Magna Carta (Salisbury Cathedral)
Read the document that changed the world — one of only four 1215 originals survives here
In the Chapter House of Salisbury Cathedral rests one of the four surviving original copies of Magna Carta — the great charter sealed by King John in June 1215 that established for the first time that even a king was subject to the law. It is arguably the most important single document in the history of democracy and the rule of law.
The Salisbury copy is exceptionally well-preserved. Written in medieval Latin on a single sheet of sheepskin parchment, it contains 63 clauses covering everything from the rights of the English Church and protection from arbitrary arrest to the regulation of fish weirs. The famous clause 39 — "No free man shall be imprisoned... except by lawful judgment" — laid the foundation for habeas corpus.
The Chapter House also contains remarkable carved stone friezes from the 1260s depicting scenes from the Old Testament. The combined effect of standing in this medieval space with the Magna Carta before you is genuinely moving — a direct link to 800 years of history.