Dilton Marsh WI were delighted to welcome Diana Goetz as their speaker.
Her subject ‘Salisbury – a tale of two cities’ was of interest to all. Diana explained that Salisbury wasn’t always the place we take for granted now. It began 2,500 years ago when an iron age fort was built on Salisbury Hill 2 miles north of the now town centre. In the 6th century the Saxons invaded Wiltshire. In 552 Saxons and Celts fought a battle at Salisbury Hill. By the early 11th century a settlement had grown around the old fort.
Around 1069, William the Conqueror built a wooden castle and in 1075 a bishop moved his seat there. Its population was only a few hundred. The modern town of Salisbury began around 1217 when the bishop moved his seat to land owned by the church and set out streets in a grid pattern. The new town of Salisbury was given a charter in 1227 giving the people their rights. Salisbury Fair, now market was born.
The main industry was making wool cloth which was exported, making Salisbury one of the largest towns in England with a population of around 8,000. Work on Salisbury Cathedral began in 1220 and continued until 1258. The tower and spire were added in 1334. The Bishop’s Palace built in the 13th century. Like all towns in the 16th century, the town was struck by the plague. In October 1644 a royalist army occupied the town, they remained in their hands until 1646. In the 18th century smallpox took a hold but they gained their first newspaper in 1715. Then followed oil lamps; a force of night watch men and both an infirmary and theatre were built. In the 19th century Salisbury grew and the cloth industry grew out. In 1847 the railways arrived.
By the early 19th century the old settlement on the hill had died out, and Old Sarum became a public park. In the 20th century, the first cinema opened, the first council houses were built – some needed to replace slum dwellings. In the 21st century, Salisbury is a thriving market town with a population of around 40,000.
President Alison Irving gave her thanks to Diana.
Liz Lee
