Salisbury Cathedral

Rank: Top 1000

Wonder Type: Cultural

Country: United Kingdom

Best of: Architecture, Gothic, Cathedral, Christianity

Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral 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, at 404 feet (123m). 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 (80 acres (32 ha)). It contains the world's oldest working clock (from AD 1386) and has the best surviving of the four original copies of Magna Carta. [More Details]