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Sarum (Old) in Wilts County England History and GeographySARUM (OLD), an ancient borough in the parish of STRATFORD under the CASTLE, hundred of UNDERDITCH, county of WILTS, 1½ mile (N.) from Salisbury. The population is returned with the parish. This place was originally a British settlement of some importance previous to the time of the Romans, who, on their establishment in the island, fixed here their station Sorbiodunum, situated on the Via Iceniana, or Iknield-street. By the Saxons, who, under their leader Kenric, son of Cerdic, second king of Wessex, took this town from the Britons in 552, it was called Searesbyrig, from the dryness of its situation, and continued to be a residence of the West Saxon kings till the union of the Octarchy under Egbert, after which time it still continued to be a royal castle. Alfred issued an order to the sheriff of Wiltshire to fortify this place with a trench and palisades, which order is given by Ledwiche, in his 'Antiquitates Sarisburienses,' and the remains of the present fortifications are evidently of Saxon character. In 960, Edgar convoked a wittenagemote, or great council of the state here, the especial object of which was to deliberate upon the best mode of defending the northern counties against the incursions of the Danes, by whom this part of the kingdom was particularly infested. In 1003, Sweyn, King of Denmark, having landed on the western coast, to retaliate the massacre of his countrymen in the reign of Ethelred, pillaged the town and burnt the castle. Soon after the Norman Conquest, pursuant to a decree of a synod held in St. Paul's cathedral, in 1076, for removing episcopal sees from obscure villages into fortified cities, the seat of the bishoprick of Wiltshire was, by Bishop Herman, removed from Sherborne (which had fallen into decay) to this place, where he laid the foundation of a cathedral church, which was completed by his successor, Bishop Osmund, in 1092. On the completion of the Norman survey, in 1086, William the Conqueror summoned all the bishops, abbots, barons, and knights of the kingdom, to attend him at Sarum, and do homage for the lands which they held by feudal tenure. In 1095, or 1096, William Rufus assembled a great council here, in which William, Count of Eu, was impeached of high treason against the king, in conspiring to raise Stephen, Earl of Albemarle, to the throne. Henry I. held his court here several months during the year 1100, where he received Archbishop Anselm, on his arrival in England, whom he required to do homage, and swear fealty to him, and to receive from his hands the investiture of his see. This demand gave rise to a dispute between the king and the pope, which was at length compromised, the pope allowing the prelates to do homage to the king, and reserving to himself alone the right of investiture, which was the first attempt to establish papal supremacy in the island. This monarch again fixed his residence here in 1106, and in 1116 assembled the prelates and barons of the realm, to swear allegiance and do homage to his son William, as his successor on the English throne, previously to his embarkation for Normandy, on his return from which place that prince was unfortunately drowned. In the reign of Stephen, Bishop Roger held the castle for the king; and soon after the instalment of his successor, Joceline, in 1142, the partisans of the Empress Matilda took possession of the town, which, in the course of the contest, was alternately occupied by both parties. On the accession of Henry II., in 1154, the castle was found to be in a dismantled state, and a considerable sum was expended in putting it into repair. From the time of Stephen, disputes had arisen between the castellans and the clergy, which became so violent, that in the reign of Richard I., Herbert, then bishop, induced by these annoyances, and other inconveniences attending the situation of his church, among which was the difficulty of obtaining water, which could not be accomplished, except by permission of the governor, obtained license from the king to remove the see, and to crect a new church in the valley, at the distance of nearly two miles from the castle. This design was carried into execution by his successor, who having obtained a special indulgence from the pope, laid the foundation of the present cathedral of New Sarum, or Salisbury, to which place the episcopal chair was transferred. From that period the town of Old Sarum began to decay, and was gradually deserted by its inhabitants, who established themselves in the more immediate vicinity of the new cathedral church. Of the old town there is scarcely a single vestige, except a few fragments of foundation walls of some of the houses, on the declivity of an eminence rising from the western side of a valley, and forming the extremity of a ridge which extends towards the east. The vast ditches and ramparts of the ancient city, and the site of the castle, may be traced, and, while they constitute the only visible remains of this once flourishing city, are among the most interesting objects of antiquarian research: there were houses remaining down to the time of Henry VIII., and service was performed in the old chapel of the cathedral until nearly the same period. Old Sarum is a borough by prescription, and first exercised the elective franchise in the 23d of Edward I., but made no other return till the 34th of Edward III., since which time it has continued to send two members to parliament: the right of election is vested in the burgage freeholders, of whom the number is seven: the bailiff is the returning officer. A temporary house is erected under a large tree for holding the election. John of Salisbury, one of the most eminent scholars of his time, and celebrated as an historian and biographer, was born at Old Sarum, in the early part of the twelfth century. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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