Happy Birthday Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral was consecrated on this day in 1258. For over 750 years pilgrims have come to Salisbury to seek inspiration in the glory and peace of the building and surrounding Cathedral Close. Whether you come to worship, to marvel at or climb Britain's tallest spire, to be awed by the beauty and scale of the cathedral interior or to study the original Magna Carta in the Chapter House, Salisbury Cathedral is an inspiration and a testament to both God and faith.

Salisbury is unique amongst medieval English cathedrals, having been built is just 38 years (1220 - 1258) in a single architectural style, early English Gothic. The tower and spire (Britain's tallest) were added about 50 years later. The building itself is remarkable, a testimony to the faith and practical skills of those who erected it. It is unusual in that its floor plan is in the form archiepiscopal (or patriarchal) cross rather than the standard single crossbar crucifix with which we are most familiar.

(Floor plan taken from cathedral website)