Woodcut of Old Sarum as it was during its height

Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, England, with evidence of human habitation as early as 300 BC. It sits on a hill about 3km (two miles) north of modern Salisbury. Download high resolution version (1419x1674, 131 KB)Old Sarum This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (1419x1674, 131 KB)Old Sarum This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... A woodcut is a method of printing in which an image is carved into the surface of a piece of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with chisels. ... Salisbury Cathedral by Constable. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC - 300s BC - 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC Years: 305 BC 304 BC 303 BC 302 BC 301 BC - 300 BC - 299 BC 298 BC...

Old Sarum was initially a hill fort strategically situated on the conjunction of two trade routes and the River Avon, Hampshire. The hill fort is broadly oval in shape and measures 405m in length and 360m in width, consisting of a single circuit of bank and ditch with an entrance in the eastern end. The term hill fort is commonly used by archeologists to describe fortified enclosures located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. ... The River Avon is a river in the county of Hampshire in the south of England. ...

Among the earliest antiquarian records, Old Sarum is described as a city of the Belgae; and its historical details have proved an exhaustless mine for the researches of topographical illustrators.

Thus, Sir R.C. Hoare describes it as "a city of high note in the remotest periods by the several barrows near it, and its proximity to the two largest Druidical temples in England, namely, Stonehenge and Abury."^{[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sarum#endnote_Hoare)} In the Celtic religion, the word Druid denotes the priestly class in ancient Celtic societies which existed through much of Western Europe north of the Alps and in the British Isles. ... Stonehenge Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age monument located near Amesbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Salisbury. ...

The Romans held it as a strong military station, and it was admitted to the privileges of the Latin law, under the name of Sorbiodunum^{[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sarum#endnote_Cirericesler)}. The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Caesar Augustus. ...

Cynric, king of Wessex, was said to have captured the place in 552. Under the Saxons it ranked among the most considerable towns of the West kingdom, and possessed ecclesiastical establishments soon after the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity^{[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sarum#endnote_Faustina)}. Cynric of Wessex ruled as king of Wessex from 534 to 560. ... Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the kingdom of England. ... Events July - Battle of Taginae: The Byzantine general Narses defeats and kills Totila, king of the Ostrogoths. ...

In the early part of the ninth century it was the frequent residence of Egbert; and in 960, Edgar assembled here a national council to devise the best means of repelling the Danes in the north^{[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sarum#endnote_Brompton)}.

Arthur commanded it to be more strongly fortified by another trench and high palisadoes^{[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sarum#endnote_Dodsworth)}.

In 1086, William the Norman convened in this city the prelates, nobles, sheriffs, and knights of his new dominions, there to receive their homage;^{[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sarum#endnote_Hoveden)} and probably, within its walls was framed the feudal law, as Domesday Book was commenced in the same year. Two other national councils were held here; one by William Rufus, in 1096, and another by Henry I in 1116. Events Domesday Book is completed in England Emperor Shirakawa of Japan starts his cloistered rule Imam Ali Mosque is rebuilt by the Seljuk Malik Shah I after being destroyed by fire. ... Domesday Book (also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester), was the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William the Conqueror, that was like a census by the government today. ...

Peter of Blois, an early ecclesiastical writer, described Old Sarum as "barren, dry, and solitary, exposed to the rage of the wind; and the church (stands) as a captive on the hill where it was built, like the ark of God shut up in the profane house of Baal."^{[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Sarum#endnote_Blesensis)}

After the Norman Conquest, the town was renamed Salisberie after the Earl who received the area. He built a wooden castle with a ditch, and in 1067 started a cathedral and bishop's palace. He completed it in 1092 (it burned down five days later), and in 1100 built a stone keep. A replacement cathedral was completed in 1190. Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest was the conquest of the Kingdom of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ... The Alcázar of Segovia, Spain A castle (from the Latin castellum, diminutive of castra, a military camp, in turn the plural of castrum or watchpost), is a fort, a camp and the logical development of a fortified enclosure. ... Events Constantine X emperor of the Byzantine Empire dies. ... A cathedral is a Christian church building, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy (such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Anglican churches), which serves as the central church of a bishopric. ... Events May 9 - Lincoln Cathedral is consecrated. ... For alternate uses, see Number 1100. ... Events March 16 - Massacre and mass-suicide of the Jews of York, England prompted by Crusaders. ...

But space ran out and water was in short supply on the hilltop, with cathedral and castle sitting cheek by jowl and their respective chiefs in regular conflict; so in 1219 the bishop started construction on a new cathedral on the banks of the Avon. A new settlement grew up around this, called New Sarum, and eventually the name of Salisbury was used only for the new town. Old Sarum was slowly abandoned and fell into ruin. Not much is still standing there, but visitors may easily trace the outlines of the old castle and cathedral. Events Saint Francis of Assisi introduces Catholicism into Egypt, during the Fifth Crusade Ongoing events Fifth Crusade (1217-1221) Births Frederick II the Quarrelsome, last Babenberg Duke of Austria Deaths Jayavarman VII, ruler of the Khmer Empire Minamoto no Sanetomo, third shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan Monarchs/Presidents... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who holds a specific position of authority in any of a number of Christian churches. ...

Such are a few of the chronological data of the principal events in the history of Old Sarum; these, however, will suffice to elucidate the antiquity of the city, and from their historical importance cannot fail to make the preceding engraving a subject of general as well as of local interest, especially as it represents the old city, previous to its reduction in 553.

Scarcely a vestige of human habitation now remains of Old Sarum, as we have shown once a place "of great importance—and a city adorned with many proud structures—a splendid cathedral and other churches—a castle with lofty towers and ramparts—regular streets and houses—and once the residence of a numerous population." But all these have passed away, and nought is left to tell the tale of their greatness, but a few crumbling wrecks of massy walls; whilst vast fosses and elevated ramparts remain to mark it as the site of desolating war. The contrast of time-worn ruins with their surrounding scenes of luxuriant nature is affecting even to melancholy. A recent visiter to the area of Old Sarum describes "a field of oats flourishing on the very spot where the crowded street had formerly extended itself; and a barrier existing to the further progress of agriculture, by the remains of the cathedral, castle, &c. forming heaps of rubbish barely covered with scanty and unprofitable verdure."

What remains of the inner castle, circa 2005

The space occupied by the ancient city is stated to have been nearly 2,000 feet in diameter, surrounded with a fosse, or ditch, of immense depth, and two ramparts, inner and outer: on the inner, which was much higher than the outer, stood a wall nearly 12 feet thick at its foundation, of flint and chalk, strongly cemented together, and cased with hewn stone, on which was a parapet with battlements. In the centre, on the summit of the hill, stood the castle or citadel, surrounded with a very deep intrenchment and a high rampart; and in the area beneath, forming a wide space between the inner and outer ramparts, stood the city, divided into equal parts, north and south; near the middle of each division was a gate—these two being the grand entrances, with a tower and mole over and before each. Besides these were ten other towers, at equal distances round the city; and opposite them, in a straight line with the castle, were built the principal streets, intersected in the middle with one grand circular street, encompassing the whole city. In the angle to the north-west stood the cathedral, and episcopal palace, and the houses of the clergy. I, the creator of this image, hereby release it into the public domain. ... I, the creator of this image, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

The area of the city was also divided into nearly equal parts by intrenchments and ramparts thrown up, by which means if one part was taken, the other was still defensible; and if the whole of the out-works were in the hands of the enemy, the besieged could retire to the castle, whose walls were impregnable. There appears to have been but one entrance to the castle, on the east. There were five wells, four in the city and one in the castle, designed chiefly to support the garrison and inhabitants in time of war, or during a siege.

Decline

The decline of (Old) Sarum, which was very rapid, has been traced to a disagreement between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. During the reign of Henry I. the bishop of Old Sarum, who rose to that dignity, from being a parish priest at Caen, was entrusted with the keys of the fortress. The bishop, however, fell into disgrace, the king resumed the command of the castle, and the military openly insulted the disgraced prelate and the clergy. These animosities increasing, the Empress Maude bestowed many gifts upon the cathedral, and added much land to its grants. Herbert, a subsequent bishop of the see, attempted to remove the establishment, but its execution was reserved for his brother and successor, Richard Poor, whose monument is in the south chancel of the present cathedral at Salisbury. This was about the year 1217, from which time the inhabitants of Old Sarum removed their residence, and pulled down their dwellings, with the materials of which they constructed their new habitations: and as one city increased in population and extent, so the other almost as rapidly decayed. Hence the establishment of New Sarum, or Salisbury.

Old Sarum's long history makes it a popular location for historical reenactments. Reenactors of the American Civil War Historical reenactment is an activity in which participants recreate some aspects of a historical event or period. ...

Old Sarum by John Constable, 1829

Old Sarum by John Constable, 1829 The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Old Sarum by John Constable, 1829 The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Categories: Stub | 1776 births | 1837 deaths | British painters | Romantic art | Suffolk | Romanticism ...

Legislative infamy (As a rotten borough)

From the reign of Edward II Old Sarum elected two members to the House of Commons, despite the fact that from at least the 17th century it had no resident voters at all. One of the members in the 18th century was William Pitt the Elder. In 1831 it had eleven voters, all of whom were landowners who lived elsewhere. This made Old Sarum the most notorious of the rotten boroughs. The Reform Act 1832 completely disenfranchised Old Sarum. The term rotten borough (or pocket borough, as they were seen as being in the pocket of a patron) refers to a parliamentary borough or constituency in the Kingdom of England (pre-1707), the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1801), the Kingdom of Ireland (1536-1801) and the United Kingdom... This article is about the fourteenth century king of England. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (15 November 1708–11 May 1778) was a British statesman who achieved his greatest fame as war minister during the Seven Years War and who was later Prime Minister of Great Britain. ... 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The British Reform Act of 1832 (2 & 3 Will. ...

References

1. ^  "Ancient Wilts," --Sir R.C. Hoare, speaking of Stonehenge, expresses his opinion that "our earliest inhabitants were Celts, who naturally introduced with them their own buildings customs, rites, and religions ceremonies, and to them I attribute the erection of Stonehenge, and the greater part of the sepulchral memorials that still continue to render its environs so truly interesting to the antiquary and historian." Abury, or Avebury, is a village amidst the remains of an immense temple, which for magnificence and extent is supposed to have exceeded the more celebrated fabric of Stonehenge; Some enthusiastic inquirers have however, carried their supposition beyond probability, and in their zeal have even supposed them to be antediluvian labours! Many of the barrows in the vicinity of Sarum have been opened, and in them several antiquarian relics have been discovered. In short, the whole county is one of high antiquarian interest, and its history has been illustrated with due fidelity and research.
2. ^  Richard of Cirericesler, p. 31, 68, 113.
3. ^  Cott. Coll. Faustina, b. 3, MSS. Brit Mus.
4. ^  Brompton Twysd. 866.
5. ^  Dodsworth's History of Salisbury Cathedral.
6. ^  Roger de Hoveden.
7. ^  Petrus Blesensis, Epist, 105.