How does a culture withstand the test of time? When we look at the Romans and the Greeks we still find the many sculptures, frescos, and mosaics that are on display at the most world-renowned museums that give a glimpse of the past, but the art that truly defies time is architecture. Think of the Coliseum, the Parthenon, Hagia Sophia, and many others, each of these edifices have distinct characteristics that have defined these cultures. One of England most architecturally impressive buildings is the St. Salisbury Cathedral. As one of England’s oldest active Cathedrals, she has an astounding 800 years of history to tell. This story has been written through the several decades of early construction, the creation of a new style of worship, the Protestant Reformation and the creation of the Anglican Church, and modern restorative efforts to the cathedrals current state.
England’s religious sphere at the start of the 13th century was under control by the Roman Catholic Church, and all of its subjects pertained to this religion. The influence of Catholicism came crashing in like a wave after the successful mission of St. Augustine, commissioned by Pope Gregory the Great . This mission brought about a unification of the smaller Christian sects that were spread throughout the British Isles after influential kings and leaders were converted. As both the religion and population grew it became necessary to build a place of worship. The foundational stone were laid on the 28th of April 1220. Construction of the edifice continued throughout the next few decades, with the main body of the Cathedral being completed on the 29th of September 1258. The West Front, the Cloister, the Chapter House, and the once existing Bell Tower were all completed by the end of 1266 A.D. Many donated to the completion of the chapel including King Henry III (who donated the timber as far as Ireland), the bishop, the deans, and fifty-two canons (who donated portions of their income that derived from their own estates), and the marble that makes up the capitals, shafts and columns all coming from a quarry owned by Alice Brewer . Her gift of marble was arguably the greatest contribution to the completion of the cathedral. The famous spire that dominates the skyline towers over 400 feet above the ground and has been the tallest spire in England since the 17th century. The final completion of the spire ended 70 years later, after the main body of the cathedral had been established . The design of the cathedral is model after the Byzantine cross style that developed in the early Christian era and was dominant style at the rise of the Orthodox and Catholic churches. The inside is broken up into the nave (which is the main space for worship), the choir (where the altar for worship would normally be located), the transepts (which jet out on both sides of the nave giving the cathedral the cross like appearance), the dome at the center (adapted from the central plan of the early Roman church), and the chapels (where past bishops and famous saints would be entombed). This way of building cathedrals from the Medieval Era is known as the Early English Gothic .
The Salisbury Cathedral has not only been a lasting testament of medieval English architecture, but also to a special form of worship that originated from the region known as The Sarum Rite. The word sarum is derived from a former city that was located near Salisbury and was eventually abandoned; the word rite refers to “a particular form or system of religious or other ceremonial practice” . During an era before Gutenberg’s press, when few were educated and communication was limited, it was important to find a way to teach a society how to worship. Different from almost all churches at the time, the Salisbury Cathedral had never been used as a monastery and therefore didn’t follow the monastic patterns of worship separating this distinctive local traditional style of worship into one that was not only different from all those of England but would offer a more adaptable way of worship for future use throughout England. The Sarum Rite is distinct to the previously established patterns of worship by the large layout of the floor plan of the cathedral where the procession could be made around the many altars, wide aisles and cloisters, and the large galleries filled with the singers. This pattern soon dominated English patterns of worship, and by the 16th century the Sarum Rite was at its greatest influence throughout the country, as printing had made it easier for this distinctive pattern of worship to be spread abroad . However, the next ensuing decades would see a change in the world of religion as the Roman Catholic Church was contested by men like Martin Luther and England’s King Henry VIII, whose feud with the pope would cause a division and creation of a new religion.
The 16th century saw a religious turmoil as King Henry VIII and Martin Luther began to challenge and eventually separate from the Roman Catholic authority which would come to be known as the Protestant Reformation. King Henry’s discontent started with Pope Clement VII who refused to grant the king a divorce to his wife Catherine of Aragon. King Henry had many issues with the authority of Rome and spent most of his reign challenging the Vatican. The denial of his divorce from Rome was the tipping point that set in motion the separation of England from Rome and the creation of what is now known as the Anglican Church . Right about the time that England began it disassociation with the Roman Catholic Church, Martin Luther had nail his famous 95 Theses on the doors of the Wittenberg’s Castle Church in Germany effectively beginning the Protestant Reformation and causing an uproar that divided religion and the effects can still be seen in the present day. These two incidents brought about many changes to the ways of worship in England, including changes that took place at the Salisbury Chapel. The changes included the destruction of important relics, patterns of worship, and changing perceptions of books common among Catholic worship which were seen as heretic. Osmund’s shrine located on the premise was completely destroyed, the chantries were done away with, stone altars were torn down and replaced with wooden tables, and statues of the saints were removed. Even with the turmoil of this great religious change the Salisbury Chapel still held onto the organization that had previously existed and had far less alteration than other cathedrals had seen. The new defining characteristics of the Anglican Church were the focus on teachings found in the Bible that were now preached in English instead of Latin, the creation of the Book of Common Prayer in 1552 (taking the once complicated Latin liturgy and simplifying it into English), and a single ‘use’ (such as the Sarum Rite) that was universal throughout the kingdom . Today the Anglican Church has some 80 million members throughout the world that still serve faithfully in their respective diocese and churches.
With the Salisbury Cathedral closing on three centuries of usage, it became apparent that there needed to be some restorative effort taken to keep the church from slipping into decay. The past three centuries had seen medieval unrest affected by the Bubonic plague that killed nearly half of the world’s population at the time, the religious upheaval of the separation of England from the Roman Catholic church, and a civil war that brought the battlefield to Sarum. The battle caused significant damage to the bell tower that would lead to the eventual disassembly of the upper part of the tower and the subsequent removal of the remains that would continue in later years. During the 17th century, Sir Christopher Wren, one of England’s most renowned architects, was brought in by request of the bishop at the time to assess what improvements could be made to the chapel. He advised that spire be reinforced by attaching iron bands in the internal support of the structure; he also advised the remodeling of the choir which also included new decoration . After the completion of Sir Wren request and the passing of a few generations, the 18th century brought about several aesthetic changes to the edifice led by two men, Francis Price and James Wyatt, who were entrusted with the task of restoring and the repairing the damage done by time. Francis Price was the first to begin the restorative work on the cathedral . He is accredited with the restorative work on the roof as well as the roof structures on the east, and for publishing the first book about the cathedral, which contains a record of the building that encompassed the years 1737 to 1753. The year 1758 saw the removal of the lecture room and the remains of the damaged portion of the bell tower, and from 1777-1779 the cathedral was closed for cleaning and beautification. In 1789, Bishop Shute Barrington commissioned James Wyatt to do extensive work on the cathedral, which led to the removal of two porches and two chantries on the east porch and the leveling and draining of the churchyard. Some of the changes that I was not excited to read about were the removal of the medieval glass, the wall paintings, and vaulted décor that was to a simpler formatted interior now that the nave was no longer used for worship. Following a revival during the 19th century and the employment of Sir George Scott, many of the old medieval styles found in cathedrals made a comeback. Scott repainted the Quire Vault, the Trinity Chapel and the new High Altar were again detached into two distinct portions of the chapel, the choir stalls rejuvenated to their medieval appearance, he added back the statues that were once removed, and the addition of the new Willis pipe organ . One of the most important restoration project that took place and that is dear to me was that of the stained-glass windows. I remember as a boy I visited an orthodox church with a childhood friend, and what I remember the most are the windows. I remember how the light danced across the images as they told the story of the scriptures and the images of the important saints. Between the end of 18th century and the alteration made during the 19th century the Salisbury Chapel has remained for the most part unaltered but very well preserved to the present day.
I am impressed by this cathedral and the rich history that accompanies it. Through the several centuries that it has endured is still stands as a beacon of faith and religious strength to the people of England. I believe that author Robert Stevenson put it best when he said, “I never weary of great churches. It is my favorite kind of mountain scenery. Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral.” The Salisbury Cathedral is that mountain scenery to the English people and may it ever stand a testament to those who sacrificed to build, restore, and maintain this impressive cathedral.