Salisbury

SALISBURY, a city, having separate civil jurisdiction, locally in the hundred of Underditch, S. division of Wilts, 82 miles (S. W. by W.) from London; containing 10,086 inhabitants. This city owes its origin to the ruin of Old Sarum. The bishops of the diocese for some time had their seat in that place; but from its exposed situation on an eminence, its want of water, and the annoyance to which the bishops were subject from its military tenants, who not only levied contributions on their property, but insulted the priests in the exercise of their devotions, Bishop Herbert Pauper solicited permission from the pope to transfer the see to a more appropriate spot. Bishop Poore, his successor, selected the site of the new city, in a pleasant vale, about two miles from Old Sarum; and in 1220 laid the foundation of the present magnificent cathedral. The completion of that edifice was followed by the removal not only of the members of the establishment, but also of the inhabitants, who, gradually deserting the old town, built houses near the church; and Salisbury consequently soon grew into importance. Its progress was much accelerated by a charter of Henry III., constituting the place a free city, and conferring on its inhabitants the same privileges and immunities as were enjoyed by the people of Winchester. That monarch also empowered the bishop to surround the city and the cathedral-close with walls and ditches, to repair the roads and bridges, and to levy tallage for the completion of the walls. Disputes arising between the ecclesiastical authorities and the citizens respecting these aids, in the reign of Edward I., both parties appealed to the king in council, who decided in favour of the bishop, and deprived the citizens of their charter, which was subsequently restored to them upon an amicable arrangement of the matter by the parties themselves. About this period. Bishop Bridport built a bridge at Harnham, and thus changing the direction of the great western road, which passed through Old Sarum, that place was completely deserted, and Salisbury became one of the most flourishing cities in the kingdom.

Edward I. presided over a parliament here, to deliberate upon measures for recovering the province of Gascoigne, that had been seized upon by Philip of France; on which occasion none of the clergy assisted, the king having suspended them from the exercise of their secular functions for refusing him aid. In the reign of Edward III., a second parliament, for inquiring into the state of the kingdom, was held at Salisbury, to which Mortimer, Earl of March, and his partisans, came with their followers in arms. The Earls of Kent, Norfolk, and Lancaster, who, on being summoned to attend, were prohibited by Mortimer from appearing with any military forces, perceiving on their arrival the warlike preparations of his adherents, retreated for the purpose of assembling their retainers, and returning with an army, were about to take vengeance on Mortimer, when the quarrel was compromised through the intervention of the clergy. From the time of Edward I., the bishops and the citizens appear to have lived in harmony, till the time of Richard II., when the prelate requiring the corporation to concur with him in his efforts to suppress the meetings of the Lollards, who assembled here in great numbers, the latter refused, and the bishop appealing to the crown, obtained an order in council compelling them to assist him in that object. In the reign of Richard III., the Duke of Buckingham, who had headed an unsuccessful insurrection against the king, was taken prisoner in his retreat, and being brought hither, was immediately executed, in 1484, without any trial. No other event of historical importance appears in connexion with the city, till the interregnum after the close of the parliamentary war, when Col. Wyndham, with other gentlemen of the county, marched into Salisbury with 200 armed men, and proclaimed Charles II. king; but they were not supported by the inhabitants of the surrounding country.

The city is pleasantly situated in a spacious valley, near the confluence of the Nadder and the Willey with the river Avon; and consists of several principal streets regularly formed, and intersected at right angles by smaller ones, dividing the town into a number of squares called Chequers. These squares derived their form from the original grant by the bishops of a certain number of perches in front and in depth allotted for building; the areas are laid out in gardens. Most of the buildings are of brick, and modern; many of them are handsome, while some are irregular in form and size, and constructed with timber and brick-work plastered over. The waters of the river run through most of the streets in canals lined with brick, and contribute greatly to their cleanliness. The city is connected by two stone bridges of six arches each, with the suburb of Fisherton, including which it occupies an area nearly three-quarters of a mile square. It is joined to the suburb of East Harnham by an ancient bridge of ten arches, divided into two parts by a small islet, on which was formerly a chapel dedicated to St. John, where three chaplains were appointed to say mass, and to receive the contributions of passengers towards keeping the bridge in repair. Some improvement has been lately effected in paving and lighting, and the town is amply supplied with water. The Salisbury and Wiltshire library and newsroom was established in 1819, and is supported by a proprietary and by annual subscriptions. A small neat theatre is opened for some months in the winter; assemblies and concerts are held occasionally, and races take place in August.

Salisbury was formerly celebrated for its manufactures of flannels, druggets, and the cloths called Salisbury Whites; but these branches of trade are now almost extinct, and what remains is confined to a very inconsiderable number of persons. The town, however, is still noted for the manufacture of select articles of cutlery of superior quality, though the sale is limited; and a silk-factory, employing about 120 persons, has been established for some years. The Salisbury canal, joining the Andover line near Romsey, was originally intended to be continued westward to Bath and Bristol, connecting the Bristol and English Channels, but the completion of the design was abandoned. An act was passed in 1845 for the construction of the Wilts, Somerset, and Weymouth railway, one of whose termini is at Salisbury. The Romsey and Salisbury branch of the London and South-Western railway was opened in 1847; it quits the main line at Bishop's-Stoke, and is 21 miles in length. In 1846 an act was obtained for making another branch of the same railway, from Basingstoke to Andover and Salisbury, 32 miles long. The market-days are Tuesday and Saturday; the former for corn, of which there is an abundant supply, and the latter for cheese and all kinds of provisions: a large cattle-market is held every alternate Tuesday. The fairs are on Tuesday after January 6th, for cattle; the Tuesday after the 25th of March, for cloth; Whit Monday and Tuesday, for horses and pedlery; and October 20th, for butter and cheese. The poultry cross, which appears to have been built in the reign of Edward III., and of which only the lower part is remaining, is situated without the south-west corner of the market-place, an extensive quadrilateral area.

The first charter granted to the city was that by Henry III., in the eleventh year of his reign, which was confirmed by several succeeding sovereigns; but the control, at the time of the passing of the Municipal Corporations' act, was wholly regulated by the charters bestowed by James I., Charles I. and II., and Queen Anne. The government, agreeably with that act, is now vested in a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors. The municipal boundaries are co-extensive with those for parliamentary purposes; the city is divided into three wards, and the number of magistrates is five. Salisbury exercised the elective franchise in the 23rd of Edward I., since which time it has continued to return two members to parliament; the borough was extended in 1832, and now comprises an area of 601 acres: the mayor is returning officer. The recorder holds quarterly courts of session. On the part of the bishop are a bailiff and deputy-bailiff, who may hold a court of record for the recovery of debts to any amount, but no process has issued for several years past; they hold a court leet for the bishop as lord of the manor. The spring assize and the Lent quarter-session for the county regularly take place here, and petty-sessions occur every Monday. The powers of the county debt-court of Salisbury, established in 1847, extend over the registration-districts of Salisbury, Alderbury, Amesbury, and Wilton. The council-house, having been destroyed by fire, was rebuilt in 1795, under the provisions of an act of parliament, at the expense of the late Earl of Radnor; it is a handsome building of white brick, with rustic quoins and cornices of stone, and consists of two wings connected by a central vestibule. The county gaol and bridewell, at the western extremity of Fisherton-Anger, was erected in 1818, at an expense of about £30,000.

The seat of the diocese was originally established about the beginning of the tenth century, at Wilton, in this county, where it continued under the superintendence of eleven successive bishops. Hermannus, the last of these, having been appointed to the see of Sherborne, annexed that bishopric to Wilton, and founded a cathedral for the united dioceses at Old Sarum. The see remained at Old Sarum till the year 1220, when Richard le Poore transferred the episcopal chair to Salisbury, where it has since remained. Under the provisions of the act 6th and 7th of William IV., cap. 77, a considerable alteration has been made in the territorial extent of the diocese, which now comprises the county of Dorset, and part of Wiltshire. The establishment consists of a bishop, dean, precentor, chancellor, treasurer, five canons residentiary, three archdeacons (for Dorset, Sarum, and Wilts), a subdean, succentor, thirty-eight prebendaries, four minor canons or priest-vicars, six singing men, eight choristers, and an organist. The bishop appoints the precentor, the chancellors of the church and diocese, the treasurer, archdeacons, subdean, succentor, and prebendaries, and has an income of £5000. The Dean and Chapter have the patronage of the minor canonries.

The cathedral, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, begun by Richard le Poore in 1220, and completed in 1258, is one of the most interesting ecclesiastical edifices in the kingdom. It is in the form of a double cross, with a highly-enriched tower, rising from the intersection of the nave and larger transepts, and surmounted by a lofty spire which attains the height of 400 feet from the pavement, being the highest in England. The whole building, with the exception only of the upper part of the tower, and the spire, which are of later date, is in the purest style of early English architecture. The west front is divided into five compartments, by buttresses ornamented with canopied niches filled with statues; and between the two central buttresses is the principal entrance, through a richlymoulded arch of spacious dimensions: above the entrance is a large window, and at the angles of the front are square embattled towers, finely enriched, and surmounted by spires. The north front is of considerable beauty; and the end fronts of the transepts, projecting boldly from the sides of the main building, and displaying, in successive series of arches, a pleasing variety of composition, corresponding with the general style, are a fine relief to the exterior.

The interior is exquisitely beautiful, from the loftiness of its elevation and the delicacy and lightness of its structure. The nave is separated from the aisles by clustered columns and pointed arches; the roof, which is plainly groined, is 84 feet high, and the space above the columns is occupied by a triforium of elegant design, and a range of clerestory windows of three lights, of which the central is higher than the rest. The larger transepts, of the same character with the nave, consist of three arches of similar arrangement; and the smaller, of two arches. The choir is divided from the nave by a screen of modern workmanship supporting the organ; it consists of seven arches, and by the removal of the altar-screen, has been connected with the Lady chapel, the roof of which, being lower than that of the choir, in a great degree destroys the effect. The bishop's throne, the pulpit, and the prebendal stalls, are of finely-executed tabernacle-work, and harmonise with the prevailing character of the building; the floor of the choir is of black and white marble, and the east window is embellished with a painting of the Resurrection, by Eginton, from a design by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The choir is also ornamented with a painting of the Elevation of the Brazen Serpent in the Wilderness, from a design by Mortimer, executed by Pearson, the gift of the late Earl of Radnor. The cathedral was lately repaired, under the superintendence of Mr. Wyatt, at an expense of £26,000; the chapels in the transepts have been removed, and their principal ornaments are now distributed in various parts of the building. In the nave, choir, and transepts, are numerous monuments to bishops of the see, among which are those of Bishops Joceline and Roger, the latter perhaps the earliest specimen of monumental sculpture extant; also a monument of a chorister bishop, one of the children of the choir, who died while personating the character of a bishop, according to custom, during the festival of St. Nicholas. There are several monuments to earls of Salisbury, and the neighbouring nobility and gentry. The cloisters are the largest and most magnificent of any in the kingdom, and the cathedral close has entrance gateways of ancient character and of elegant design. The chapterhouse, of an octagonal form, is a beautiful building lighted by lofty windows, with a roof supported by one central clustered column; the frieze is ornamented with subjects from the sacred writings in bas-relief, which are in tolerable preservation. The episcopal palace is the work of different times, and combines various styles; a considerable portion was erected by Dr. Shute Barrington: it contains portraits of nearly all the modern prelates of the see.

The city comprises the parish of St. Edmund, containing 4461 inhabitants; part of St. Martin's, 3051; and the parish of St. Thomas, 2515; also the extraparochial district of the Cathedral Close, with 596 inhabitants. The living of St. Edmund's is a perpetual curacy; net income, £176; patron, the Bishop. The church was formerly collegiate, and is a fine structure in the later English style, with a tower which, having fallen down in 1653, was rebuilt in an appropriate manner; the chancel has been modernised, and contains a beautiful painted window of the Ascension, by Eginton, the gift of the late Samuel Whitchurch, Esq. The living of St. Martin's is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11. 3. 1½.; net income, £188; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter. The church is a spacious building, combining different styles, with a tower surmounted by a spire. The living of St. Thomas' is a perpetual curacy; net income, £118; patrons and appropriators, the Dean and Chapter. The church is a large handsome edifice in the later English style, with a tower on the south side of the south aisle; the chancel and some other parts are specimens of considerable merit, and among the monuments is one supposed to be that of the Duke of Buckingham who was executed here in the reign of Richard III. There are places of worship for Independents, Baptists, Wesleyans, Unitarians, and Roman Catholics. The grammar school in the Close is for the education of eight boys: among the scholars taught in it was Addison, the poet. The city grammar school was instituted by Queen Elizabeth, and is endowed with £15. 9. 1. crown rents, and £10. 12. 2. previously appropriated to the schools at Trowbridge and Bradford, in lieu of which it was established. Among the other schools is one endowed by the late Charles Godolphin, Esq., for the maintenance and education of eight orphans, daughters of poor gentlemen; the mistress is allowed £280 per annum, and £30 for house rent. The Infirmary, a commodious brick building near Fisherton bridge, owes its origin to Lord Feversham, who bequeathed £500 to the first institution of the kind which should be established in the county. The College of Matrons was founded in 1683, for the maintenance of the widows of ten clergymen, by Seth Ward, bishop of the diocese, who assigned to it certain property which was augmented by a bequest by W. Benson Earle in 1794, and some subsequent donations; the buildings are within the Close, and the establishment is under the direction of the Bishop, and the Dean and Chapter.

Bishop Richard le Poore established an hospital near Harnham bridge for a master, eight aged men, and four women, which was completed by his successor, Bishop Bingham, and is now occupied by a master, six aged men, and six women. Trinity Hospital, instituted in 1379 by Agnes Boltenham, and augmented in 1397 by John Chandler, was placed upon its present foundation by charter of James I., and the endowment has since received several additions. Among other similar establishments are, Bricket's hospital, in Exeter-street, established in 1534, for six aged men or women; Eyre's hospital, in Winchester-street, in 1617, for six men and their wives; Blechynden's hospital, in Green Croft-street, in 1683, for six aged widows; Taylor's hospital, in Bedwin-street, founded in 1698, and the endowment subsequently augmented by Matthew Best and Francis Swanton, for six aged men; and Frowd's hospital, in Rolleston-street, instituted in 1750, for six aged men and six women. The affairs of the poor of the three parishes are under a local act; the Close is in the union of Alderbury. A college was established here by Egidius de Bridport in 1260, in which many of the students who had retired from Oxford in consequence of their quarrel with Otho, the Pope's legate, in 1238, afterwards continued their studies. There were formerly remains of a monastery of Grey friars, instituted by the Bishop of Salisbury, in the reign of Henry III., on a site given by that monarch; of a convent of Black friars, to which Edward I., if not the founder of it, was at least a considerable benefactor; of the hospital of St. Michael; and the college of St. Erith.

Among the natives of the city have been, Walter Winterton, cardinal of St. Sabric; William Herman, author of several works in prose and verse; John Thornborough, Bishop of Worcester; George Coryate, author of The Crudities; Michael Muschant, an able civilian and poet; Sir Toby Matthews, a celebrated Jesuit and politician; Dr. Thomas Bennet, a divine and writer; Thomas Chubb and John Eden, distinguished controversial writers; John Greenhill, portrait-painter; William and Henry Lawes, musicians and composers; Dr. Harris, an eminent historian and biographer; James Harris, author of Hermes; John Tobin, author of The Honeymoon, and other dramatic works; and the late Admiral Tobin, who died in 1838. Salisbury gives the title of Marquess to the family of Cecil.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.