[Illustration]
Among the earliest antiquarian records, Old Sarum is described as a city
of the Belgae; and its historical details have proved an exhaustless
mine for the researches of topographical illustrators.
Thus, Sir R.C. Hoare describes it as "a city of high note in the
remotest periods by the several barrows near it, and its proximity to
the two largest Druidical temples in England, namely, Stonehenge and
Abury."[1]
The Romans held it as a strong military station, and it was admitted
to the privileges of the Latin law, under the name of _Sorbiodunum;_[2]
Under the Saxons it ranked among the most considerable towns of the West
kingdom, and possessed ecclesiastical establishments soon after the
conversion of the Saxons to Christianity.[3]
In the early part of the ninth century it was the frequent residence of
Egbert; and in 960, Edgar assembled here a national council to devise
the best means of repelling the Danes in the north.[4]
Arthur commanded it to be more strongly fortified by another trench and
high palisadoes.[5]
In 1086, William the Norman convened in this city the prelates, nobles,
sheriffs, and knights of his new dominions, there to receive their
homage;[6] and probably, within its walls was framed the feudal law, as
Domesday Book was commenced in the same year.
Two other national councils were held here; one by William Rufus, in
1096, and another by Henry I in 1116.[7]
Peter of Blois, an early ecclesiastical writer, 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]
Such are a few of the chronological data of the principal events in the
history of Old Sarum; these, however, will suffice to elucidate the
antiquity of the city, and from their historical importance cannot fail
to make the preceding engraving a subject of general as well as of local
interest, especially as it represents the old city, previous to its
reduction in 553.
Scarcely a vestige of human habitation now remains of Old Sarum, as we
have shown once a place "of great importance--and a city adorned with
many proud structures--a splendid cathedral and other churches--a castle
with lofty towers and ramparts--regular streets and houses--and once the
residence of a numerous population." But all these have passed away, and
nought is left to tell the tale of their greatness, but a few crumbling
wrecks of massy walls; whilst vast fosses and elevated ramparts remain
to mark it as the site of desolating war. The contrast of time-worn
ruins with their surounding scenes of luxuriant nature is affecting even
to melancholy. A recent visiter to the area of Old Sarum describes "a
field of oats flourishing on the very spot where the crowded street had
formerly extended itself; and a barrier existing to the further progress
of agriculture, by the remains of the cathedral, castle, &c. forming
heaps of rubbish barely covered with scanty and unprofitable verdure."
The space occupied by the ancient city is stated to have been nearly
2,000 feet in diameter, surrounded with a fosse, or ditch, of immense
depth, and two ramparts, inner and outer: on the inner, which was much
higher than the outer, stood a wall nearly 12 feet thick at its
foundation, of flint and chalk, strongly cemented together, and cased
with hewn stone, on which was a parapet with battlements. In the centre,
on the summit of the hill, stood the castle or citadel, surrounded with
a very deep intrenchment and a high rampart; and in the area beneath,
forming a wide space between the inner and outer ramparts, stood the
city, divided into equal parts, north and south; near the middle of each
division was a gate--these two being the grand entrances, with a tower
and mole over and before each. Besides these were ten other towers, at
equal distances round the city; and opposite them, in a straight line
with the castle, were built the principal streets, intersected in the
middle with one grand circular street, encompassing the whole city. In
the angle to the north-west stood the cathedral, and episcopal palace,
and the houses of the clergy.
The area of the city was also divided into nearly equal parts by
intrenchments and ramparts thrown up, by which means if one part was
taken, the other was still defensible; and if the whole of the out-works
were in the hands of the enemy, the besieged could retire to the castle,
whose walls were impregnable. There appears to have been but one
entrance to the castle, on the east. There were five wells, four in the
city and one in the castle, designed chiefly to support the garrison and
inhabitants in time of war, or during a siege.
The decline of Sarum, which was very rapid, has been traced to a
disagreement between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. During
the reign of Henry I. the bishop of Old Sarum, who rose to that dignity,
from being a parish priest at Caen, was entrusted with the keys of the
fortress. The bishop, however, fell into disgrace, the king resumed the
command of the castle, and the military openly insulted the disgraced
prelate and the clergy. These animosities increasing, the Empress Maude
bestowed many gifts upon the cathedral, and added much land to its grants.
Herbert, a subsequent bishop of the see, attempted to remove the
establishment, but its execution was reserved for his brother and
successor, Richard Poor, whose monument is in the south chancel of the
present cathedral at Salisbury. This was about the year 1217, from which
time the inhabitants of Old Sarum removed their residence, and pulled
down their dwellings, with the materials of which they constructed their
new habitations: and as one city increased in population and extent, so
the other almost as rapidly decayed. Hence the establishment of New
Sarum, or _Salisbury_.
In the reign of Edward II. Sarum possessed the privilege of sending two
members to parliament, a privilege which it still retains.
[1] "_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.
[2] Richard of Cirericesler, p. 31, 68, 113.
[3] Cott. _Coll. Faustina_, b. 3, _MSS. Brit Mus._
[4] Brompton _Twysd._. 866.
[5] Dodsworth's _History of Salisbury Cathedral_.
[6] Roger de Hoveden.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Petrus Blesensis, _Epist_, 105.
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