Christ
Church Cathedral
Founded
597 by St. Augustine. Mother Church of the Anglican Communion.
Romanesque Crypt. 12th century Gothic Quire. 14th-15th century Nave.
Site of Becket's Martyrdom and Shrine. Notable stained glass.
The
foundation of this splendid Cathedral dates back to the coming of
the first archbishop, Augustine, from Rome in A.D. 597, but the
earliest part of the present building is the great Romanesque crypt
built circa 1100. The monastic "quire" erected on top of this at the
same time was destroyed by fire in 1174, only 4 years after the
murder of Thomas Becket on a dark December evening in the northwest
transept, still one of the most famous places of pilgrimage in
Europe. The destroyed "quire" was immediately replaced by a
magnificent early Gothic one, the first major expression of that
architectural style in England. Its architects were the Frenchman,
William of Sens and "English" William, who took his place after the
Frenchman was crippled in an accident in 1178 that later proved
fatal.
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 Christ
Church Cathedral, Canterbury, England,
597-15th
century
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Saint Mary
Cathedral
Salisbury,
England 1220-1258
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Saint Mary Cathedral
Formerly New Sarum city in Salisbury district, administrative and
historic county of Wiltshire, England, at the confluence of the
Rivers Avon and Wiley. It has functioned historically as the
principal town of Wiltshire and is the seat of an Anglican bishop.
The origins of Salisbury lie in Old Sarum, an Early Iron Age fort
1.5 miles (2.5 km) north taken over by the Romans. Underthe Saxons
it became an important town, and by the 11th century it possessed a
mint. The Normans built a castle on the mound, and Old Sarum became
a bishopric when the see was transferred from Sherborne in 1075. The
present cathedral was founded in the neighbouring valley, site of
modern Salisbury, in 1220, and a new city quickly developed around
it. The Black and Grey friaries were both established in the 13th
century. An earthen rampart was built around the city in 1310, and
soon afterward gates were added. The cloth and wool trades
flourished in the Middle Ages, and the making of cutlery also became
prominent.
Today the city centre remains much as it was in medieval times, laid
out in gridiron fashion. The cathedral and a largenumber of
timber-framed buildings survive. Salisbury is a tourist and market
centre. Principal occupations are cattle and poultry marketing,
engineering, brewing, leatherwork, and printing.
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Saint Mary Cathedral, Salisbury,
England, 1220-1258 |
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 Saint Mary Cathedral, Salisbury, England, 1220-1258 |
 Saint Mary Cathedral, Salisbury, England, 1220-1258 |
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 Saint Mary Cathedral, Salisbury, England, 1220-1258 |
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 Saint Mary Cathedral, Salisbury, England, 1220-1258 |
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 Saint Mary Cathedral, Salisbury, England, 1220-1258 |
 Saint Mary Cathedral, Salisbury, England, 1220-1258 |
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 Saint Mary Cathedral, Salisbury, England, 1220-1258 |
 Saint Mary Cathedral, Salisbury, England, 1220-1258 |
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