From what I have been told about this specific place in England is that there is a lot of history and apparently England’s tallest Spire. The tower is located at Salisbury Cathedral, which in its own is a marvel. Folks I cannot tell you how much history Sean Zarinegar is finding in Europe, and this is only the second country I’m visiting. It is really remarkable to see how history unfolded and where most American’s come from.
The Salisbury Cathedral was built in 1220 and unlike the rest of the Cathedrals; this one was built in almost one generation. This gives it a remarkable difference between the other Cathedrals found all over England. The tower on the premises was built about 38 years later and stands at a whopping 404 feet. The most impressive thing about this tower is that its foundations is only about 5 or 6 feet deep and in wet ground, the builders managed to let the ground take 6400 tons of pressure. In 1668 Sir Christopher Wren did a study on the tower and learnt that it was swaying about thirty inches out of its base. He ordered to place some metal rods all around the tower in order to prevent it from topping over. 200 years later when the rods were replaced people found that the tower had not moved a single inch, now that is some historic architecture!
The Cathedral itself is something amazing to see as well, with the thousands(or at least what I thought) of pillars and windows this place will keep you occupied for quite some time. To top it off the library houses the original Magna Carta and the cathedral has the oldest mechanical clock known to mankind. The clock itself dates back to 1386. Don’t think that Sean Zarinegar knows all this from memory, I’m basically pulling information from the leaflet I obtained at the visitors center, had you guys fooled didn’t I!
Around the Cathedral there is a place called the Close. This is pretty much a walled city within the city that has a bunch of period houses from that era. It truly is a remarkable sight to see and I know I have said this many times, but if in England you must absolutely come to Wiltshire.
I also went to the Market Place, which I think is probably the oldest marketplaces in the entire world. Regular markets have said to be here since 1227 and in the square was where a famous Duke of England was executed.
I had a full day so far, and I think that tomorrow I will head over to one more place here in Wiltshire before I move on to my next spot. Sean Zarinegar is truly impressed with what he is seeing so far, and I can’t wait to explore more amazing sites here in England. Although my time in England must end soon, I still don’t know when I’ll draw the line. The next countries that I will enter into do not speak English, so it will be a bit more of a challenge for me. Either way tomorrow I have one more shortly trip planned in Sean Zarinegar meets Wiltshire. For now this is Sean signing off, and loving every minute of life!
No comments:
Post a Comment