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Old Sarum is the site
of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, England, with evidence
of human habitation as early as 300 BC.
It sits on an Iron age hill fort about 3km (two miles) north
of modern Salisbury (OS Map 184;
ref SU 138327).
This impressive earthwork consists of an outer defensive
wall and an inner rampart rising at an angle of over 45 degrees
and measuring 40 feet from trough to top.
The fortification, named Sorviodunum in Roman times, was
occupied successively by the Romans, the Saxons, the Danes,
and finally by the Norman conquerors of England. Old Sarum
gets its name from a corruption of Sorbiodonum, which means
"gentle river fortress". |
Old Sarum was the site, in 1070, where William
I disbanded his conquering army after having finally subdued
the country four years after the invasion of 1066.
The victorious troops were paid off in treasure, which the
Normans had taken from the defeated Saxons. The construction
of the royal castle (photo above), whose ruins are still visible
today, had already begun under the direction of Osmund, the
Conqueror's Chancellor (and, possibly, also his nephew). Around
the castle and residence of King William I, a vibrant town
was in the process of growing. |
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After the Norman Conquest, the town was renamed
Salisberie after the Earl who received the area. He built
a wooden castle with a ditch, and in 1067 started a cathedral.
He completed it in 1092 (it burned down five days later),
and in 1100 built a stone keep. A replacement cathedral was
completed in 1190.
Space ran out on the hilltop, with cathedral and castle sitting
cheek by jowl and their respective chiefs in regular conflict;
so in 1219 the bishop started construction on a new cathedral
on the banks of the Avon. A new settlement grew up around
this, called New Sarum, and eventually the name of Salisbury
was used only for the new town. Old Sarum was slowly abandoned
and fell into ruin. Not much is still standing there, but
visitors may easily trace the outlines of the old castle and
cathedral.
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From mediaeval times 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. 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 of the pre-1832 House
of Commons. The Reform Act of that year deprived Old Sarum of both
its seats. Old Sarum's long history makes it a popular location
for historical reenactments.
History of Old Sarum
The ramparts were probably first constructed around 1000 BC as Bronze
Age tribal groups sought to protect themselves and their cattle.
In the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age the ramparts would have
been strengthened and a barbican constructed outside the main gate.
The fort would then have experienced little change until the invasion
of the Roman
Empire in AD 53.
Having subdued local resistance, the Romans
brought a period of relative stability to the bulk of what
is now England. At Old Sarum there is evidence by the fact
that the hillfort appears to have served as little more than
a garrison. The small Roman settlement established itself
a few hundred yards from the fort, down at the bottom of the
river valley at what is now Stratford-Sub-Castle.
It is clear that the settlement established here, although
not terribly large, would have been of some importance as
four main Roman roads converge on the old fort. Sorviodunum
was on a crossroads of the road from Venta Belgarum/Winchester,
Isca Dumnoniorum/Exeter,
Durnovaria/Dorchester,
Calleva/Silchester
and even a fifth road to the lead mines in the Mendip Hills.
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Most probably Sorviodunum/Sarum would have been the site of a regular
market and other forms of trading which depended on quick efficient
transport and communications. However, the signs of Roman occupation
are only slight. Some coins date to the 1st and 2nd centuries, with
the most coming from the 3rd and 4th. Other finds are from Stratford-sub-Castle,
being the fields to the west of the fort, and from the fields to
the south. There were other Roman buildings around, but no Roman
town of importance has been found. The road junction itself was,
strangely enough, never occupied.
Old Sarum is an extraordinary place with an extraordinary history.
The English
Heritage website has a complete mini-site dedicated to the Old
Sarum with loads of information, history, kids zone,
and a virtual tour. Old Sarum English Heritage site click
here
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