SALISBURY, ANCIENT SEE OF

The medieval Diocese of Salisbury (Latin, Saresberiensis ) comprised the counties of Dorset, Wiltshire, and Berkshire, England. In 705 aldhelm became the first bishop of the new See of sherborne, which covered the greater part of Wiltshire and those parts of Dorset and Somerset—and later of Devon—which were under the control of the kings of Wessex. In 909 the see was partitioned: Somerset came under the new bishopric of Wells; Devon, under that of Crediton; and Wiltshire, together with Berkshire (taken from winchester diocese), under that of Ramsbury; leaving only Dorset to Sherborne.

In 1058 Herman, bishop of Ramsbury, was translated to Sherborne, and the two sees were reunited. In 1075 Herman moved his seat from Sherborne to the ancient fortress of Old Sarum, where he began the building of a

cathedral. The cathedral was completed in 1092 but five days after its consecration it was partially destroyed by lightning. It was rebuilt and enlarged from c. 1125 to 1138 during the administration of Bishop roger (lepoer) of salisbury.

Diocesan organization. At Sherborne the cathedral had originally been served by secular canons but was converted to a monastic house c. 993. In 1091 Bishop osmund (1078–99) formally constituted a cathedral chapter at Sarum, which, according to a 15th-century document, consisted of a dean, chanter, chancellor, treasurer, subdean, succentor, four archdeacons, and 32 prebendaries. It is certain that the late-medieval chapter included a dean, subdean, precentor, chancellor, treasurer, four archdeacons, and 52 secular prebendaries. The foundation charter, the Institutio Osmundi, laid down the rules of residence and defined the privileges and jurisdiction granted to the dean and chapter. The original chapter of officials and 32 prebendaries were supported by property given by Osmund. This property was more than doubled through later endowments by kings, magnates, bishops, and lesser men, particularly in the 12th and 13th centuries. Its endowment was at its most lavish during the reign of King henry i, due largely, it may be surmised, to the influence of Bishop Roger of Salisbury.

By the middle of the 13th century, Salisbury diocesan organization was complete. There were the four archdeaconries created in 1091, which were probably territorial jurisdictions from the beginning. Those of Dorset and Berkshire were coterminous with the counties; Wiltshire was divided between two archdeaconries, the Wiltshire archdeaconry being the northern, and Salisbury archdeaconry the southern, part of the county. Dorset was the first of the archdeaconries to appear (1097). Hervey, archdeacon of Salisbury, was so named in 1149; Roger, archdeacon of Wiltshire (under the title of Ramsbury) officiated in 1157; and Geoffrey, archdeacon of Berkshire, officiated c. 1175.

The archdeaconries were divided into rural deaneries; Salisbury had five (Potterne, Wilton, Wylye, Amesbury, and Chalke); Wiltshire had four (Avebury, Malmesbury, Marlborough, and Cricklade); Berkshire had four (Abingdon, Newbury, Reading, and Wallingford); and Dorset had five (Bridport, Dorchester, Pimperne, Shaftesbury, and Whitchurch).

New Sarum or Salisbury. Old Sarum proved to have a number of disadvantages as the site of a cathedral. The hilltop fortress was a superb defensive position, but it was restricted, exposed, and treeless, much subject to gale and storm, and water was scarce, difficult, and expensive to obtain. What made the site intolerable to the cathedral chapter, however, was none of these things but rather the friction between the castle garrison and the cathedral clergy, the castle and cathedral being only yards apart.

Consequently, c. 1200 the decision to move was made. Royal permission was granted, the land was obtained beside the River Avon in the valley below Sarum. In 1219 papal permission was gained, and the foundation stone of the new cathedral was laid in 1220. The east end was consecrated by Abp. stephen langton in 1225; the whole building was consecrated in 1258. The structure was completed with lead roofing in 1266. The chapter house and cloisters were added (c. 1260–80); the central tower was raised, and the great spire added at the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th centuries. The whole of this unified and harmonious building was framed from the beginning by a close of unusual size, so that to this day Salisbury is not only one of the most beautiful but also one of the most beautifully situated cathedrals in the world. During the reign of Henry VIII, Salisbury became part of the Church of England.

See Also: sarum use; simon de ghent.

Bibliography: w. h. r. jones, Fasti ecclesiae Sarisberiensis (Salisbury 1879). Sarum Charters and Documents, ed. w. h. r. jones and w. d. macray in Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores v. 97 (London 1891). The Register of St. Osmund, ed. w. h.r. jones, 2 v., ibid. v. 78 (London 1883). d. burnett, Salisbury: The History of an English Cathedral City (Tisbury, Eng. 1978). k. edwards, Salisbury Cathedral: An Ecclesiastical History (Trowbridge, Eng. 1986). t. cocke and p. kidson, Salisbury Cathedral: Perspectives on the Architectural History (London 1993). p. brimacombe, A Tale of Two Cathedrals: Old Sarum, New Salisbury (London 1997).

[j. l. grassi/eds.]