Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Early English Gothic architecture. Unusually, its main body was built in a single coherent campaign between 1220 and 1258, giving it a remarkable unity of style rarely found in medieval cathedrals.
The cathedral is crowned by the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom, completed around 1330 and rising to 123 metres, an audacious feat of medieval engineering that continues to dominate the surrounding water meadows famously painted by John Constable. It also possesses the largest cloister and one of the largest cathedral closes in Britain, and houses the best-preserved of the four surviving original 1215 copies of Magna Carta.
Within, the cathedral holds the world's oldest working mechanical clock, dating from around 1386, alongside soaring Purbeck marble columns and elegant proportions. A living place of daily worship, Salisbury Cathedral remains both a masterpiece of architecture and a custodian of one of the foundational documents of Western liberty.
- Annual visitors
- ≈ 500,000
- Location
- 51.0647, -1.7975
- Local time
- 23:33 (Europe/London)
🕘 Visiting hours
| Mon–Sat | 09:00–17:00 |
| Sun | 12:00–16:00 |
Sunday limited visiting around services; approximate
✨ Saints & blessed venerated here
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Mary the Virgin Saint
Patron; the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Osmund Saint
Bishop of Old Sarum, canonised saint whose shrine and tomb are in the cathedral
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Edmund Rich (Edmund of Abingdon) Saint
Treasurer of Salisbury who became Archbishop of Canterbury; venerated here
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Nicholas of Myra Saint
Historic dedication associated with the cathedral and close
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Aldhelm Saint
Early Wessex saint and bishop venerated within the diocesan tradition
Care & donations
The Chapter of Salisbury Cathedral
Suggested donation / admission charge; free entry for worship
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