The cathedral is described in
Pevsner as the
beau idéal of
Early English Gothic design with a unity and coherence unique among English cathedrals.
West front The west front is of the screen-type, clearly deriving from that at
Wells. It is composed of a stair turret at each extremity, with two niched buttresses nearer the centre line supporting the large central triple window. The stair turrets are topped with spirelets, and the central section is topped by a
gable which contains four
lancet windows topped by two round
quatrefoil windows surmounted by a
mandorla containing
Christ in Majesty. At ground level there is a principal door flanked by two smaller doors. The whole is highly decorated with quatrefoil motifs, columns, trefoil motifs and bands of
diapering. The west front was almost certainly constructed at the same time as the cathedral. This is apparent from the way in which the windows coincide with the interior spaces. The entire facade is about high and wide. It lacks full-scale towers and/or spires as can be seen, for example at Wells, Lincoln,
Lichfield, etc. The façade was disparaged by
Alec Clifton-Taylor, who considered it the least successful of the English screen facades and a travesty of its prototype (Wells). He found the composition to be uncoordinated, and the Victorian statuary "poor and insipid". The front accommodates over 130 shallow niches of varying sizes, 73 of which contain a statue. The line of niches extends round the turrets to the north, south and east faces. There are five levels of niches (not including the mandorla) which show, from the top, angels and archangels,
Old Testament patriarchs, apostles and evangelists, martyrs, doctors and philosophers and, on the lower level, royalty, priests and worthy people connected with the cathedral. The majority of the statues were placed during the middle of the 19th century, however seven are from the 14th century and several have been installed within the last decade.
Nave Salisbury Cathedral is unusual for its tall and narrow nave, which has visual accentuation from the use of light grey Chilmark stone for the walls and dark polished
Purbeck marble for the columns. It has three levels: a tall pointed arcade, an open gallery and a small
clerestory. Lined up between the pillars are notable tombs such as that of
William Longespée, half brother of
King John and the illegitimate son of
Henry II, who was the first person to be buried in the cathedral. Another unusual feature of the nave is an unconventional modern font, installed in September 2008. Designed by the water sculptor
William Pye, it is the largest working font in any British cathedral, and replaced an earlier portable neo-Gothic Victorian font. The font is cruciform in shape, and has a 10-foot-wide vessel filled to its brim with water, designed so that the water overflows in filaments through each corner into bronze gratings embedded in the cathedral's stone floor. The project cost £180,000 and was funded entirely by donations. Some parishioners reportedly objected to the new font, considering it 'change for change's sake', although Pye argued that the majority opinion was in favour: "I would say 90 per cent are in happy anticipation, five per cent are nervously expectant and five per cent are probably apoplectic".
Tower and spire Although the spire is the cathedral's most impressive feature, it has proved troublesome. Together with the tower, it added to the weight of the building. Without the addition of
buttresses, bracing arches and
anchor irons over the succeeding centuries, it would have suffered the fate of spires on other great ecclesiastical buildings (such as
Malmesbury Abbey, 1180 to 1500;
Lincoln Cathedral, 1311 to 1548;
Old St Paul's Cathedral, London, 1314 to 1561; and
Chichester Cathedral, 1402 to 1861) and fallen down; instead, Salisbury became the
tallest church spire in the country on the collapse at St Paul's (as the result of a fire) in 1561. The large supporting pillars at the corners of the spire are seen to bend inwards under the stress. The addition of reinforcing tie-beams above the
crossing, designed by
Christopher Wren in 1668, halted further deformation. The beams were hidden by a false ceiling installed below the lantern stage of the tower. The bell chamber is in the middle level of the tower. The bells strike the hour and quarters and are now operated by a Victorian clock, which is not to be confused with the better-known medieval clock that is on display downstairs. Salisbury is one of only three English cathedrals to lack a
ring of bells, the others being
Norwich Cathedral and
Ely Cathedral. Visitors can access the tower by taking the "Tower Tour", allowing them to climb as high as the base of the spire. From this level, there is a view of the interior of the hollow spire and the ancient wooden
scaffolding inside it. There are 332 steps from ground level to the base of the spire,
Chapter house and Magna Carta The
chapter house is notable for its octagonal shape, slender central pillar and decorative medieval
frieze. It was redecorated in 1855–1859 by
William Burges. The frieze, which circles the interior above the stalls, depicts scenes and stories from the books of
Genesis and
Exodus, including
Adam and Eve,
Noah, the
Tower of Babel, and
Abraham,
Isaac and
Jacob. The chapter house displays the best-preserved of the four surviving original copies of
Magna Carta. This copy came to Salisbury because
Elias of Dereham, who was present at
Runnymede in 1215, was given the task of distributing some of the original copies. Elias later became a
canon of Salisbury and supervised the construction of the cathedral.
Clock The
Salisbury Cathedral clock, which dates from about AD 1386, is supposedly the oldest working modern clock in the world. The clock has no face; all clocks of that date rang out the hours on a bell. It was originally in a bell tower that was demolished in 1792. Following this demolition, the clock was moved to the Cathedral Tower, where it was in operation until 1884. The clock was then placed in storage and forgotten until it was discovered in an attic of the cathedral in 1928. It was repaired and restored to working order in 1956, and is now displayed in the nave. In 2007, remedial work and repairs were carried out.
Cathedral Close The
cathedral close surrounds the cathedral, with the largest area to its western side. The close itself is bounded by Broad Walk and the West Walk, with the larger boundaries comprising North Walk, Bishops Walk, with Exeter Street to its east, and De Vaux Place to the south. The close contains a large number of
listed buildings. The size of the close, Britain's largest,
Pevsner describes it as "the most beautiful of England's closes". The High Street ends at Choristers Square which has seven buildings listed at Grade I:
Mompesson House, now owned by the
National Trust and operated as a museum, and its fronting wall and gates; the
College of Matrons; the walls, gates and piers to Nos. 39 to 46;
Hemingsby House;
Wren Hall; and Braybrooke House. Grade II* listed buildings on the High Street and in Choristers Square include: Nos. 48, 48A, 50 and 50A, which flank the North Gate; 51, 52 and 53A; Nos. 55 and 55A; a former stable block; and the Hungerford Chantry. Grade II listed buildings on the square include: the walls and gates to No. 54; No. 55; Nos. 56A, B, and C; Nos. 57, 57A and 57B; and No. 58; and a
K6 telephone kiosk. The close proper is bounded by the West Walk and the Broad Walk. It contains six Grade I listed buildings;
The King's House, which is now home of
Salisbury Museum;
Myles Place, No. 68, and its fronting walls; the Walton Canonry; the
Leaden Hall and the
South Gate. There are also six buildings listed Grade II*:
The Wardrobe, which houses a military museum;
Arundells, the former home of
Edward Heath; the North Canonry and Gatehouse; the
Old Deanery; Nos. 68A and 73; and De Vaux House. There are 19 Grade II listed buildings in the close. These include: the gates and stables to Arundells; the gates and garden house at The North Canonry, No. 60; the College of Sarum St Michael, and its gates;
urns in the garden of No. 68; the gates and walling to No. 69; the lodges, gates and walls to No. 70; Nos. 71, 71A and 71B and their boundary walls; the South Canonry; No. 72 The Close; and Nos. 1-7 De Vaux Place. Between De Vaux Place and the cathedral stands
Salisbury Cathedral School, the main building of which, originally the Bishop's Palace, is listed at Grade I. The school lodge, and its adjoining wall, as well as a wall opposite surrounding the cathedral lawn, are all listed at Grade II. Continuing north along Bishop's Walk are five more listed structures; No. 5, The Close, listed II*, and its garden wall and bollards, both listed at Grade II; and the Diocesan Registry, and The Deanery, both listed at Grade II*. The eastern boundary of the close follows Exeter Street, and contains four listed structures, all at Grade I. These are: the boundary wall itself; Bishops Gate and St Anne's Gate; and
Malmesbury House. The northern end of the close terminates with the North Walk. This has one Grade I listed building,
Sarum College, at No. 19, The Close. There are 23 Grade II* buildings: Nos. 8, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 14A, 16 to 18 inclusive, 20 and 21, 23 to 27 inclusive, 29, 30, 31, 33 to 36 inclusive, and 38. Buildings listed Grade II include: No. 10; the stableyard surface and gates to No. 11; No. 13; the forecourt walls to Malmesbury House; the garden walls and gateway to No. 16, two sets of walls at No. 17, the walls at Nos. 18 and 19, railings and gates at; the stables to Nos. 21 and 21A, its gate piers, its garden wall, and a commemorative arch set into the wall; No. 22; the railings to Nos. 25 and 26; No. 28; the railings to No. 31 and the wall to Nos. 32 and 33; the railings to Nos. 36A and 36B and 37. ==Depictions in art, literature and television==