It’s a short scenic train journey from my digs in Weybridge to Salisbury. A place that I have wanted to visit ever since reading Ken Follet’s historic novel "Pillars of the Earth" which had been written about the building of an imaginary cathedral - Knightsbridge.
The story was modelled on Salisbury Cathedral that incidentally, had hit the news a few years back in a factual “whodunnit” that quickly became a “theydunnit” when a Russian Double Agent and his daughter were found slumped in the grounds of the Cathedral - poisoned it is said, on Putin’s Orders.
On a more civilised note however, it is also home to one of the 4 remaining Magna Cartas.
An agreement between King John and his mutineering Lords and scratched in medieval script onto sheep skin using quill pens, it declared that King John would accept the will of the people and not exploit his power over them. Signed at Runneymead in June 1215, the original agreement lasted only a few months before John broke his side of the agreement and the whole thing temporarily fell apart.
One of the defining sections of the Charter along with rights for Women and the standardization of weights and measures, revoked the “Right of Kings” although that wouldn’t bother John as he was dead within the year.
Why, you might ask, would a country boy from half way around the world be interested in another country’s agreement between a sovereign and his people?
The Magna Carta forms the basis for our Laws in NZ, a symbol for our Foundation of Rights, and the very basis of the “Westminster System” that is the centerpiece of our form of government. This year, 2025 will mark the 810th anniversary of the Magna Carta and the 185th year of the Treaty of Waitangi and why wouldn’t you want to help celebrate that?
The current Salisbury Cathedral - recognised as one of England's most beautiful, owes its foundations to “Old Sarum” Cathedral - a boulder’s throw from Stonehenge, and a stone's throw away over the hill from its current site, but too close to a Norman Fort for the monks’ comfort.
Piece by piece it was moved here to the Salisbury Plains and used as the foundations for the new building to be completed in 1258. By 1338 the Church had added a magnificent tower and Spire, the tallest in England and when standing below it, you can see why Russian hit-men would have travelled all the way from Russia just to admire the height of the Spire (and then just to fly back to Russia the same day) I mean it was obvious!.
The gothic interiors of the building match the awe inspiring exterior that has been captured over the years by some of England's greatest painters. The architecture of the building showing off the stonemasons’ craftsmanship in a series of ribbed vaults and soaring clusters of columns, all beautifully and painstakingly carved and because the stonemasons were given a free hand, it also features whimsical and humorous figures amongst the more traditional depictions of figures from the bible.
The building is still evolving with alterations and new pieces being continually added. There is always something going on here, currently some of the windows are being replaced with stained glass in stunning and modern designs. A beautiful modern “infinity” font has been installed and the continual program of structural cleaning is carried out to keep at bay the decay and ruin of so many other of the country's churches.
The cathedral here is living and breathing and proud locals are on hand to show off the building.
Housed just off the medieval cloister where you can imagine the monks processing down the centuries , is the Chapter house where, housed in a somewhat temporary looking “tent” and without fanfare, is the Parchment that has been the basis of so many political systems throughout the world. Behind glass that has the “highest Security Rating of any case in the UK”, you hope that it is at least safer than the Napoleonic Crown Jewels in the Louvre. A pale piece of parchment lies, holding so much history and meaning.
There were no lines to get into the tent and it sat alone in its hexagonal room, its importance not perhaps appreciated by the hoards of bus tourists, marvelling at the more impressive building next door. But here in the quiet sanctum of the Chapter house, it acts as a cornerstone that so many democracies of the world have to be thankful for.
The gift that keeps on giving.
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