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THE RIGHT REVEREND JOHN FISHER, D. D

Lord Bishop of Salisbury:

THE VERY REVEREND CHARLES TALBOT, M. A.

DEAN;

AND THE REVEREND

ROBERT PRICE, L. L. D.

WILLIAM DOUGLAS, M. A.

THOMAS HENRY HUME, M. A.

WILLIAM COXE, M. A.

CHARLES EKINS, M. A.

JOHN SAVILLE OGLE, M. A.

CANONS RESIDENTIARY;

THIS WORK IS DEDICATED,

IN TESTIMONY

OF

RESPECT and GRATITUDE.

PREFACE.

NONE of our Ecclesiastical Structures has been more generally admired than the Cathedral of Salisbury; nor is any more worthy of attention, whether it be considered as a model of elegant simplicity, which has been seldom surpassed, or as one of the first and most perfect specimens of a style of architecture, which afterwards diverged into so many beautiful varieties.

In consequence of the curiosity and admiration which it has excited, different works have been published, to elucidate its History and describe its peculiarities. Among the most remarkable, and indeed the foundation of the rest, are the History and Antiquities of the Church, printed in 1719; the Account given by Price; and the Antiquitates Sarisburienses. It is but just to admit that the two last publications display considerable research, one into the History, and the other into the structure of the church. But they are deficient in many respects, and both want that species of illustration which mere description cannot supply: the last contains no plate of the cathedral; and those of Price, though not without merit, are yet far from being either characteristic, or faithful delineations.

The design of the present work is to preserve the most valuable part of the information contained in the preceding, and to supply, as far as possible, their deficiencies. Biographical notices are given of the Bishops;

A

New light has also

and an account of the changes which the See has undergone, from its first foundation at Sherborne to the present time. been thrown on the History of the Cathedral at Old Sarum, from which the present Establishment derived its form, customs, possessions, and privileges; and the chasm between the erection of the New Church and the Reformation, has been in a great measure supplied. An Historical Description of the Monuments is also added, with an Account of the Library, and Lists of the Deans and Dignitaries.

The Biographical Catalogue of Godwin, improved by Richardson, has been made the ground work for the Account of the Bishops; but new facts and illustrations have been drawn from other sources, and the series of Lives completed from the best authorities. The most authentic publications have also been consulted for the History of the Church, and the Description of the Monuments; and most of the documents given by preceding writers have been attentively compared with the originals, and in some instances corrected.

But the principal novelty of this work is derived from sources, which have before been only partially opened to any individual. These are the Episcopal Archives, and those of the Dean and Chapter. are the documents principally consulted:

The following

In the Episcopal Archives-A Collection, consisting of copies of charters and grants, to the Establishment at Old Sarum, made in the thirteenth century. The Book of Customs, compiled by Bishop Osmund; and the Account of the Foundation of the New Church, by William de Wanda, first precentor and afterwards dean; both of the same date. The Episcopal Registers, from Bishop Mortival to the present time; and various copies of the Statutes.