.572, S A L I S 
of the soldiery occasioned a rapid and general removal. 
To this disposition, as might be supposed, the bishop gave 
all the facility and encouragement in his power. _ He ob¬ 
tained from king Henry III. a charter constituting the 
new establishment a free city, and conferring upon the inha¬ 
bitants the same privileges and immunities which the ancient 
city of Winchester enjoyed. This deed bears date at West¬ 
minster, the 30th of January, in the 11th year of that 
monarch’s reign; and among other rights therein granted to 
the bishop, it empowers him to surround the city and close 
with ditches, and to alter and repair the roads and bridges 
leading to it; as also to levy tallage, as often as the reigning 
monarch should tallage his dominions. These respective 
privileges were confirmed by king Edward I. in the 13th 
ear of his reign ; but in the thirty-third year of the same 
ing, a violent dispute arose between the bishop and the 
citizens, relative to the payment of some aid demanded by 
the former. Both parties appealed to the king in council, 
who, after a full hearing, decided against the citizens, where¬ 
upon they delivered up their charters, 'and thus degraded 
Salisbury from the rank of a city. After the lapse of a 
year, however, the inhabitants, perceiving that ruin and dis- 
ersion would result from longer opposition, solicited the 
ishop to come to an agreement with them, which he ac¬ 
cordingly did, and afterwards joined them in soliciting the 
restoration of their ancient charters, and the re-establishment 
of their pristine rights. This request the king was prevailed 
upon to grant; and an amicable adjustment of all differences 
consequently took place. It was not, however, of very 
long duration, for in the reign of Richard II., when the 
doctrines of Wickliffe began to be propagated in England, 
the bishop, having in vain applied to the mayor and com¬ 
monalty to suppress some meetings of the Lollards, instituted 
an action against them, in which it was decided that they 
should aid the bishop’s officers in the execution of the epis-. 
copal decrees. From this period open hostility- between' 
the citizens and the ecclesiastical community ceased ; but 
as their respective rights were still undefined, James I, 
granted to the inhabitants a new charter, confirming all their 
former privileges, and regulating the duties and powers of 
the cathedral officers. T his charter was renewed by queen 
Anne, with some additional clauses relative to the election 
and province of the deputy recorder; and under this the 
city is now governed. The corporation consists of fifty-six 
members, viz., a mayor, recorder, and his deputy, twenty- 
four aldermen, and thirty assistants. The mayor is elected 
annually from among the aldermen or assistants, and is sworn • 
into office by the bishop in his court; or, in his absence, by 
the recorder in council. The other officers of the corpora¬ 
tion are a chamberlain, town-clerk, three serjeants-at-mace, 
two beadles, four constables, and thirteen sub-constables. 
There is besides an honorary officer established by custom, 
called the high steward, who is always a nobleman or gen¬ 
tleman of property and influence in the county. The present 
high steward is the Earl of Pembroke, who has a splendid 
seat at Wilton, about three miles westward from the city. 
The recordership is also a dignified office, and is now held 
by the Earl of Radnor. 
Salisbury was first represented in Parliament in the twenty- 
third year of the reign of Edward I., when it was summoned 
to send two burgesses to assist in the national councils, and 
has done so regularly ever since. The members are elected 
by the corporation, one from among the citizens, and the 
other through the influence of the Bouverie family. The 
mayor makes the returns under the great seal of the city. 
The chief manufactures of Salisbury are cutlery goods, flan¬ 
nels, and fancy woollens. Markets are held here twice a-week, 
on Tuesdays and Saturdays, for various articles of merchan¬ 
dize and all sorts of provisions; and there are fairs on the 
Tuesday after the 6th of. January, Tuesday after the 25th of 
March, Whit-Monday, second Tuesday in September, second 
Tuesday after lOili of October, and Tuesday before Christ¬ 
mas day. Leland informs us that in his time the market of 
Salisbury was “ well served of flesch, but far better of fisch, 
for a great (part) of the principal fisch that is taken from 
BURY. 
Tamar to Hampton resortith to this toun.” This statement 
appears singular, considering the inland position of Salis¬ 
bury ; but as it is corroborated in several, old writings, theffi 
is no reason to doubt its truth. 
The ground upon which the city of Salisbury stands, 
from its situation in a broad vale, near the junction of three 
rivers, possesses many advantages for the site of a populous 
town. The soil is a fine black mould, lying on a sub¬ 
stratum of gravel, which forms a dry and firm foundation 
for buildings; while the numerous artificial streams that 
flow through almost every street are at once highly bene¬ 
ficial to health and cleanliness,: and are calculated to faci¬ 
litate many processes of manufacturing industry. These 
streams are supplied by means of sluices from the river Avon; 
and as the principal streets lie at right angles, they not 
unfrequently flow across each other. From this pecu¬ 
liarity of being watered by so many rivulets, Salisbury 
most probably possesses more bridges than any city in 
Europe, not even Venice excepted. Of the two divi¬ 
sions called the close and the city, the first, which is 
appropriated to, and occupied by, the cathedral, the 
bishop’s palace, the deanery, prebendal houses, and some 
handsome private dwellings, holden chiefly under the 
bishop and chapter, comprises an area of about half a 
mile square ; while the connected part of the city extends 
above three-quarters of a mile from north to south, and, 
including the street of Fisherton, nearly as much from east 
to west. This portion has five different streets running in 
the former direction, and the same number in the latterj 
all at right angles with each other; so that the spaces be¬ 
tween them are nearly regular and uniform. Each space 
constitutes a square, and is occupied by a series of houses, 
abutting on the streets, the middle area being appropriated 
to gardens, yards, &c. By this arrangement, there are 
scarcely any alleys or narrow lanes, which, in large towns 
and cities, are commonly the receptacles of filth, and con¬ 
sequently pernicious to health. Most of the houses are 
constructed of brick; but there are a few also built of 
timber, which are in general very irregular, both as to size 
and shape. The public buildings may be divided into 
classes, as they are respectively situated in the close and in 
the city. Those within the close are the cathedral, the bi¬ 
shop’s palace, and the college of matrons. 
History and Description of the Cathedral .—The cathe¬ 
dral, as already stated, was begun to be built by bishop 
Richard Poore, under the authority of pope Honorius, and 
with the consent of king Henry III., who was invited, 
together with all the chief nobility and ecclesiastics of the 
kingdom, to attend the ceremony of its foundation. A 
great number of dignified persons, and a vast concourse of 
the inferior orders of society, were present at the solemn 
spectacle, which took place on the 28th of April, in the 
year 1220. William de Wanda, who was precentor of 
Salisbury cathedral at the time of its translation, and after¬ 
wards dean, has left a manuscript account of the early events 
relating to this church, and from which the following par¬ 
ticulars are derived. The ceremony began by the perform¬ 
ance of divine service, after which the bishop and the other 
clergy of the church, walked in procession to the scite of 
the intended new structure, where a sermon was addressed 
to the people, exhorting them to contribute towards its 
erection. Then the first stone was laid by the bishop for 
pope Honorius; the second for the archbishop of Canter¬ 
bury ; and the third for himself; the fourth was laid by 
Wiiliam Longspee, earl of Sarum; and the fifth by his 
countess Ela, a lady of distinguished pety. After her, cer¬ 
tain noblemen added each a - stone, and were followed in the 
same act by the dean and canons, and many others. Several 
of the absent nobility also, on their return from attending the 
king in Wales, came to Salisbury, and laid a stone, binding 
themselves to advance specific sums of money annually for 
seven years, upon similar terms to those which the dean and 
chapter had previously agreed to with respect to their own 
advances. 
The cathedral having been thus commenced under favour¬ 
able 
