Places
Salisbury Cathedral and its tall spire in early morning light, across a lawn.
In early morning light. Photo: Andrew Dunn, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Place · Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral

Early English Gothic cathedral built between 1220 and 1258, with the tallest spire in England and an original copy of Magna Carta.

Location
Salisbury, England, United Kingdom
Building
Cathedral (diocesan see)
Tradition
Anglican (Church of England)
Religious use
In use as the cathedral of the Diocese of Salisbury.
Official website
Salisbury Cathedral

Map Building location: Apple Maps · Google Maps — the building, not a confirmed visitor entrance.

Built over only thirty-eight years, Salisbury has a unity of design unusual among medieval English cathedrals. Its spire, completed by 1330, is the tallest in England, and it holds one of the four surviving original copies of Magna Carta.

In the Atlas

Each paragraph says whether it is documented history, a tradition handed down, or disputed.

  • Documented

    The cathedral moved from Old Sarum, about two miles to the north. Foundation stones were laid on 28 April 1220, and the nave, transepts and choir were complete by 1258. The tower and spire were completed by 1330.

Reference draft. The statements were checked against the general reference sources below, read in a build session (Wikipedia at a recorded revision, and Wikidata). They have not yet been checked against scholarly or primary sources.

  • Reference work · Read in a build session

    Salisbury Cathedral — Wikipedia (English)

    Read on 28 Oct 2026 at revision 1382200063, fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/places/salisbury-cathedral/wikipedia.txt). A general reference work, not a scholarly source; the statements here were checked against it.

  • Reference work · Read in a build session

    Wikidata item Q390150 (Salisbury Cathedral) — Wikidata

    Read on 28 Oct 2026: instance of, religion, diocese, coordinates and official website.