SALISBURY CATHEDRAL
Salisbury is one of the finest examples of Early English architecture in England. It was built for the most part in one style and at one period, and therefore does not present to us that varied conglomeration of the art of different ages which we see in most of our ecclesiastical edifices. The story of its building is full of interest, and we must look for the original home of the Salisbury diocese on the wind-swept fortified heights of Old Sarum, where Bishop Herman fixed his episcopal seat in Early Norman times. The early history of the sees of Southern England is somewhat complicated. When the Story of the Cross was first proclaimed here, and the savage Saxons became Christianised, the whole of Wessex and Sussex were comprised in the see of Dorchester, a small village in Oxfordshire. This huge bishopric was then divided into the two sees of Winchester and Sherborne. Then Selsey (afterwards Chichester) was taken out of Winchester, which diocese was again divided, and Ramsbury formed. Out of the diocese of Sherborne, Wells and Crediton were constituted, and then Bishop Herman in 1058 united the sees of Ramsbury and Sherborne, and formed the diocese of Salisbury, fixing his seat at Old Sarum, the Saxon town of Searobyrig. On this hill fortress seven prelates ruled, amongst whom were the saintly Osmund (1078-1099), who completed the first Cathedral, of which no stone remains, and compiled the famous "Use of Sarum," the model of all service-books in the South of England; Bishop Roger (1102-1107), a most powerful prelate and castle-builder; Jocelyn de Bohun (1142-1184), the opponent of Becket; Hubert Walter (1188-1193), a crusading bishop, the companion of Richard Cœur de Lion; Herbert le Poer or Poore (1194-1216), and then his brother or kinsman, Richard Poore (1217-1228), the founder of the present Cathedral. Various reasons are assigned for the transference of the see. Old Sarum lacked water. It was a lofty, barren height, swept by every wind of heaven, and "when the wind did blow they could not hear the priest say Mass." But the real reason was the quarrel between the clergy and the soldiers who guarded the castle of the king. On one occasion, when during Rogationtide the ecclesiastics went in solemn procession to the Church of St. Martin, on their return they found the gates closed against them, and had to remain without shelter during a long winter's night. Similar insults frequently being offered them, the bishop and his clergy determined to seek a new home. Whither should they go? Legends tell us of the arrow shot at random from the heights of Old Sarum, of the bishop's mysterious dream, wherein the Virgin appeared and told him to seek for the spot Mœrfield, of his talking with the Abbess of Wilton, and her reply that he had plenty of land of his own without seeking to spoil her. At any rate the bishop gave the land for his new Cathedral out of his own domain, and he began to build the stately edifice which we now see. The first stones were laid on the feast of St. Vitalis, April 28, 1220; one Elias of Dereham was the master-mason, and the work progressed rapidly until Bishop Poore was translated to Durham in 1228. There his "Chapel of the Nine Altars" attests to the love of building which he acquired at Salisbury, and the similarity of the styles of architecture. His successors continued to build with much zeal, and in the time of Bishop Giles de Bridport (1257-1262) the church was consecrated by Archbishop Boniface, of Savoy, in the presence of Henry III. and his court. The church was now complete. Only forty-six years were spent in its building—a marvellous achievement. The monastic buildings were begun by Bishop Walter Delawyle (1262-1270). As yet the tower was not so high as it is now, and there was no spire; but the fourteenth century had scarcely begun before the two upper storeys were added, and the lofty spire, which forms such a glorious crown of this beautiful structure. It was the work of the mason, Richard of Farleigh, who was at the same time engaged on work at Bath and Reading. In the time of Bishop Wyvil (1329-1375) Edward III. granted permission to fortify the close, and to use the stones from the Cathedral of Old Sarum for this purpose. Hence in the walls which surround the close we see Norman carvings which once adorned the ancient edifice. Of this Bishop Fuller says that "it is hard to say whether he was more dunce than dwarf, more unlearned or unhandsome, insomuch that Walsingham tells us that had the Pope ever seen him (as he no doubt felt him in his large fees) he would never have conferred the place upon him." His curious brass tells of his recovering for his see the Castle of Sherborne and the Chase of Bere, of which the bishopric had been wrongfully despoiled. Prominent among its bishops was Robert Hallam (1408-1417), who was present at the Council of Constance, which saw the burning of Huss and Jerome of Prague, and strove hard to avert their fate. Bishop Ayscough (1438-1450) was murdered by the rebel followers of Jack Cade at Edingdon. Bishop Beauchamp (1450-1481) built the great hall of the palace, and his chantry (destroyed by Wyatt). Here one of the unhappy Woodvilles, brother of Edward IV.'s queen, was bishop (1482-1485), and he had the unhappiness of seeing his brother-in-law, the Duke of Buckingham, beheaded at Salisbury, just before the battle of Bosworth (cf. Shakespeare's Richard III.). Cardinal Campeggio was bishop just before the Reformation, and after Wolsey's disgrace was deprived of his see. There are no records to show what damage was done during that stormy period, but probably the niches of the west front were deprived of many of their images at this time, the windows broken, and the treasury shorn of its plate and relics. One of the best of the Salisbury bishops was Jewel, the author of the Apology of the Church of England (1560-1571), who built the library over the cloisters. During the Civil War Ludlow's soldiers were quartered here, and garrisoned the belfry, but they seem to have behaved with extraordinary mildness. The Cathedral had powerful protectors, and when some of Waller's men carried off some church goods, the Parliament ordered that these should be restored. Bishop Seth Ward (1667-1688), one of the founders of the Royal Society, did much to repair his Cathedral, and restored the palace, which was ruinous, having been bought by one Van Ling from the Parliament, and partly converted into cottages. Unhappily the arch-destroyer, Wyatt, was turned loose on the building at the end of the eighteenth century, who wrought vast and irreparable destruction, which it is pitiable to see. Since his day there have been many efforts to obliterate his work; vast sums have been spent, and the Cathedral restored to much of its ancient glory and beauty.
The Exterior
Salisbury Cathedral
As we enter the Cathedral precincts we are at once struck with the wondrous beauty and charm of this peaceful close, which surrounds, with its circling green sward, the magnificent Gothic pile. All writers have vied with each other in singing the praises of this grand achievement of Gothic art, and nowhere can we gain a better view of the grand proportions of this church, with its noble spire, than from the south-east or north-east corner of the close. Around us are the venerable walls of the fortifications, erected in the time of Edward III., who granted a license for this purpose, and gave leave to the bishop to pull down the walls of Old Sarum, in order to provide the stone. Embedded in the wall we find some stones with Norman carving, which bespeak their former location in the Norman buildings on the old stronghold of Sarum. The grand Spire is the highest in England (400 feet). The tower on which it stands is Early English as far as the first storey; the two higher storeys were added in the early part of the fourteenth century, and are Early Decorated. The whole structure is magnificent. On each side there is an arcade, richly canopied, and having double windows. At each angle there is a turret, with a small crocketed spire, and from a mass of richly-decorated pinnacles the great spire rises. In the capstone still remains a small leaden box containing a fragment of decayed silk or fine linen, doubtless a relic of the Virgin. The spire has sometimes caused anxiety, and has been strengthened by metal bands, but the Early English sub-structure has sustained with wonderful constancy the weight of the two higher storeys and the spire which the somewhat venturesome builders of the time of Edward III. forced them to bear.
The West Front it is the fashion to abuse. It has been censured for its "parcellings" and "raggedness." Professor Freeman denies the honesty of such fronts, because they extend beyond the walls of the aisles and nave, and are what the professors of "true principles" call "shams." Such criticisms fail to recognise the real object of such screens, which was to set forth a chronicle in stone of the history of the church, and people the niches with figures of the great men and benefactors, the saints and heroes, whose memories are here enshrined. It is no "sham," and we must try to imagine it as it really was, not shorn of half its beauties, bereft of its images, or supplied with the works of modern art which do not always harmonise with their surroundings. Inferior it may be to the fronts of Wells or Lincoln, but it still possesses many merits, and is certainly impressive. It was the last completed portion of the Cathedral, as in the mouldings we see the ball-flower which is the sign-manual of the Decorated period. There is a central portion with a gable and buttresses, and a compartment on each side flanked by small towers with small spires. There are five storeys. In the lowest there is a triple porch, deeply recessed with canopies. The west window is large, and is a triplet divided by slender clustered shafts. There are about 100 niches which have been filled with some of the best examples of modern art by Mr. Redfern. Above all we see our Lord in glory, to whom all the others are offering their praise.