View source for Old Sarum

{{Short description|Site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury in England}}
{{For multi|the aerodrome|Old Sarum Airfield|its political history|Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name        = Old Sarum
| static_image         = Aerial photograph of Old Sarum site, on departure from Old Sarum airfield.jpg
| static_image_caption = Aerial view of Old Sarum
| civil_parish         = [[Salisbury]]
| country              = England
| region               = South West England
| os_grid_reference    =
| post_town            = 
| postcode_area        = 
| postcode_district    = 
| dial_code            = 
| unitary_england      = [[Wiltshire (district)|Wiltshire]]
| lieutenancy_england  = [[Wiltshire]]
| hide_services        = Yes
| population           = 
| population_ref       = 
| area_total_km2       = 
| coordinates          = {{Coord|51|05|36|N|01|48|17|W|type:landmark_region:GB-WIL|display=title,inline}}
| website              = 
}}
[[File:Old Sarum Model from West.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|A reconstruction of Old Sarum in the 12th century, housed at [[Salisbury Cathedral]]]]

'''Old Sarum''', in [[Wiltshire]], [[South West England]], is the ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of [[Salisbury]]. Situated on a hill about {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=on|abbr=off|sigfig=1}} north of modern Salisbury near the [[A345 road]], the settlement appears in some of the earliest records in the country. It is an [[English Heritage]] property and is open to the public.

The great [[stone circle]]s of [[Stonehenge]] and [[Avebury]] were erected nearby and indications of [[#Prehistory|prehistoric settlement]] have been discovered from as early as 3000&nbsp;BC. An [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] [[British hillforts|hillfort]] was erected around 400&nbsp;BC, controlling the intersection of two trade paths and the [[Hampshire]] [[River Avon, Hampshire|Avon]]. The site continued to be occupied during the [[#Roman period|Roman period]], when the paths were made into [[Roman roads in Britain|roads]]. The [[#Saxon period|Saxons]] took the [[Britons (Celtic people)|British]] fort in the 6th century and later used it as a stronghold against [[Viking invasions of England|marauding Vikings]]. The [[#Norman period|Normans]] constructed a [[motte and bailey]] castle, a stone curtain wall, and a [[Old Sarum Cathedral|great cathedral]]. A royal palace was built within [[Old Sarum Castle]] for {{nowrap|[[list of English kings|King]] [[Henry I of England|Henry I]]}} and was subsequently used by [[Plantagenet]] monarchs. This heyday of the settlement lasted for around 300 years until disputes between the [[Sheriff of Wiltshire]] and the [[Bishop of Salisbury]] finally led to the removal of the church into the [[Salisbury Plain|nearby plain]]. As [[Salisbury|New Salisbury]] grew up around the construction site for the [[Salisbury Cathedral|new cathedral]] in the early 13th century, the buildings of Old Sarum were dismantled for stone and the old town dwindled. Its long-neglected castle was abandoned by {{nowrap|[[Edward II]]}} in 1322 and sold by {{nowrap|[[Henry VIII]]}} in 1514. [[Edward Rutherfurd]]'s 1987 novel ''[[Sarum (novel)|Sarum]]'' traces the history of the town.

Although the settlement was effectively uninhabited, its landowners continued to have [[Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)|parliamentary representation]] into the 19th century, making it one of the most notorious of the [[Rotten and pocket boroughs#Rotten boroughs|rotten boroughs]] that existed before the [[Reform Act 1832]]. Old Sarum served as a [[pocket borough]] of the [[Pitt family]].

Old Sarum is also the name of a modern settlement north-east of the monument, where there is [[Old Sarum Airfield|a grass strip airfield]] and business parks, and large 21st-century housing developments at Old Sarum and Longhedge.

== Name ==
{{hatnote|For the further etymology of ''Salisbury'', see [[Salisbury#Toponymy|Salisbury]].}}
The present name seems to be a [[ghost word#More examples|ghost word]] or [[scribal error|corruption]] of the [[medieval Latin]] and [[Old Norman|Norman]] forms of the name Salisbury, such as the Sarisburie that appeared in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086.<ref>{{OpenDomesday|SU1332|salisbury|Salisbury}}</ref> (These were adaptions of the earlier names Searoburh,<ref name=wilt193>{{cite web |website=Wiltshire Community History |title=Salisbury |url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/193 |publisher=Wiltshire Council |access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref> Searobyrig,<ref name=Leeds/> and Searesbyrig,<ref>{{cite book |last=Samuel |first=Lewis |authorlink=Samuel Lewis (publisher)|title=Topographical Dictionary of England |volume=IV |year=1835}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cameron |first=Kenneth |title=English Place-Names |page=35 |publisher=Batsford |year=1988 |isbn=0-7134-5698-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Blake |first1=Norman Francis |display-authors=etal |title=English Historical Linguistics: Studies in development |series=CECTAL Conference Papers Series |volume=3 |publisher=Centre for English Cultural Tradition and Language |place=Sheffield, GB |year=1984}}</ref> [[calque]]s of the indigenous [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic]] name with the [[Old English]] [[suffix]]es {{nowrap|''-[[burh]]''}} and {{nowrap|''-[[byrig]]''}}, denoting fortresses or their adjacent settlements.) The longer name was first abbreviated as ''Sar̅'', but, as such a mark was [[scribal abbreviations|used to contract the Latin suffix ''-um'']] (common in placenames), the name was confused and became Sarum sometime around the 13th century. The earliest known use was on the seal of the {{nowrap|St Nicholas}} hospital at [[Salisbury|New Salisbury]], which was in use in 1239. The 14th-century [[Robert Wyvil|Bishop Wyvil]] was the first to describe himself as ''episcopus Sarum''.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol6/pp93-94 |series=[[Victoria County History]] |title=A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 6 |chapter=Salisbury: The word 'Sarum' |pages=93–94 |editor-first=Elizabeth |editor-last=Crittall |date=1962 |via=British History Online |publisher=University of London |access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref>

The addition of "old" to the name distinguished it from Sarum or [[New Sarum]], names used in some contexts for the newer settlement.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 2022 |title=Course: Old Sarum & New Sarum - A Tale of Two Cities |url=http://salisburymuseum.uk/whats-on/lectures/course-old-sarum-new-sarum-tale-two-cities |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=The Salisbury Museum}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 December 2009 |title=The City of New Sarum (Churchill Way Pedestrian Underpasses) (Prohibition of Cycling) Order 1972 (Variation) Order 2009 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/3347/pdfs/uksi_20093347_en.pdf |access-date=27 July 2024 |website=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:John Constable - Old Sarum at Noon - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Old Sarum at Noon, a graphite sketch on slightly textured, medium white wove paper, 23.2 cm × 33.7 cm, 20 July 1829. Yale Center for British Art.|An 1829 sketch of Old Sarum by [[John Constable]], displaying the site of the abandoned hillfort]]

=== Prehistory ===
There is evidence that early hunters and, later, farming communities occupied the site. A protective [[hill fort]], named ''[[Sorviodunum]]'', was constructed by the local inhabitants around 400&nbsp;BC<ref name=beeb /> during the [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] by creating enormous banks and ditches surrounding the hill. The hillfort is broadly oval shaped, measuring {{convert|400|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|360|m|ft|abbr=on}} in width. It consists of a double bank and intermediate ditch with an entrance on the eastern side.

Numerous other hillforts of the same period can be found locally, including [[Figsbury Ring]] to the east and [[Vespasian's Camp]] to the north. The [[archaeologist]] [[Richard Colt Hoare|Sir R. C. Hoare]] described it as "a city of high note in the remotest periods by the several [[tumulus|barrows]] near it, and its proximity to the two largest [[stone circle]]s in England, namely, [[Stonehenge]] and [[Avebury]]."{{Efn|name=hoare|''The Ancient History of Wiltshire'' (Vol. 2?) — 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."{{Full citation needed|date=September 2024}} 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 led 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.{{Full citation needed|date=September 2024}}}}

=== Roman period ===
At the time of the [[Roman conquest of Britain]] in the 1st century, the area of Old Sarum seems to have formed part of the territory of the [[Atrebates]],<ref name=sub>{{cite web |url=http://www.stratfordsubcastle.org.uk/new/node/118 |title=Roman Sorbiodunum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102162242/http://www.stratfordsubcastle.org.uk/new/node/118 |archive-date=2015-01-02 |website=Stratford Sub Castle |place=Salisbury, GB |year=2014 |access-date=2 Jan 2015}}</ref> a [[Britons (Celtic people)|British]] [[list of Celtic tribes|tribe]] apparently ruled by [[Gauls|Gaulish]] exiles. Although the dynasty's founder [[Commius]] had become a foe of [[Caesar]]'s, his sons submitted to [[Augustus]] as [[Roman client kingdoms in Britain|client kings]]. Their realm became known as the [[Regni]] and the overthrow of one of them, [[Verica]], was the [[casus belli]] used to justify the [[list of Roman emperors|Emperor]] [[Claudius]]'s invasion. The settlement appeared in the [[medieval Welsh literature|Welsh]] ''[[Chronicle of the Britons]]'' as {{nowrap|[[Caer]]-Caradog}}<ref name=Roberts-1811/>{{rp|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Mso_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA135 135]}} or Gradawc ({{langx|owl|kaer gradaỽc}}<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.rhyddiaithganoloesol.caerdydd.ac.uk/en/ms-page.php?ms=Jesus111&page=147r&l=c600l38 |title=Oxford Jesus College MS.&nbsp;111 (The Red Book of Hergest) |at=p.&nbsp;147r, col.&nbsp;600 |quote=Trioedd Ynys Prydain, Cas Bethau, Enwau ac Anrhyfeddodau Ynys Prydain |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924090910/http://www.rhyddiaithganoloesol.caerdydd.ac.uk/en/ms-page.php?ms=Jesus111&page=147r&l=c600l38 |archive-date=2015-09-24 |publisher=University of Cardiff |place=Cardiff, Wales |year=2014 <!--|series=Welsh Prose 1300–1425--> |series=(in Old Welsh) <!--|lang=Old Welsh NB no language code support, in Mediawiki, causes a CS1 error, but there is no solution.--><!--Well, I used |series= which has the same result, which is what matters. -->}}</ref>) and as Caer-Wallawg.<ref name=Roberts-1811>{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Peter |year=1811 |title=The Chronicle of the Kings of Britain |quote={{sc|subtitle}}: Translated from the Welsh Copy Attributed to Tysilio; Collated with Several Other Copies, and Illustrated with Copious Notes; to Which Are Added, Original Dissertations. |publisher=E.&nbsp;Williams |place=London, GB}}</ref>{{rp|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Mso_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA150 150–151]}} [[Bishop Ussher]] argued for its identification with the {{nowrap|"[[caer|Cair]] Caratauc"}}<ref>{{Cite book |author=(([[Nennius]] ({{Abbr|attrib.|Traditional attribution}}))) |title=[[s:la:Historia Brittonum#VI. CIVITATES BRITANNIAE|Historia Brittonum, VI.]] |year=1900 |orig-year=composed after 830&nbsp;AD |editor-link=Theodor Mommsen |editor=Mommsen, T. |lang=la |via=[[s:la:Main Page|Latin Wikisource]]}}</ref> listed among the [[28 Cities of Britain|28 cities of Britain]] by the ''[[History of the Britons]]'' traditionally ascribed to [[Nennius]].<ref name=shusher>{{cite book |last1=Newman |first1=John Henry |display-authors=etal |url=http://www.mocavo.co.uk/Lives-of-the-English-Saints-St-Gilbert-Prior-of-Sempringham-Volume-3/527392/459 |series=Lives of the English Saints |title=St. German, Bishop of Auxerre |at=Ch.&nbsp;X: "Britain in 429, A.&nbsp;D.",<!--sic--> p.&nbsp;92 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321234154/http://www.mocavo.co.uk/Lives-of-the-English-Saints-St-Gilbert-Prior-of-Sempringham-Volume-3/527392/459 |archive-date=2016-03-21 |publisher=James Toovey |place=London, GB |year=1844}}</ref>

=== Saxon period ===
[[Cynric]], [[list of kings of Wessex|king]] of [[Wessex]], captured the hill in 552.<ref name=Leeds>{{cite journal |last=Leeds |first=E.T. |year=1954 |title=The Growth of Wessex |journal=[[Oxoniensia]] |volume=LIX |pages=55–56 |publisher=[[Oxford Architectural and Historical Society]] |url=http://oxoniensia.org/oxo_volume.php?vol=59 |access-date=6 October 2011}}</ref> It remained part of Wessex thereafter<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=1}} but, preferring settlements in bottomland like nearby [[Wilton, Wiltshire|Wilton]],<ref name=wilt193 /> the Saxons largely ignored Old Sarum<ref name=ush/> until the [[Viking invasions of England|Viking invasions]] led {{nowrap|[[list of English kings|King]] [[Alfred the Great|Alfred]]}} to restore its fortifications.<ref name=wilt193 /> In the early part of the 9th century, it was a frequent residence of [[Egbert of Wessex]] and, in 960, {{nowrap|King [[Edgar of England|Edgar]]}} assembled a national council there to plan a defence against the [[Danelaw|Danes in the north]].<ref name="brompton">Brompton, ''Twysd'', 866.{{clarify|date=January 2015}}</ref><ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=1}} Along with [[Wilton, Wiltshire|Wilton]], it was abandoned by its residents to be sacked and burned by the [[list of Danish kings|Dano]]-[[list of Norwegian kings|Norwegian king]] [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] in 1003.<ref>Hunt, William. [[:s:Sweyn (d.1014) (DNB00)|"Sweyn (d.&nbsp;1014)"]] in the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', Vol.&nbsp;LV. Smith, Elder, &&nbsp;Co. (London), 1898. Hosted at [[:s:Main Page|Wikisource]]. Accessed 3 Jan 2014.</ref> It subsequently became the site of [[Wilton, Wiltshire|Wilton]]'s [[royal mint|mint]].<ref name=wilt193 />

=== Norman period ===
{{See also|Old Sarum Cathedral|Old Sarum Castle}}
[[File:Plan of Old Sarum.jpg|thumb|A 1916 plan of Old Sarum by the [[Ordnance Survey]] {{nowrap|(300 ft ≈}} {{nowrap|92 m)}}]]

A [[motte-and-bailey castle]] was built by 1069, three years after the [[Norman Conquest]].<ref name=wilt193 /> The castle was held directly by the Norman kings; its [[castellan]] was generally also the [[sheriff of Wiltshire]]. In 1075, the [[Council of London in 1075|Council of London]] established [[Herman (bishop of Salisbury)|Herman]] as the first [[bishop of Salisbury]] (''{{lang|la|Seriberiensis episcopus}}''),<ref name=bho>British History Online. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/fasti-ecclesiae/1066-1300/vol4/pp1-7 ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300'', Vol.&nbsp;IV, "Salisbury: Bishops"]. Institute of Historical Research (London), 1991.</ref> uniting his former sees of [[Bishop of Sherborne|Sherborne]] and [[Bishop of Ramsbury|Ramsbury]] into a [[Diocese of Salisbury|single diocese]] which covered the [[list of English counties|counties]] of [[Dorset]], [[Wiltshire]], and [[Berkshire]]. He and [[Saint Osmund]] began the construction of the [[Old Sarum Cathedral|first Salisbury cathedral]] but neither lived to see its completion in 1092.<ref name="bho" /> Osmund was a cousin of [[William the Conqueror]]<ref>Sarum Charters, 373.</ref> and [[Lord Chancellor]] of [[Norman England|England]]; he was responsible for the codification of the [[Sarum Rite]],<ref>Bergh, Frederick&nbsp;T. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13479a.htm "Sarum Rite"] in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol.&nbsp;XIII. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Hosted at ''New Advent''. Accessed 28 Dec 2014.</ref> the compilation of the [[Domesday Book]], and—after centuries of advocacy from Salisbury's bishops—was finally canonized by [[list of popes|Pope]] {{nowrap|[[Callixtus III]]}} in 1457.<ref>{{cite book |last=Swanson |first=R.N. |title=Religion and Devotion in Europe, {{circa|lk=no|1215}}–{{circa|lk=no|1515}} |pages=148 & 315 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |place=[[Cambridge, England]] |year=1995 |isbn=0-521-37950-4}}</ref>

The [[Domesday Book]] was probably presented to [[William the Conqueror|William I]] at Old Sarum in 1086,<ref name=wilt193 /> the same year he convened the [[prelate]]s, [[nobles]], [[sheriffs]], and [[knights]] of his dominions there to pay him [[Homage (feudal)|homage]]<ref name=hoveden>[[Roger of Hoveden]]</ref> by the [[Oath of Salisbury]]. Two other national councils were held there: one by [[William Rufus]] in 1096<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=2}} and another by [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] in 1116, which has sometimes been described as the first [[English Parliament]].<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=2}} [[William Rufus]] confirmed its bishop in various additional sources of income, which were later confirmed by [[Henry II of England|Henry II]].<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=1}}

The [[Old Sarum Cathedral|cathedral]] was [[consecrated]] on 5&nbsp;April 1092 but suffered extensive damage in a storm, traditionally said to have occurred only five days later.<ref>''The Ecclesiologist'', p.&nbsp;60.{{full citation|date=August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/old-sarum.htm |title=Old Sarum |website=Sacred Destinations |access-date=10 September 2010}}</ref> [[Roger of Salisbury|Bishop Roger]] was a close ally of {{nowrap|[[Henry I of England|Henry I]]}} who served as his viceroy during the king's absence to [[Duchy of Normandy|Normandy]]<ref name=rogereb>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Roger, bishop of Salisbury |volume=23 |page=454}}</ref> and directed the [[chancellor|royal administration]] and [[exchequer]] along with his extended family.<ref>{{cite book |last=Davis |first=R.H.C. |title=King Stephen |page=31 |publisher=Longman |place=London, GB |year=1977 |isbn=0-582-48727-7}}</ref> He refurbished and expanded Old Sarum's cathedral in the 1110s.<ref name=rogereb/> This work ultimately doubled the cathedral's length and involved the large-scale levelling of the ecclesiastical district in the northwest quadrant of the town.<ref name=EH-2014-OS-sched/> He began work on a royal palace during the 1130s, prior to his arrest by Henry's successor [[Stephen of England|Stephen]].<ref name=rogereb/> This palace was long thought to have been the small structure whose ruins are located in the small central bailey; it may, however, have been the large palace [[#Modern period|recently discovered]] in the southeast quadrant of the outer bailey.<ref name=stratigraphy /> This palace was {{convert|170|x|65|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}, surrounded a large central courtyard, and had walls up to {{convert|3|m|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} thick. A {{convert|60|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} room was probably a [[great hall]] and there seems to have been a large tower.<ref name=stratigraphy/> At the time of Roger's arrest by {{nowrap|[[Stephen of England|King Stephen]]}}, the bishop administered the castle on the king's behalf;<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=2}} it was thereafter allowed to fall into disrepair but the sheriff and castellan continued to administer the area under the king's authority.<ref name=Storer-1819>{{cite book |last=Storer |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UUQWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT73 |title=History and Antiquities of the Cathedral Churches of Great Britain |volume=IV |page=73 |publisher=Rivingtons |place=London, GB |year=1819}}</ref>

=== Angevin period ===
{{See also|Angevin kings of England}}
Medieval Sarum also seems to have had industrial facilities such as kilns and furnaces.<ref name=beeb/> Residential areas were principally located in the two southern quadrants, built up beside the ditch protecting the inner bailey and Norman castle.<ref name=ush/> [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] held his wife, [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]], prisoner at Old Sarum. In the 1190s, the plain{{Clarify|Maps only show rivers and hills|date=January 2016}} between Old Sarum and [[Wilton, Wiltshire|Wilton]] was one of five specially designated by {{nowrap|[[Richard I]]}} for the holding of English [[medieval tournament|tournaments]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ditchfield |first=P.H. |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/9197/9197-h/files/relative.htm |title=English Villages |at=Chapter&nbsp;XI |publisher=Methuen & Co. |place=London, GB |year=1901}}</ref>

An early 12th-century observer, [[William of Malmesbury]], called Sarum a town "more like a castle than city, being environed with a high wall", and noted that "notwithstanding that it was very well accommodated with all other conveniences, yet such was the want for water that it sold at a great rate".<ref name=Baldwin-1774>{{cite book |first=R. |last=Baldwin |year=1774 |title=A Description of that Admirable Structure, the Cathedral Church of Salisbury |quote={{sc|subtitle}} With the Chapels, Monuments, Grave-Stones, and their Inscriptions. To which is prefixed, an Account of Old Sarum |place=London, GB |via=Archive.org |url=https://archive.org/stream/descriptionoftha00sali#page/n13/mode/2up |access-date=3 Jan 2015}}</ref>{{rp|page=1}} [[Holinshed]] denied this and noted that the hill was "very plentifully served with springs and wells of very sweet water";<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=2}} excavation has discovered numerous wells (including one within the Norman keep) but suggests that they were so deep as to make their use more cumbersome than carting water uphill from the rivers. The issue was presented to kings [[Richard I of England|Richard]] and [[John Lackland|John]] as the prime reason to relocate the [[Old Sarum Cathedral|cathedral]]<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=2}} but seems to have only been part of the issue.

The late 12th-century canon [[Peter of Blois]]<ref name=pbj>Robinson, J. Armitage. [[:s:Somerset Historical Essays/Peter of Blois#128|"Peter of Blois" in ''Somerset Historical Essays'', pp.&nbsp;128&nbsp;f.]] Oxford University Press (London), 1921.</ref> described his prebendary as "barren, dry, and solitary, exposed to the rage of the wind" and the cathedral "as a captive on the hill where it was built, like the [[ark of God]] shut up in the profane house of [[Baal]]."<ref name=blesensis>[[Peter of Blois]],  Epistle No.&nbsp;105.</ref> Holinshed records that the clerics brawled openly with the garrison troops.<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=2}} [[Herbert Poore|Bishop Herbert]] received permission for the move from [[Richard I]], who was agreeably disposed towards the diocese after discovering it held {{nowrap|[[British Pound|£]]90 000}} in [[coin]] in trust for his father, in addition to jewels, vestments, and [[silver plate|plate]],<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=3}} but was forced to delay the change after John's succession.

By [[Pope Honorius III|papal]] order, Herbert's brother [[Richard Poore]] was [[translation (ecclesiastical)|translated]] from [[diocese of Chichester|Chichester]] to succeed him in 1217; the next year, Sarum's [[dean of Salisbury|dean]] and [[cathedral chapter|chapter]] presented arguments to [[Papal States|Rome]] for the cathedral's relocation.<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=3}} The investigation of these claims by the [[papal legate]] [[Cardinal Gualo]] verified the chapter's claims that the site's water was both expensive and sometimes restricted by the castellans; that housing within the walls was insufficient for the clerics, who were required to rent from the laity; that the wind was sometimes so strong that divine offices could not be heard and the roof was repeatedly damaged; and that the soldiers of the royal fortress restricted access to the cathedral precinct to the common folk during [[Ash Wednesday]] and on other occasions for providing the [[Eucharist]] and the clerics felt imperilled by their circumstances.<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=4}} {{nowrap|[[Pope Honorius III]]}} thereupon issued an indulgence to relocate the cathedral on 29 March 1217 or 1218.<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=4}} The chapter voted unanimously for the move and agreed to pay for it by withholding various portions of their [[prebend]]s over the next seven years.<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=4}} On [[Easter Monday]], 1219, a wooden chapel dedicated to the [[Virgin Mary]] was begun near the banks of the [[Hampshire]] [[River Avon, Hampshire|Avon]]; on [[Trinity Sunday]], Bishop Poore celebrated mass there and [[consecrated]] a [[cemetery]].<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=4}} On {{nowrap|[[Vitalis of Milan|St Vitalis]]'s}} Day, April 28, 1220, the foundation of the future stone cathedral was begun.<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=5}}

The settlement that grew up around it was called New Salisbury, then (at least formally) New Sarum, then finally [[Salisbury]]. The former cathedral was formally dissolved in 1226.<ref name=EH-2014-OS-sched/> The inhabitants of the new city gradually razed the old, constructing [[Salisbury Cathedral]] and other buildings from the materials at Old Sarum. Evidence of quarrying into the 14th century shows some continued habitation,<ref name=ush/> but the settlement was largely abandoned and {{nowrap|[[Edward II]]}} ordered the castle's demolition in 1322.<ref name=EH-2014-OS-sched/>

=== Modern period ===
{{See also|Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)}}
[[File:Foundations of Old Sarum Cathedral.jpg|thumb|The exposed foundations of the cathedral]]

The castle grounds were sold by {{nowrap|[[Henry VIII]]}} in 1514.<ref name=beeb/> From the reign of [[Edward II]] in the 14th century, the [[Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)|borough of Old Sarum]] elected two [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]] to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] despite having, from at least the 17th century, no resident voters. One of the members in the 18th century was [[William Pitt the Elder]]. In 1831, Old Sarum had eleven voters, all of whom were landowners who lived elsewhere, making Old Sarum the most notorious of the [[rotten boroughs]]. The [[Reform Act 1832]] subsumed the Old Sarum area into an enlarged [[Wilton (UK Parliament constituency)|borough of Wilton]]. The fortified site<ref>{{Cite web|title=Boundary Map of Old Sarum ExP/CP|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10411580/boundary|access-date=3 November 2021|website=A Vision of Britain through Time|publisher=University of Portsmouth}}</ref> was an [[extra-parochial area]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/20394|title=History of Old Sarum, in Salisbury and Wiltshire|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=16 May 2024}}</ref> and became a [[civil parish]] in 1858, but the civil parish was abolished in 1894<ref>{{cite web|title=Old Sarum ExP/CP|url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10411580/relationships|access-date=3 November 2021|website=A Vision of Britain through Time|publisher=University of Portsmouth}}</ref> and merged with [[Stratford sub Castle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/alderbury.html|title=Alderbury Registration District|publisher=UKBMD|accessdate=16 May 2024}}</ref> In 1891 the parish had a population of 13.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10411580/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Old Sarum CP/ExP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=16 May 2024}}</ref> The site and surrounding area is now the northernmost part of Salisbury civil parish.<ref name="boundaries">{{Cite web|title=Election Maps|url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/|access-date=3 November 2021|publisher=[[Ordnance Survey]]}}</ref>

The site of the castle and cathedral is considered a highly important British monument: it was among the 26 English locations [[Scheduled monument|scheduled]] by the 1882 [[Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882|Ancient Monuments Protection Act]],<ref>Ancient Monuments Protection Act, 1882 [45 & 46 Vict. Ch. 73], reprinted in Robert Hunter's [[:s:The Preservation of Places of Interest or Beauty/Appendix A#37|''The Preservation of Places of Interest or Beauty'', App.&nbsp;A: "The Ancient Monument Protection Acts", p.&nbsp;37]]. University Press (Manchester), 1907. Hosted at [[:s:Main Page|Wikisource]]. Accessed 3 Jan 2014.</ref> the first such British legislation. That protection has subsequently continued, expanding to include some suburban areas west and south-east of the outer bailey.<ref name=EH-2014-OS-sched>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1015675 |desc=Old Sarum |access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref> It was also [[listed buildings|listed]] as a [[Grade I listed buildings in Wiltshire|Grade I site]] in 1972.<ref name=EH-2014-OS-CC>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1015675 |desc=Remains of Old Sarum castle and cathedral |access-date=5 November 2021 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

Between 1909 and 1915, [[William St John Hope|W.H. St&nbsp;J. Hope]], [[William Hawley|W. Hawley]], and [[Duncan Hector Montgomerie|D.H. Montgomerie]] excavated the site for the [[Society of Antiquaries of London]].<ref name=EH-2014-OS-sched/> A second excavation occurred in the 1950s under John W. G. Musty and [[Philip Rahtz]].<ref name="EH-2014-OS-sched" />

In 2014, an on-site [[geophysical survey]] of the inner and outer bailey by the [[University of Southampton]] revealed its royal palace,<ref name="stratigraphy">{{cite news |last=Keys |first=David |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/archaeologists-find-vast-medieval-palace-buried-under-prehistoric-fortress-at-old-sarum-9898759.html |title=Archaeologists find vast medieval palace buried under prehistoric fortress at Old Sarum |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=3 Dec 2014 |access-date=1 Jan 2015}}</ref> as well as the street plan of the medieval city.<ref name="beeb">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-30300837 |title=Old Sarum archaeologists reveal plan of medieval city |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=3 Dec 2014 |access-date=2 Jan 2015}}</ref><ref name="ush">{{cite press release |last=Strutt |first=Kristian |url=http://www.southampton.ac.uk/archaeology/news/2014/12/03_archaeologists_reveal_layout_of_medieval_city_at_old_sarum.page |title=Archaeologists reveal layout of medieval city at Old Sarum |publisher=University of Southampton |place=Southampton, GB |date=3 Dec 2014 |access-date=2 Jan 2015}}</ref> The survey made use of [[soil resistivity]] to [[Electrical resistivity and conductivity|electric current]], [[electrical resistivity tomography]], [[magnetometry]], and [[ground-penetrating radar]].<ref name="beeb" /><ref name="ush" /> The team planned to return in 2015 to complete a similar survey of the [[Romano-British]] site to the south of the hillfort.<ref name="ush" />

== 20th and 21st centuries ==
The Old Sarum monument is now administered by [[English Heritage]], and non-members are charged for admission.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Old Sarum|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/old-sarum/|access-date=2021-11-03|website=English Heritage}}</ref> A paved carpark and grass overflow carpark are provided in the eastern area of the outer bailey.

In 1917, during [[World War I]], farmland about {{Convert|1|mi}} north-east of Old Sarum, along the [[Port Way|Portway]], was developed as the 'Ford Farm' [[aerodrome]]. That became [[Old Sarum Airfield]], which remained in operation with a single grass runway until at least 2019<ref>{{Cite news|title=Salisbury Old Sarum Airfield closes after housing plan rejected|date=31 October 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-50247960|access-date=2023-01-18}}</ref> with a small business park which developed along the north edge of the airfield. As of January 2023 the airfield is still operational, but only by prior arrangement.<ref>{{Cite web|date=Jan 2023|title=Old Sarum Airfield Ltd|url=https://www.oldsarumairfield.co.uk/}}</ref>

Around 800 homes were built on the north side of the Portway between 2008 and 2016,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=May 2021|title=Laverstock and Ford Communities Draft Neighbourhood Plan – Appendix 4: Development of the Parish|url=https://www.lfcnp.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/210422-Appendix-4-Development-of-the-parish-Version-5.2.pdf|access-date=3 November 2021}}</ref> and this area (which includes Old Sarum Primary School)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Old Sarum Primary School|url=https://www.oldsarum.wilts.sch.uk/|access-date=2021-11-03|website=}}</ref> is also called Old Sarum. From 2018, further housing called Longhedge Village, around 750 homes accessed from the [[A345 road|A345]], was built immediately north of the earlier development.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=May 2021|title=Laverstock and Ford Communities Draft Neighbourhood Plan|url=https://www.lfcnp.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/210505-Draft-NP-Pre-Submission-Consultation-Version-%E2%80%93-online.pdf|access-date=3 November 2021}}</ref> These areas all fall within [[Laverstock]] civil parish, while the monument itself – separated from modern development by about {{Convert|0.6|mi|4=0}} of farmland – is within the [[Salisbury City Council|Salisbury City]] area.<ref name="boundaries" />

<gallery widths="200" heights="145">
File:Old Sarum Salisbury drone footage.webm|Drone view of Old Sarum
File:Old Sarum Cathedral with motte.JPG|The present ruins: the exposed foundations of the cathedral in the foreground and the Norman central motte behind
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[List of castles in England]]

== Footnotes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* ''[[Sarum (novel)|Sarum]]'' by [[Edward Rutherfurd]]
* ''[[The Pillars of the Earth]]'' by [[Ken Follett]]
* ''Passionate Enemies'' by [[Jean Plaidy]]

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/old-sarum/ Old Sarum] at [[English Heritage]]

{{Iron Age hillforts in England}}

[[Category:1322 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 4th century BC]]
[[Category:Castles in Wiltshire|Sarum]]
[[Category:Edward II of England]]
[[Category:Eleanor of Aquitaine]]
[[Category:English Heritage sites in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Wiltshire|Sarum]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Hill forts in Wiltshire|Sarum]]
[[Category:History of Salisbury]]
[[Category:Populated places disestablished in the 14th century]]