ld Sarum's site has been used for thousands of years for one use or another. The Iron Age hill fort could have been built for defence to accommodate the whole community at times of attack. Several Roman roads appear to congregate around the Old Sarum area, but whether the Roman roads were built from scratch by the Romans or built upon earlier lines is open for debate. One thing of interest about the position of Old Sarum is its alignment with other ancient sites in the area, including the Clearbury Ring, the Charlton Clumps, Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. In fact, they are all in a straight line Location
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Old Sarum
| County | Categories | ||
| Remains | Small amount survives | Access | Only open at certain times |
| Location | 51.0934,-1.8057 (Google Maps) ///spreading.faded.punks | Directions | Directions via Google Maps |
| County |
| Categories |
| Remains |
Small amount survives |
| Access |
Only open at certain times |
| Location |
| 51.0934,-1.8057 ///spreading.faded.punks |
| Directions |
| Directions via Google Maps |
ld Sarum's site has been used for thousands of years for one use or another. The Iron Age hill fort could have been built for defence to accommodate the whole community at times of attack. Several Roman roads appear to congregate around the Old Sarum area, but whether the Roman roads were built from scratch by the Romans or built upon earlier lines is open for debate. One thing of interest about the position of Old Sarum is its alignment with other ancient sites in the area, including the Clearbury Ring, the Charlton Clumps, Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. In fact, they are all in a straight line Location
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Norman Conquest (click here)
Norman Conquest (click here)
The First Barons' War (click here)
The First Barons' War (click here)
Timeline
1070
...
Castle at Old Sarum
Using the prehistoric hill fort's defensive position to good use, the Normans built a new castle on the Old Sarum site. William the Conqueror paid off his soldiers here in this year.
1072
...
Old Sarum Cathedral
The first cathedral at Old Sarum was built between 1075 and 1092. Its builder was Bishop Osmund, who was supposed to be William the Conqueror's nephew. From 1072 until 1078, Osmund was William's Chancellor and in 1078 Osmund was given the title of Bishop of Salisbury.
1075
...
Council of London
At the Council of London Archbishop Lanfranc instigated the movement of many English Bishoprics to more important locations. Amongst these were the Bishopric of Sherborne and Wilton which moved to Old Sarum and Selsey which moved to Chichester.
1078
...
Osmond becomes Bishop at Old Sarum
Osmond was a Norman who came to England with William the Conqueror. He exchanged his noble title for that of a religious one and became Bishop at Old Sarum after Herbert. Osmond continued the construction work of a new cathedral at Old Sarum.
1086
August 1
Oath of Salisbury
William the Conqueror called a meeting at Old Sarum where he invited his most important vassals and tenants-in-chief in England to swear allegiance to him. The oath is now known as the Oath of Salisbury.
1092
...
Old Sarum Cathedral completed and dedicated
The cathedral at Old Sarum was completed and dedicated to Blessed Virgin. The cathedral was damaged by a storm only five days after the dedication service and the roof destroyed. The location of the cathedral meant it exposed to the wind and the sermons were sometimes drowned out by the sound.
1194
...
Plans to move Old Sarum cathedral
Bishop Herbert Poore presented plans to move the cathedral at Old Sarum to a new site nearer the river to be called New Sarum, or now Salisbury. Richard I approved the plan.
1217
September 12
Treaty of Kingston
The defeat of the French fleet left Prince Louis without much hope of taking the English throne. William Marshall blockaded London from the sea and land and at Lambeth Louis accepted peace terms. Louis waived his claim to the throne of England and should have restored Normandy to Henry but did not. Louis was paid 10,000 marks to ensure he left the country as soon as possible. William Marshall pardoned all those who had supported Louis.
1220
...
Salisbury Cathedral rebuilding started
A new site 2 miles from the original site at Old Sarum was chosen for the new Salisbury Cathedral. For a cathedral the construction work was completed in a very short time and the building was consecrated in 1258 only 38 years later.
3D Virtual Reconstructions
Transport yourself back up to a thousand years and explore historical buildings as they may have appeared in the past. Built using the popular game development tool Unity 3D, these reconstructions will run in the most of the popular web browsers on your desktop or laptop computer.
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