Old Sarum

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Woodcut of Old Sarum as it was during its height

Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, in England. The site contains evidence of human habitation as early as 3000 BC. Old Sarum is mentioned in some of the earliest records in the country. It sits on a hill about two miles north of modern Salisbury.

Old Sarum was originally a hill fort strategically placed on the conjunction of two trade routes and the River Avon, Hampshire. The hill fort is broadly oval in shape. 1300 feet in length and 1200 feet in width, it consists of a bank and ditch with an entrance on the eastern side.

It is now an English Heritage property and open to the public. The site is located on Castle Road, 2 miles north of Salisbury via the A345.

1 History
2 Decline
3 Legislative infamy (as a rotten borough)
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links

[edit] History

Large banks were first created around the hilltop site in the Iron Age.

Archaeological remains of rough stone tools suggest people have occupied the hilltop area of Old Sarum since Neolithic times (around 3000 BC).^[1] There is evidence that early hunters and, later, farming communities occupied the site. A protective hill fort was constructed by the local inhabitants during the Iron Age (around 500 BC) by creating enormous banks and ditches surrounding the hill. The archaeologist Sir R.C. Hoare described it as "a city of high note in the remotest periods by the several barrows near it, and its proximity to the two largest stone circles in England, namely, Stonehenge and Avebury."^[2]

The Romans, who occupied Britain between 43 AD and 410 AD, held the site as a military station, strategically placed near the convergence of five important roads. The hill fort was marked on Roman roadmaps by the name of Sorviodunum. The name is believed to be derived from the Celtic name for 'the fortress by a gentle river'. ^[3]

Following the Roman occupation, Cynric King of Wessex, was said to have captured the place in 552. Under the Saxons it ranked among the most considerable towns of the West Kingdom, and it gained ecclesiastical establishments soon after the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity.^[4] In the early part of the 9th Century it was a frequent residence of Egbert of Wessex, and in 960 King Edgar assembled a national council there to plan a defence against the Danes in the north.^[5]

A motte and bailey castle in around 1069, shortly after the Norman conquest, and the town was renamed. It is listed in the Doomsday Book as Sarisburia, from which the name Sarum is derived, as well as the nearby modern city of Salisbury. ^[6] In 1086, William the Conqueror convened the prelates, nobles, sheriffs, and knights of his dominions at Old Sarum to pay him homage ^[7]. It is probable that part of the Doomsday Book was also written at this time. Two other national councils were held there; one by William Rufus, in 1096, and another by Henry I in 1116.

Photo of the cathedral ruins.

The construction of a cathedral and bishop's palace occurred between 1075 and 1092, during the time of Bishop Osmund. However, only five days after the cathedral was consecrated, a storm destroyed the tower roof. The final completion of the cathedral was left to the third bishop of Old Sarum, Bishop Roger, chancellor to King Henry I. He also oversaw the construction, between 1130-1139, of a stone Royal Palace on the hill site.

Remains of the former Royal Palace.

A contemporary observer, Peter of Blois (c.1135 – 1203) described Old Sarum as "barren, dry, and solitary, exposed to the rage of the wind; and the church (stands) as a captive on the hill where it was built, like the ark of God shut up in the profane house of Baal."^[8]

By 1219, the limitations of space on the hilltop site had become cause for concern, with the cathedral and castle in close proximity and their respective chiefs in regular conflict. When Bishop Poore's men were held out of the hill-fort by the King's men, Poore formally requested the cathedral's relocation. The site of a new cathedral was consecrated later that year, and in 1220 the bishop started construction on the banks of the Avon. A new settlement grew up around it, called New Sarum— eventually became known as Salisbury.

The relocation of the cathedral from Old Sarum marked the start of its decline. Old Sarum was slowly abandoned and fell into ruin, although it remained inhabited until 1832. Today, no intact buildings remain, but visitors may easily explore the ruins of the castle and trace the outline of the old cathedral.

Old Sarum by John Constable, 1829

[edit] Decline

The decline of (Old) Sarum rested principally on the disagreement between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Once New Sarum was developed, abandonment was virtually inevitable. By 1217, the inhabitants of Old Sarum had removed their residence, and constructed their new habitations with the materials they razed from their old. As one city increased in population and extent, so the other almost as rapidly decayed. Old Sarum remained inhabited by a few residents, and continued to send members to Parliament, until 1832. Old Sarum is now in the care of English Heritage.

[edit] Legislative infamy (as a rotten borough)

Main article: Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)

What remains of the inner castle, circa 2005

From the reign of Edward II in the 14th century, Old Sarum elected two members to the House of Commons, despite the fact that from at least the 17th century it had no resident voters at all. One of the members in the 18th century was William Pitt the Elder. In 1831 it had eleven voters, all of whom were landowners who lived elsewhere. This made Old Sarum the most notorious of the rotten boroughs. The Reform Act 1832 completely disenfranchised Old Sarum.

[edit] References

^ Old Sarum, English Heritage (guidebook) London (2003) p.22
^ "Ancient Wilts," --Sir R.C. Hoare, speaking of Stonehenge, expresses his opinion that "our earliest inhabitants were Celts, who naturally introduced with them their own buildings customs, rites, and religions ceremonies, and to them I attribute the erection of Stonehenge, and the greater part of the sepulchral memorials that still continue to render its environs so truly interesting to the antiquary and historian." Abury, or Avebury, is a village amidst the remains of an immense temple, which for magnificence and extent is supposed to have exceeded the more celebrated fabric of Stonehenge; some enthusiastic inquirers have however, carried their supposition beyond probability, and in their zeal have even supposed them to be antediluvian labours! Many of the barrows in the vicinity of Sarum have been opened, and in them several antiquarian relics have been discovered. In short, the whole county is one of high antiquarian interest, and its history has been illustrated with due fidelity and research. This has lead more recent scholars to doubt the original inhabitants were actually Celts. It is now believed they may have been the much earlier "Beaker People", so named for the beaker-shaped pots they made.
^ Old Sarum, English Heritage (guidebook) London (2003) p.24
^ Cott. Coll. Faustina, b. 3, MSS. Brit Mus.
^ Brompton Twysd. 866.
^ Old Sarum, English Heritage (guidebook) London (2003) p.24
^ Roger de Hoveden.
^ Petrus Blesensis, Epist, 105.