Old Sarum

About

Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about two miles (three kilometres) north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest records in the country. It is an English Heritage property and is open to the public.

The great stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury are near Old Sarum and indications of prehistoric settlement at the site have been discovered from as early as 3000 BC. Around 400 BC, during the Iron Age, a hillfort was erected, controlling the intersection of two trade paths and the River Avon. The site continued to be occupied during the Roman period, when the paths were made into roads.

The Saxons took the British fort in the 6th century and later used it as a stronghold against Vikings. The Normans constructed a motte and bailey castle, a stone curtain wall, and Old Sarum Cathedral. A royal palace was built within Old Sarum Castle for King Henry I and was subsequently used by Plantagenet monarchs.

This heyday of the settlement lasted for around 300 years until disputes between the Sheriff of Wiltshire, keeper of the castle, and the Bishop...