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Friday, September 30, 2011

Salisbury Cathedral


A visit to England was right up my alley because of my obsession with all things gothic. When I was in secondary (middle) school, I could name all the six wives of Henry VIII in a flash but struggled with remembering just one name of our eight ...er was it seven Sultans who ruled Malacca! I was a big fan of British author Jean Plaidy (1 September 1906 – 18 January 1993) and read almost every single novel from her Tudor Saga series.



This gothic cathedral is one of the finest medieval cathedrals in Britain. How can one not marvel at the beauty and scale of the building?

Apparently, parts of the building are watered by an underground stream where the water level is checked 7 times a day! If it ever dried up, the building would collapse!

The Spire
Erected 800 years ago, the spire stands at a whopping 404 ft, the tallest church spire in England.

The cathedral is also home to the best-preserved of the four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta





How can a building of such splendor be built in those medieval times without the use of today's machinery? WOW!

The Nave

The infinity pool at the entrance of the nave






The tomb of a knight

The mechanism of the turret clock displayed at the nave of the cathedral

In those days, turret clocks were highly regarded for timekeeping and this ancient clock of the cathedral since 1386 is still ticking away, making it the oldest working clock in the world.

The Cloisters


Despite the crowds, I was struck by the tranquility of the place.



At the time of our visit, Sean Henry's exhibition was on

Ancient meets modern

Sean Henry's sculpture of a modern man placed on the west front of the cathedral

14 comments:

  1. Wow!!! I'm just sittin' here like a dufas in awe of those pictures. They sure don't build 'em like that anymore! Just beautiful!

    God bless ya and have a fantastic weekend sweetie!!! :o)

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  2. Fantastic! I loved the novels by Jean Plaidy too :)

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  3. Gorgeous photographs! I'm so glad you're sharing your adventure.

    You've inspired me to go dig deep into my camera's memory stick and post some of my Washington DC pics.

    Have a great weekend.

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  4. Wow, what amazing pictures!! Just stopping by through Frazzled Mamas link up, and am now following through GFC- looking forward to reading more of your blog :) ~April

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  5. wow... I have always wanted to visit England...now I want to go even more! Beautiful pics!

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  6. I was born in England but I've never gone back since we left when I was 2 months old! I must go now, after seeing all these beautiful pictures!

    Oh I was laughing so hard at your other post about traveling with your "teen and a half". Glad you still had a great time!

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  7. Stunning captures! I would be in heaven to see all that architecture in person..it's kinda my thing...lol

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  8. Great pictures! Seems like you had a great time! I love everything gothic, too. Maybe some day I'll be able to visit as well.

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  9. beautiful photos...I have always wanted to go to England..maybe one day.

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  10. Oh wow!!! Those are absolutely amazing! I would love to visit there one day. Found you from the spicy weekend blog hop btw.

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  11. BEAUTIFUL! I would love to see that!

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  12. These photos are stunning! It makes me want to visit. Thank you for sharing!

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  13. what beauty!
    I could take pictures all day long!
    thanks again for sharing~

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  14. Hi Veronica--Your photos are lovely! I just love good photos!

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