The Kat's Tale: Salisbury Cathedral & Chapter House (Pt 1)

Our next stop on the journey was the town of Salisbury. The main purpose of the stop was to see the Salisbury Cathedral and the Chapter House, but we had about 4 1/2 hours to do whatever we wanted. Amazingly, Diana (a Canadian who I knew previously) and I spent about 3 hours in the Cathedral and Chapter House. Who figured that I would start hanging around churches for fun? But honestly, the history and beauty just fascinates me. Salisbury Cathedral is a medieval cathedral which was built in the 13th century. About 100 years later the spire was added, which at 404 feet is the tallest spire in England. It now has a distinct lean to the southwest. One of the fine chaplains who Diana and I spent a good half hour talking with showed us where to stand and look up so that we could see how much the spire was leaning.

Side view of Cathedral - gorgeous architecture

Fallen Christ - granite sculpture by Ronald Rae (1997)

The statues that you can see cover this side of the Cathedral. They are arranged with bishops and doctors, saints and martyrs, apostles and evangelists, prophets and patriarchs in ascending order below Christ in the high gable. Unfortunately, only 10 of the original medieval statues remain. 60 were added during the Victorian period, and a few have been replaced in recent years (at a cost of about $40,000 CAD each). However, there remains some empty spots where statues once were, and there is even one statue that I noticed without a head! Interestingly, these are the original wooden doors however.