Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for SALISBURY

SALISBURY, a city, three parishes, and a district in Wilts, and a diocese partly also in Dorset and Berks. The city stands at the confluence of the Upper Avon, the Bourn, the Wiley, and the Nadder rivers, 28½ miles W of Winchester, and 82 by road, but 96 by railway, S Wby W of London. Its site is part of a green valley, among extensive breezy downs; and its environs are enriched with villas and mansions, including Clarendon Park, Trafalgar House, Longford Castle, and Wilton House. railways go from it to the N E, the S E, and the W; branch railways strike from its near neighbourhood to the N W and the S; and all go into ramifications and connexions, such as to give facile communication with all parts of the kingdom.

History.—The city originated about 1220, in the desertion of Old Sarum, 2 miles to the N; and it bears the alternative name of New Sarum. Its name in old documents was Sarisbyrig or Saresbury, a name previouslyborne by Old Sarum, and signifying "the dry town; "and that name was gradually corrupted into Salisbury. The new city shares the historical reminiscences of the old one, "the Wiltshire Nineveh, " from the times of theancient Britons, through those of the Romans, the Saxons, and the Danes, to those of William the Conqueror, of William Rufus, of Henry I., of the Empress Maud, and of Henry II., who all made a figure at Old Sarum; and it may be said to claim as its own the desolate remains of that old city, and the remains of ancientneighbouring camps. But it was made independent of Old Sarum so early as 1244, by the diversion to it of the Great Western-road or " Wilt-way; " it was constituteda borough, or free city, by Henry III.; it was the meeting-place of a parliament of Edward I in 1297; it waswalled in 1315; it was the meeting-place of a parliament of Edward III., called to impeach Mortimer, in 1328; and, from its position on the Great Western-road, it was, in all times of civil commotion, a post of importance, and a place of transit for troops. The contending partiesin the wars of the Barons and the Roses gave it considerable disturbance; the Duke of Buckingham was beheaded in its market-place, by order of Richard III., in 1483; the royalists and the parliamentarians alternately occupied it in the civil wars of Charles I.; an abortiveris ing of Penruddock, Wyndham, and others occurred init, on behalf of Charles II., in 1665; the army of James II. was concentrated at it, to oppose the anticipatedlanding of the Prince of Orange in 1688; and the Princehimself triumphantly entered it, on his way to London, on 4 Dec. of the same year. The city was visited, in 1258, by Henry III.; in 1457, by Henry VI.; in 1478, by Edward IV.; in 1486, by Henry VII.; in 1516 and 1535, by Henry VIII.; in 1574, by Elizabeth; in 1603, and on seven other occasions, by James I.; in 1625, 1632, and 1635, by Charles I.; in 1665, after the battle of Worcester and under hiding, by Charles II.; in 1678again, by Charles II.; in 1688, to oppose the Prince of Orange, by James II.; in 1722, by George I.; in 1778, by George III. and his queen; and in 1846, by Queen Victoria. Cardinal Winterburne, of the 13th century, Provost Horman, who died in 1535, Bishop Thornborough, 1552-1641, Philip Massinger the dramaticpoet, born in 1584, Matthew the Jesuit, 1577-1655, Maschiart or Mackert, who died in 1598, Coryat, who died in 1606, Bishop Hyde, who died in 1667, Bishop Ward, who died in 1676, Dr. Bennet the orientalist, 1673-1728, Ditton the mathematician, 1675-1715, Chubb the deist, 1700-47, H. Lawes and W. Lawes themusicians, who died in 1642 and 1645, Hayter the theo-logian, Dr. Harris, author of " Hugh Peter's Life, " born in 1720, James Harris, author of " Hermes, " 1709-80, the Earl of Malmsbury, 1746-1820, Tobin, author of the " Honeymoon, " born in 1770, J. Feltham, and Pitt Earl of Chatham, were natives; Joseph Addison waseducated at the grammar school; and the family of Ceciltake from the city the title of Marquis. John of Salisbury, Bishop of Chartres, who made a great figure in the 12th century, was born at Old Sarum.

Structure.—The site of the city, before commencement of the buildings, was partitioned into squares or"chequers." The principal streets, in consequence, run in parallels from N to S and from E to W, and cross one another at right angles, or nearly so, while the houses are arranged in rectangular groups, with central spaces foryards and gardens; so that the entire city presents an aspect of regularity and airiness. Bricked channels, locally called canals, and swept by copious streamletsfrom the river, traverse the principal streets: were formerly open, and crossed by numerous tiny bridges; and occasioned the city to be described as a "heap of isletsthrown together, " and even to be compared to Venice; but these channels were recently covered in. Some of the houses exhibit curious specimens of ancient domestic architecture, and have gable ends, of brick and timber-work covered with plaster. Two bridges with each six arches span the Avon, and connect the city with Fisherton-Anger and Crane. A ten-arched bridge connects, on the east, with East Harnham; was built in 1244, by Bishop Bingham; rests at the middle on an islet; and was formerly surmounted by a chapel. The market-place, in the centre of the city, is an open area surrounded by shops and public buildings. The town hall, or council and session-house, stands at the S E corner of the market-place; was rebuilt in 1788-95, after designs by Taylor; is a white brick edifice, with rustic stone quoins and cornices, and with a Doric portico; and contains a hall 75 feet by 24, with portraits of James I., Queen Anne, the Earl of Radnor, John Duke of Somerset, Sir R. Hyde, Sir S. Eyre, Sir T. White, W. Hussey, W. Chiffinch, Bishop Ward, and Bishop Fisher. The market house stands at the N W corner of the market-place; was erected in 1858-9; and is connected by a branch railway with the r. stations, at Fisherton. A curious old hexagonal Gothic structure, called the Poultry cross, stands off the S W corner of the market-place; is supported by buttresses, and has a conical roof; seems, from its style, to have been erected in the 16th century; and was thoroughly restored in 1855. A monument to Lord Herbert stands in the market-place; was erected in 1863; and consists of a bronze statue 9 feet high, by Marochetti, on a pedestal of polished marble 10 feet high. The county jail stands at Fisherton; was erected in 1822, at a cost of £30,000; and has capacity for 114 male and 13 female prisoners. The workhouse stands near Cranebridge; was originally a mansion of the Earl of Castle-haven; dates from the latter part of the 15th century, and has a gate-house and a bay-window. The banqueting hall of John Halle, a wealthy wool-stapler of the times of Henry VII. and Edward IV., was built in 1470, and restored by Pugin in 1834; is an interesting specimen of the domestic architecture of its period; and has alofty timber roof with insertions of plaster scollop-work, and four stained-glass windows with devices of the royalhouse of York. The quondam George-Inn, in High-street, figures in Pepys' Diary; and is a good 15th century timber house, with an outer gallery. The quondam Joiners, hall, in St. Anne-street, retains a front of the time of Queen Elizabeth. A house in Brown-street, formerly called the barracks, and dating from the time of Henry VI., has rich stone chimney-pieces. There are news-rooms, assembly-rooms, and a theatre.

The Cathedral.—The original cathedral stood at OldSarum. The present cathedral was founded at Salisburyin 1220, partially opened in 1225, and mainly completed in 1263, at a cost of about £26, 666. It received addition of cloisters and chapter-house in 1263-70; of the upper part of the tower, in 1239; of the spire, in 1335-75; of the Beanchamp chapel, now destroyed, on the S side of the Lady chapel, in 1450-82; of the chantry chapel, on the N side of the choir, in 1502-24; and of Lord Hungerford's chantry, now destroyed, in 1476. Alterations were made on it, under direction of James Wyatt, at a cost of £26,000; but they obliterated paintings, destroyed porches, reredos, and screens, removed a separating screen between the Lady chapel and the presbytery, and altogether were of a character more destructive than improving. A sinking of tower and spire took place priorto 1681, such as to throw them 24½ inches out of the perpendicular on the S, and 16¾ inches on the W, and to occasion conservative measures to be taken under direction of Sir.Wren; and, though no further sinking wasever afterwards perceptible, some fear eventually arose that they were insecure. Mr. Scott, the architect, made a careful survey of the entire pile in 1864; pronounced the tower and spire decidedly unsafe, and the body of the cathedral in a bad state of repair; explained the methods which would require to be adopted for effecting restoration; and estimated the cost at £50,000. The repairs of the exterior, together with the measures for strengthening the tower and spire, were completed in 1868. The pile, excepting features of rich decorated English in the later portions, is all early English, pure and highly ornate; and it has a perfect ground plan, a finely symmetrical adjustment, and a sort of pyramidal external disposition. It comprises a ten-bayed nave, 229 feet long, 78 feet wide, and 81 feet high, with aisles; a nor thern porch; a four-bayed main transept, 206 feetlong, 57 feet wide, and 81 feet high, with an aisle once containing a chapel; a central tower of three stages, surmounted by an octagonal spire, rising to the height of404 feet; a six-bayed choir, 151½ feet wide, 78 feet long, and 91 feet high, with aisles; a three-bayed choir-transept, 145 feet long, 44 feet wide, and 81 feet high, with an aisle; a Lady chapel, 69½ feet long, 37 feet wide, and 40 feet high, with aisles; a cloister, on the S side, 182feet long, 18 feet wide, and 18 feet high; and a chapter-house to the E, 58 feet in diameter, and 53 feet high. The length of the whole is 450 feet; and the circuit of the exterior walls is ½ a mile. The W front is an exquisite composition in five stories, pierced in the centre by the great W doorways and window, and surmounted at the sides by towers; and it once had so many as 123 statues. The great tower is crowned at the angles by octagonal turrets, terminating in crocketted spirelets; and the spire springs from the midst of these spirelets, presents canopied spiral-lights to the points of the compass, and soars into conspicuousness over a great extent of country. The E part of the choir consists of a steep gable set between two octagonal turrets with lofty spirelets. The chapter-house is an octagonal structure, with roof supported by acentral pier of slender clustered shafts; and was restored in 1856, in memorial of the late Bishop Denison, at a cost of more than £7,000. The chief monuments in the cathedral are, in the nave, one of Lord Wyndham, by Rysbrach, and one of Sir R.Hoare by Lucus; in the N side of the nave, an ala-baster effigies of Sir John Cheney, altar-tombs of Lord Hungerford and Bishop Osmond, altar-tombs and effigies of the Hon. J. de Montacute and the first Earl of Salisbury, and a bas-relief of a bishop supposed to be of the13th century; in the S side of the nave, effigies of thesecond Earl of Salisbury and Bishop De la Wyle, an altar-tomb of Lord Stourton, an alabaster effigies of another Lord Hungerford, an altar-tomb of Bishop Beauchamp, and two bas-reliefs of the 12th century; in the main tran-sept, altar-tombs of Bishops Woodville and Blythe, monuments by Flaxman of B. Earle and W. and W. Long, a monument by Bacon of J. Harris, a monument by Chantrey of the first Earl of Malmsbury, a canopiedeffigies of Bishop Metford, and a monument by Pugin of Lieut. Fisher; in the presbytery, a chantry of Bishop Audley, canopied arches of Bishops Bingham and William, and one of the most ancient brasses in England; in the choir transept, an altar-tomb and marble effigies of Bishop Poore, an incised brass of Bishop Wyville, and a tomb and small chantry of Bishop Brid port; in the Lady chapel, an effigies of Sir T. Gorges, a floriated tablet of Bishop Mortiva, an effigies of Sir T. Mompesson, an altar-tomb of Bishop Capon, effigies of the Earland Countess of Hertford, and an altar-tomb of Chancellor W. Wilton. A close, or walled precinct, of about ½a square mile in area, surrounds the cathedral; has three gates on the S, the E, and the N; and is adorned with ample verdure and magnificent trees. The Bishop'spalace contains a feudal hall, built in 1460, and hungwith portraits of the bishops since the Restoration. The Canon's house, near the E gate, is surmounted by adouble gable; and was the residence of Archdeacon Coxe, author of the Life of Marlborough, and of Canon Bowles, the poet. The King's house, on the W side of the close, takes its name from having been the lodging-place of kings on their visits to the city of Salisbury, and is an ivy-clad Tudor edifice of the 15th century. Bishop Ward's college, near the N gate, is an institution, founded in 1682, for ten widows of clergymen.

Churches.—St. Edmund's church was founded in 1268, by Bishop De la Wyle, as a collegiate church; lost its tower in 1653; was rebuilt in the later English style; and has a new chancel after designs by G. G. Scott, and an E window by Clayton and Bell. St. Martin's church is ancient; was repaired in 1850; has some early English windows, some later English, and a spire; and contains a brass of 1586. St. Thomas' church was originally built in 1240, as a chapel of ease to the cathedral; is now later English, with numerous windows, and with aroof of carved timber; contains a tomb supposed to be that of the Duke of Buckingham, and monuments of the Eyres; and the chancel was restored in 1867, at a cost of about £1, 300. There are chapels for Independents, Baptists, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Roman Catholics; and the last was built in 1851, after a design by Pugin. Two ultra-mural cemeteries were recently formed; the one of 8 acres, about a mile to the N E of the city; the other of 2½ acres, on the Devizes-road; and both have mortuary chapels. A college was founded in 1260, by Bishop Egidius; and some ruins of its walls and chapel still exist. A grey friary was founded in 1227, by Bishop Poore; a black friary, in 1270, by Archbishop Kilwardy; and an hospital of St. John, by some other person; but all these three have entirely disappeared. A training-school for female teachers is in the cathedral close. A school for the cathedral choristers also is there; and had Harris, the author of " Hermes, " fora pupil. Another grammar school is in the city, was founded by Queen Elizabeth, has £51 a year from endowment, and had Addison for a pupil. A school, foundedby the Godolphin family, for 8 orphan daughters of poorgentlemen, has about £300 a year from endowment. There are several other public schools, variously Church, national, Wesleyan, and Roman Catholic. A school ofscience and art was inaugurated in Nov. 1865. A museum, for the early stone antiquities collected by Squier, Davis, and Blackmore, was built in 1867. Bishop Ward'scollege for clergymen's widows, already noticed, has £654a year from endowment. St. Nicholas' hospital for 12persons has £1,059; Trinity hospital, also for 12, has £192; Frowde's hospital, likewise for 12, has £145; and Blechyndon's, Eyre's, Taylor's, and Brickett's, each for6, have respectively £80, £54, £49, and £25. There arealso four suites of alms-houses, an infirmary, a lunatic asylum, and other institutions.

Trade.—The city has a head post-office, ‡ railway stations with telegraph, three banking offices, and five chief inns; is a seat of petty sessions, quarter sessions, and spring assizes, and a polling-place; and publishesthree weekly newspapers. A corn market is beld one very Tuesday: a general market, on every Saturday; acattle market, on every alternate Tuesday; and fairs, on the Tuesday after 6 Jan., Whit-Monday, and the Tuesday after 10 Oct. Woollen manufacture and the making of ornamental cutlery were formerly extensive, but have entirely declined. The city has sent two members toparliament since the time of Edward I.; and it is governed, under the new municipal act, by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors. The police force, in 1864, comprised 12 men, at an annual cost of £857. The crimes committed in 1864 were 28; the persons apprehended, 28; the known depredators and suspected persons at large, 73; the houses of bad character, 16. The corporation revenue is about £2, 420. The borough boundaries include all St. Edmund parish, all St. Thomas parish, most of St. Martin parish, all Cathedral-close liberty, and part of Fisherton-Anger parish. Acres, 601. Real property, exclusive of the part of Fisherton-Anger, in 1860, £39, 608. Amount of property and income-tax charged in 1863, £5, 936. Electors in 1833, 576; in 1863, 669. Pop. in 1851, 11, 637; in 1861, 12, 278. Houses, 2, 344.

Parishes and District.—Only St. Edmund parish, St. Thomas parish, and the parts of St. Martin parish exclusive of Milford tything, constitute the poor law district. Acres, 480. Pop. in 1861, of St. Edmund parish, 4, 458; of St. Thomas parish, 2, 215; of the district parts of St. Martin parish, 2, 366; of all St. M. parish 2, 997. The livings of St. E. and St. M. are rectories, and that of St. T. is a p. curacy, in the diocese of Salisbury. Value of St. E., £300; * of St. M., £188; of St. T., £140. Patron of St. E., the Bishop; of St. M., J. H.Wyndham, Esq.; of St. T., the Dean and Chapter. Poor-rates of the district in 1863, £6, 189. Marriages in 1863, 94; births, 275, of which 13 were illegitimate; deaths, 133, of which 41 were at ages under 5 years, and 8 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 772; births, 2, 866; deaths, 2, 127.

The Diocese.—The see was originally disjoined from the see of Sherborne and established at Wilton in 905;was removed to Old Sarum in 1072; and was removedthence to Salisbury in 1258. Among the bishops have been Osmund, the compiler of the Sarum Use; Roger, the chancellor; Poore, the architect; Wyville, who senta wager of battle to Montacute, Earl of Sarum; Waltham, who was lord chancellor; Hallam, who became cardinal; Ayscough, who was murdered by Jack Cade; Woodville, who suffered great domestic reverses; Blyth, who was master of the rolls; Campeggio, the cardinal; Jewell, the studious; Seth Ward, the founder of theclergymen's widows' college; Burnet, the well-known voluminous author; Hoadly; Sherlock; Douglas; and Burgess. Among the dignitaries have been Fuller, N. Spinkes, W. L. Bowles, J. Bampton, who founded the Bampton lectures at Oxford, and eleven who became cardinals. The cathedral establishment includes the bishop, the dean, a precentor, a chancellor of the church, a treasurer, three archdeacons, a succentor, four residentiarycanons, thirty-nine prebendaries, a chancellor of the diocese, and four minor canons. The income of the bishopis £5,000; of the dean, £1,000; of each of the archdeacons, £200; of each of the residentiary canons, £500; ofsix of the prebendaries, £4, £22, £23, £24, £32, and £44. The diocese comprehends all Dorset, all Wilts, except the deaneries of Cricklade and Malmsbury and part of Hungerford parish, and a pendicle of Berks forming part of Chilton-Foliatt parish; and is divided into the arch-deaconries of Salisbury, Wilts, and Dorset. Acres, 1, 309, 617. Pop. in 1861, 377, 337. Houses, 78, 188. The archdeaconry of Salisbury comprises the deanery of Wilton and Salisbury, with 11 livings; the d. of Amesbury, with 27; the d. of Chalk, with 37; and the d. of Wylye, with 44. The archd. of Wilts comprises the d.of Avebury, with 33 livings; the d. of Marlborough, with34; and the d. of Pottern, with 45. The archd. of Dorset comprises the d. of Brid port, with 54 livings; the d.of Dorchester, with 49; the d. of Pimperne, with 33; thed. of Shaftesbury, with 34; and the d. of Whitchurch, with 60.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a city, three parishes, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: New Sarum CP       Salisbury RegD/Inc       Salisbury RegD/PLU       Berkshire AncC       Dorset AncC       Wiltshire AncC
Place names: NEW SARUM     |     SALISBURY
Place: Salisbury

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