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💡 Did You Know?— 120 facts in our database
Salisbury Cathedral has the tallest spire in Britain at 123 metres (404 feet) — it was completed around 1320 and has stood for over 700 years.
One of only four surviving original copies of Magna Carta (1215) is kept in Salisbury Cathedral — it's one of the most important documents in democratic history.
The clock inside Salisbury Cathedral is thought to be the oldest working mechanical clock in the world, dating to around 1386 — over 630 years old.
Salisbury Cathedral was built in just 38 years (1220–1258), which is extraordinarily fast for a medieval building of its size — most cathedrals took centuries.
The Cathedral Close is the largest in England at 80 acres — it contains some of the finest medieval and Georgian architecture in the country.
Browse by Topic
Salisbury Cathedral
England's tallest spire, Magna Carta, the world's oldest clock and 800 years of architecture.
Old Sarum
Iron Age hillfort, Norman castle, medieval city — and the world's most famous rotten borough.
Medieval Salisbury
The wool trade, the city's founding grid, the market charter, and the Black Death.
Famous People
Nobel Prize winners, Prime Ministers, artists and authors who lived or visited Salisbury.
Pub History
Medieval chantry houses, Georgian coaching inns, mummified hands and 700 years of drinking.
Transport History
Roman roads, coaching routes, the arrival of the railway and how the city was connected to the world.
Arts & Culture
Constable's obsession, Golding's spire, Pepys's diary and the city's rich creative heritage.
Military History
The Civil War, Salisbury Plain's military use, WW1 and WW2 in the city and surrounding area.
Rivers & Water
Five rivers, 16 medieval mills, water meadows and one of England's finest chalk streams.
Legends & Folklore
Ghosts in the Cathedral Close, a mummified pub hand, witch trials and local legends.
All 19 Articles
The world's most comprehensive guide to Salisbury history.
