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Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, and one of the leading examples of Early English architecture.〔 The main body of the cathedral was completed in only 38 years, from 1220 to 1258. 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 viewed. The cathedral also has the largest cloister and the largest cathedral close in Britain ().〔 It contains the world's oldest working clock (from AD 1386) and has the best surviving of the four original copies of ''Magna Carta'' (all four original copies are in England). In 2008, the cathedral celebrated the 750th anniversary of its consecration. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and seat of the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Nick Holtam. ==History== As a response to deteriorating relations between the clergy and the military at Old Sarum Cathedral, the decision was taken to resite the cathedral and the bishopric was moved to Salisbury.〔Evans, p. 10-11〕 The move occurred during the tenure of Bishop Richard Poore, a wealthy man who donated the land on which it was built. The new cathedral was paid for by donations, principally from the canons and vicars of southeast England who were asked to contribute a fixed annual sum until it was completed.〔Evans, p. 13〕 A legend tells that the Bishop of Old Sarum shot an arrow in the direction he would build the cathedral but the arrow hit a deer that died in the place where Salisbury Cathedral is now. The cathedral crossing, Old Sarum and Stonehenge are reputed to be aligned on a ley line, though Clive L.N. Ruggles asserts that the site, on marshland, was chosen because a preferred site several miles to the west could not be obtained.〔Ruggles, ''Ancient Astronomy: An Encyclopedia of Cosmologies and Myth'', 2005:225 "A notorious example...a ley line joining Stonehenge (third millennium B.C.E.), Old Sarum (first millennium B.C.E.), and Salisbury cathedral (C.E. 1220)."〕 The foundation stone was laid on 28 April 1220.〔Evans, p. 15〕 Much of the freestone for the cathedral came from Teffont Evias quarries.〔Sylvanus Urban, wd., ''The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle'' (1830), (p. 105 ) online at books.google.com〕 As a result of the high water table in the new location, the cathedral was built on only four feet of foundations, and by 1258 the nave, transepts and choir were complete. The only major sections built later were the cloisters in 1240, the chapter house in 1263, tower and spire, which at 404 feet (123 m) dominated the skyline from 1320. Because most of the cathedral was built in only 38 years, it has a single consistent architectural style, Early English Gothic. Although the spire is the cathedral's most impressive feature, it has proved to be troublesome. Together with the tower, it added 6,397 tons (6,500 tonnes) 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 later great ecclesiastical buildings (such as Malmesbury Abbey) and fallen down; instead, Salisbury remains the tallest church spire in the UK. 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, arrested further deformation.〔Salisbury, Wiltshire (accessed 3 December 2010 )〕 The beams were hidden by a false ceiling, installed below the lantern stage of the tower. Significant changes to the cathedral were made by the architect James Wyatt in 1790, including replacement of the original rood screen and demolition of a bell tower which stood about 320 feet (100 m) north west of the main building. Salisbury is one of only three English cathedrals to lack a ring of bells, the others are Norwich Cathedral and Ely Cathedral. However it does strike the time every 15 minutes with bells. In total, 70,000 tons of stone, 3,000 tons of timber and 450 tons of lead were used in the construction of the cathedral.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/architecture_cathedral_01.shtml#three )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Salisbury Cathedral」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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