Thursday, March 1, 2012

Salisbury Cathedral - United Kingdom







We were in Salisbury early in the New Year visiting our younger daughter and meeting up with my sister to sort out the last of our Mothers affairs and possessions after her death back in the summer.  Sad and happy times, a mixture of emotions as we sorted through things and stirred many memories.


While we were there I was determined to make a visit to the Cathedral, as it was some years since we had last done so and I had not yet had the opportunity to photograph the infinity font which was installed in 2008. Of course I also took a few other photos to share in a Travel Tale post.








Before we even went inside we came across something else interesting we had not seen before and first were unable to work out what it was all about.  The next photo shows the sort of sculptures one expects to see on the outside of the Cathedral, along with one that came as a complete surprise. What was your initial  reaction?










We really thought he was real at first, but how could he be, then one of us noticed the board behind with the following explanation.








We then went inside via the attractive cloisters.






The Cathedral was still decorated for the festive season so not only was I able to get the photos I came for but some of the Christmas decorations as well.














Finally one of the many beautiful stained glass windows, unfortunately it was not a sunny day.


All photos are my own taken in January 2012.
 Copyright All rights reserved by LindyLouMac Photo Collection 
These photos may also be viewed individually in my Travel Tales Collection at My Flickr.com  account. 

Salisbury Cathedral, once known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built between 1220 and 1258 and is considered a fine example of early English architecture. At 123m or 404ft the spire is the tallest church spire in the UK, it also has the largest cloister area and largest Cathedral Close. 

In 2008 when the Cathedral celebrated its 750th anniversary the Baptismal Font was consecrated in the September. Designed by William Pye, a water sculptor, it is the Cathedral's first permanent font for over 150 years. It beautifully combines both movement and stillness across its three metre span, with water flowing from its four corners, whilst the smooth mirrored surface reflects the surroundings. 

For more information on Salisbury Cathedral please refer to the Official Website or Salisbury CathedralWikipedia. or for information specifically about the font A modern treasure







11 comments:

  1. What a magnificent cathedral LindyLou!

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  2. These are such lovely photos of this cathedral! Will have to look and see where Salisbury is at in England so I can see where it is at. Very interesting sculpting in the front, and certainly not what I would expect to see there, so glad that you sent the explanation. Very interesting that it is still there. So sorry to hear about your mother and know how difficult that process is of giving things away, and just separating every thing out. I know how that feels. Very hard. Well, have a great day

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  3. Amazing photos of this wonderful cathedral. I still remember the first time I saw it - it was an awe-inspiring experience.
    Not sure about the man with the cup... Seems to be a little out of place there?

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  4. Hi Linda,

    Thanks for stopping by and leaving the link to this post, I must admit that I had missed it totally.

    We are lucky enough to live close to two fabulous cities, 12 miles from Bath and its glorious Abbey, 20 miles from Salisbury and its fantastic Cathedral, so we are definitely spoilt for choice.

    There is an NT house just on the far side of the green in tour picture, called Mompesson House, which is where we enjoyed our tea in the garden.

    It didn't look quite like the picture in the link below, as it is still a little early for the trees and shrubs, but I am sure that we will be visiting again during the Summer.

    http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mompesson-house/

    Sorry that you had to be visiting under such sad circumstances, hopefully your next visit will be for a happier occasion.

    Lovely photographs, as always.

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  5. I started to write and lost it..Lindy, I am getting rusty..haha..
    Anyway, back to what I wrote..The Church is just beautiful..and I did think the man with the cup was a bit out of place there..but a beautiful work of art.
    It is always hard going back home and sorting things out from a loss. It was so funny about the goose in our yard..it happened to appear on the day my mom passed away, 8years ago..I kept asking for a sign from her..It may have been a long shot, but I took it as a happy sign..haha..
    Wishing you the best..xoxoCarolyn

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  6. Amazing, this building! We visited it years ago, I think in 1989 and I would love to see it again, seeing all the work that has been going on since. Thanks for sharing, Linda!

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  7. Wow, very impressive building. Love to visit there one day.I enjoyed so much your photos. Thank you for sharing.

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  8. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! I absolutely love Gothic churches, I could spend hours in them studying all the little details! And Salisbury Cathedral is on my list of places I really want to visit in the UK. Unfortunately I only seem to be able to get up there for weekend visits and haven't been able to go yet... I need to programme a "real" vacation and do some proper exploring!

    I love the man with the coffee cup! Quite a surprise! :O)

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    1. Thanks for your visit, this is I suspect Spam, but I am letting it stay as I happen to like the look of the hotel. :)

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  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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