Salisbury Cathedral’s spire is the tallest in Britain, reaching the impressive height of 123m! It is no wonder that it can be seen for miles around and plays such a significant part of the surrounding landscape.
Photograph by Ash Mills
We've waited 38 years for this view! With the scaffolding fully removed from the Cathedral's East End, we can now admire the original beauty of the entire exterior as it would have looked in the 14th century after the Spire was added.
📸: Martin Cook
A sign of hope! Our medieval interior has been transformed into a vaccination centre. We’re very proud to be working with the NHS on the
#COVID19Vaccine
programme.
📷: Ash Mills
Today marks a momentous anniversary for our Cathedral.
#OnThisDay
exactly 800 years ago, the foundation stones of our beautiful building were laid.
#800years
#Salisbury2020
Lost on their way, some unexpected travellers managed to enter our closed Cathedral. Luckily our Head Verger was able to help them find a safe route through.
#DuckRescue
As we prepare to reopen for public worship, we wanted to share a message of
#Hope
. Using 1,000 candles, we wrote this message in the same space inside our historic building where thousands of people have received the
#COVID19Vaccination
.
We have lift off! In this remarkable new footage we captured the moment that Osmund, named after the second bishop of Salisbury, made his first flight away from the nest.
How long before his siblings follow suit? Watch the live stream here:
Before and after.
Recently our South Transept has transformed into a temporary vaccination centre, allowing hundreds of people to receive the
#CovidVaccine
inside our medieval Cathedral.
📷:
@AshMillsPhoto
From the archives: A still and serene photograph of the Cloisters. This image was taken in the early 1900s by the talented local photographer Wilfred Chaplin, who perfectly captured the timeless beauty of the Cloisters.
Physically apart but still singing together.
Recorded in their own homes, our Lay Vicars sing 'If ye love me', in perfect harmony, for our Maundy Thursday digital service. The anthem was chosen in particular for its theme of love for one another.
We now have three peregrine chicks! Our third peregrine chick hatched this morning, joining the two chicks already in the nestbox 🐣.
We want to thank everyone for following along so far and wanted to share the wonderful footage of the new chick’s first feed:
We’ve hit a phenomenal milestone! Today the 25,000th
#COVID19Vaccination
was administered inside our medieval building. Congratulations to our local medical practices, our staff, our volunteers and everyone else who made this possible. 👏
📷: Ash Mills
Our resident
#peregrine
falcon, Sally, has been spotted again and proving that she's anything but camera shy!
We’ve also seen untagged birds around the area, so we'll be keeping a keen eye on our peregrine-cam to see what happens...
@RSPBSouthWest
A perk that was very well received - organ music was played for those who received the
#CovidVaccine
inside our building yesterday. Thanks to our organists for pulling out the stops! 👏👏
Video by Ash Mills.
The days are getting lighter, but there are still moments to cherish after dark - like this stunning full moon behind our spire! This incredible photo was taken just last week.
📷: Nick Bull | Stonehenge Dronescapes
Today is significant in the history of human rights. Known as
#MagnaCartaDay
, the world-famous document was sealed by King John
#OnThisDay
in 1215.
Our Magna Carta is the best-preserved of the four that survived. Learn more about its legacy here:
Good morning Salisbury. We’ve noticed another
#peregrinefalcon
perched on our tower and keeping a watchful eye over our beautiful city. With views like that we can understand why!
@RSPBSouthWest
#earlybird
Our male and female peregrines take turns incubating their eggs, but you might be wondering how to tell them apart.
The biggest clue is their size! Females typically measure up to 30% larger than males.
#SalisburyPeregrines
Have you taken your Christmas tree and decorations down yet? Here at Salisbury Cathedral, we keep our tree up until Candlemas on 2 February. This is the day which concludes the season of Christmas in the church calendar.
📸: Martin Cook
Last week, local photographer Nick Bull captured this photo of two iconic sites in Salisbury’s history emerging from the mist. In the foreground is the site of the ancient city of Old Sarum and in the distance is the unmistakable tip of our Spire.
📸: Nick Bull
We’re delighted to have welcomed Her Majesty The Queen to our Cathedral yesterday for a special concert in aid of Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, Wiltshire Air Ambulance, Youth Action Wiltshire, and military charities. Thank you to everyone who joined us.
📸: Finnbarr Webster
In 1991 we made history by becoming the first Cathedral in the UK to allow girls to sing on an equal basis with the boys. Next year, our fabulous girls choir will celebrate their 30th anniversary.
#WomensDay
Early last week, 81-year-old former music teacher Margaret Hart visited Salisbury Cathedral to play our newly restored Father Willis Organ. The trip was arranged by Margaret's care home in Romsey under their 'Make a Wish' initiative. Photo by Spencer Mulholland.
Natural beauty meets an architectural wonder! These incredible images of the moon rising behind the Cathedral’s spire were taken recently by photographer Nick Bull.
Our Spire is the tallest in England and was probably built between 1300 and 1330.
The Spire was built to honour God and perhaps to direct people towards God in heaven, traditionally believed to be in the sky above us.
📷: Martin Cook
38 years in the making! With the East End restoration complete, we can finally see the craftsmanship of our stonemasons who replaced a total of 1,100 stones.
Six photos over three days. These images, all taken within the same 3-day period, show just how different our Cathedral can look at different times of day.
📸: Anne-Marie Tuck
A mother duck has waddled through our cloisters with her 13 ducklings following close behind her. Mark, one of our caretakers, snapped this picture before making sure they got through safely.
This year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of our Girls' Choir. Founded in 1991, they made history as the first all female cathedral choir in England.
#InternationalWomensDay
If you were looking for magnificent views of the Cathedral, you may want to visit Harnham Water Meadows.
Established in the 1700s, the meadows once sustained the community. Today, the meadows provide stunning views of our Cathedral from afar.
📷: Martin Cook
Bright enough to be seen with the naked eye,
#cometNEOWISE
was spotted over our famous spire on Friday.
The newly discovered comet is around 400 times further away than the moon!
📷: Craig Harvey/
@light_landscape
Wonderful news! Earlier this morning the fourth and final chick hatched on our tower, completing the peregrine family. 🐣
We can't wait to watch how the young chicks grow and develop over the next few weeks. Watch live here:
#SalisburyPeregrines
PEREGRINE UPDATE: Time is running out for our resident female peregrine falcon, Sally, to find a suitable partner before breeding season is over. With the arrival of an unringed male peregrine, could courtship be on the cards?
#willtheywontthey
Early risers were treated to views of a spectacular
#Supermoon
yesterday morning. Here in Salisbury, it was seen through the haze of a rising mist along with the tip of the Spire.
📷: Stonehenge Dronescapes
As 2023 draws to a close, we're looking back at some of our favourite photos of the Cathedral. Thank you to everyone who shared their snaps with us this year.
📸 Images 1, 2, 4 - Martin Cook
📸 Image 3 - Kondrad Cox
95 year old Louis Godwin former RAF flight sergeant and Lancaster tail gunner being interviewed by the BBC after his jab at Salisbury Cathedral
#CovidVaccine
So lovely to see everyone at the official opening of our
#LesColombes
installation last night. Do come and visit to see it as well the thousands of doves in all the shop windows too! 🕊
#Community
#SalisburyCityOfDoves
To start your week, here's another cracking shot of the recently scaffold-free east side! The morning sun caught the Spire at the perfect time.
📸: Martin Cook
Today is the 25th anniversary of Bill Bryson's 'Notes from a Small Island'. In the book, Bryson wrote, 'Salisbury Cathedral is the single most beautiful structure in England and the Close around it the most beautiful space.'
#OTD
1995.
📸: Jacques Eloff/ Vertech Imaging
A once in a lifetime picture!
Before the scaffolding was removed, this incredible shot from the high east gable was taken by
@AshMillsPhoto
. We recently completed significant restoration work there and so the scaffolding won’t need to return for a very long time.
We are pleased to say that our beautiful Chapter House will be open as normal tomorrow and that we will have a high quality facsimile of our wonderful
#MagnaCarta
on display.
The original will return to its permanent position as soon as its case has been repaired.
Our Cathedral is empty of all decoration today, except a cross marked in prayer lights on the nave floor in preparation for silent prayer. We invite our visitors to take a few moments of quiet reflection themselves.
#EasterEve
Today we celebrate our 801 year anniversary. After making the momentous decision to move the Cathedral from
@EHOldSarum
, our foundation stones of were laid
#OnThisDay
in 1220.
'Salisbury Cathedral is the single most beautiful structure in England, and the Close around it the most beautiful space'.
Bill Bryson - Notes from a Small Island.
Photo by
@AshMillsPhoto