Salisbury Cathedral in the morning

Cloister of Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral quire (choir)

Salisbury Cathedral by John Constable, ca. 1825. As a gesture of appreciation for John Fisher, the Bishop of Salisbury who commissioned this painting, Constable included the Bishop and his wife in the canvas (bottom left).

Salisbury Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The main body was completed in only 38 years, starting in 1220. It is considered to be one of the leading examples of Early English architecture.

The cathedral has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom (123m/404 ft). Visitors can take the 'Tower Tour' where the interior of the hollow spire, with its ancient wood scaffolding, can be seen. The cathedral also has the largest cloister and the largest cathedral precinct ('close') in Britain (80 acres). The Cathedral contains the world's oldest working clock (from AD 1386). It also has one of the four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta (all four original copies are in England).

Plan of Salisbury Cathedral: doubled transepts, each with an aisle; typical English squared east end