored limestone that, when polished, becomes marble-like. It is often called that - Perbek marble, although this is the so-called crystallized limestone. Medieval builders knew their job well. Skillful combination of two types of stone made it possible to create a unique solemn coloring of the interior decoration of the temple.
Salisbury Cathedral is rightfully considered the tallest church building in England. The spire overlooking Salisbury can be seen from afar. But he is famous not only for his spire.
Where celebrities lie
Salisbury Cathedral was once the burial place of medieval celebrities. The first to be buried in the cathedral was the illegitimate brother of King John the Landless, William Longley. Many barons from the Hungerford family found rest here, the nephew of the third wife of Henry VIII Jane Seymour Edward Seymour, the younger sister of the failed queen Jane Gray - Catherine, the writer Mary Sidney, the composer Michael Wise. But, of course, most of all there are tombstones of Salisbury bishops. The first on this list is Saint Ozmund, who lived in the XII century. His bones were transferred to the cathedral immediately after its construction.
Tourists come to Salisbury to see the famous clock installed in the cathedral in 1386. They are considered to be one of the oldest clocks in the world that still works today. Interestingly, the Salisbury watch did not have the usual dial, it did not show, but called the exact time. Until 1792, the clock was installed in the bell tower, but after an unsuccessful restoration, this tower was demolished. Then they were transferred to the Cathedral Tower, where they remained until 1884. During the next repairs, they were dismantled and placed in storage, and then they were completely forgotten. The relic was found by accident, in 1929, it was lying in the attic of the cathedral. In 1956, the old clock was repaired, and in 2007 it was re-installed in the cathedral.
However, the clock is not the main attraction of Salisbury Cathedral. It contains a relic much more valuable than a medieval clockwork. It is one of four copies of the famous Magna Carta Libertatum, a treaty concluded in 1215 between King John and his rebellious barons. It was brought to Salisbury by the same architect Elias Durham, who received the Charter from the Bishop of Canterbury. This is one of the most important documents of the Middle Ages, since it guaranteed the rights, freedoms and protection from arbitrariness not only for the barons themselves, but for all Englishmen. And this parchment, sealed with the royal seal, is probably the greatest treasure of the Cathedral in Salisbury.
Mikhail ROMASHKO