180 Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral is one of twenty that were built following the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Built in the layout of a cross, using 70 thousand tons of stone, the cathedral boasts an early English gothic style.
123 Keith Kellett - Freelance Writer
I’m a free-lance writer and photographer, living in Southern England, near the cathedral city of Salisbury, just a short distance from the ancient monument of Stonehenge.
I have a taste for travel, adventure, humour and fun undiminished by over 30 years in the Royal Air Force. Writing & taking pictures as a hobby began in the early 1980s, and I turned professional on retirement from active service in 1996.
Since then, I’ve been writing about, and photographing food and drink, old cars, beer, steam engines, beer and brewing, historical re-enactments, beer, bygones, gardens and, of course, travel, nature and the outdoors and beer. I once said the only things I won’t write about are finance, politics and personal relationships.
So, if you need words or pictures, give me a call. My rates are reasonable, and it costs nothing to ask.
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Keith Kellett - Outdoor & Travel Writing & Photography
5, Burwood Close
Amesbury
Wiltshire
SP4 7QH
England
Tel: (+44) 1980 590662
Mobile: (+44) 7790 596725
Email: keithkellett @ ntlworld.com
Web: www.travelwriters.com/keithkellett
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79 Salisbury
Welcome to our page for Salisbury
:: Upcoming Events ::
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Editorial
Editor Keith Kellett
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Annual Events in Salisbury
- Amesbury Carnival
- Beerex
- Downton Cuckoo Fair
- Knights to Remember - St Davids Day
- St George’s Day
- Salisbury Country & Garden Show
- Salisbury Food and Drink Festival
- Salisbury International Arts Festival
- Sarsen Trail
- Southern Cathedrals Festival
- Stonehenge Stomp
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Attractions in Salisbury
- Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm Park
- Farmer Giles Working Farm Park
- Hamptworth Estate
- Heale Garden and Plant Centre
- Spooky Sarum
- Salisbury Cathedral
- Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum
- Stonehenge
- The Wardrobe Military Museum
- Wilton House
- Wilton Shopping Village
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Business Links for Salisbury
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Charities in Salisbury
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Clubs in Salisbury
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Local information for Salisbury
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Night Life in Salisbury
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Restaurants in Salisbury
- Amesbury Tandoori
- Mayflower
- Pinocchio’s
- Prezzo
- The Amesbury Archers Brewers Fayre
- The Bridge at Woodford
- The New Inn
- The Lemon Tree
- The Polly Tea Rooms
- The Wheatsheaf
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Venues in Salisbury
- Antrobus Arms
- Antrobus House
- Grasmere House Hotel
- Langford Lakes Nature Reserve
- Milford Hall Hotel
- The George Inn
- The Inn at High Post
- The Pheasant
- The Red Lion
- The White Hart
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16 Knights to Remember
Knights to Remember
by Keith Kellett
March 1st is St. David’s Day. On that day, Welsh people wear leeks or daffodils in honour of their Patron Saint. Seventeen days later, it’s St. Patrick’s day, when the Irish wear shamrock, do some singing and dancing, and drink lots of Guinness.
England has a Patron Saint, too. But it’s hard to understand why St. George was chosen for the office, rather than a home-grown Saint like Aidan, Cuthbert or Hilda. If George existed at all, he was a Greek, who supposedly slew a dragon in Libya. This could be why not a great deal, apart from flying the flag from the church, usually happens on April 23rd, his day.
England doesn’t seem to be very keen on festivals of any kind, for which most people blame Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans of the 17th Century. They thought fun of any kind was sinful, and even tried to ban Christmas!
There have been attempts in some parts of the country to ‘get something going’ in honour of the Saint, but sadly, all too often, it becomes a tacky part of some middle-class bucolic fantasy, in which everyone’s the Squire, and nobody wants to be the serfs.
Salisbury celebrates St. George’s Day with a visit by the Dragon. Although he starts his tour, appropriately enough, in the Old George Mall, it does seem to me a little bit like celebrating Trafalgar Day by dressing up as Napoleon’s navy. I mean, the dragon’s supposed to be the representation of evil; he’s the Bad Guy, for goodness sake!
Up at Old Sarum, the castle outside the city, they sometimes have the Mediaeval Knights. They are genuine enough … or, at least, as authentic as painstaking research can make them.
Three mediaeval societies came the first year I visited. Conquest, The Troop and the Harlech Mediaeval Society (who, being from Wales, would presumably have rooted for the Dragon!) were all at pains to explain that 12th Century warfare wasn’t as Malory, Tennyson or Sam Goldwyn would have us believe. It wasn’t just about smiting a couple of churls with the broadsword then hey, nonny for a stoup of ale and then chase the wenches round the tavern.
It was serious stuff, in which participants were in grave danger of getting terminally dismembered, disembowelled, decapitated… or any combination of all three. Even a modern demonstration of the techniques isn’t without its dangers, hence the unobtrusive presence of the descendants of the Knights of another saint … the St. John Ambulance Brigade!
Chivalry? You’ve been reading too much of that Round Table stuff, Sir Knight! We don’t do that here!
Contrary to the Hollywood interpretation, anything went. Two on one, one against many, striking a man while he was down, attacking from behind and even running away were all acceptable!
What the knights … and their ladies… aimed to show us was the dress, armour and weaponry of the time when Sarum first became a Royal castle, during the Anarchy, a troubled 20-year period following the death of Henry I in 1135. This was the time when the throne was disputed between Henry’s daughter, Matilda and his nephew, Stephen of Blois, a time of skirmishes and minor battles, some of which may have taken place at Sarum.
Away from the knightly pageantry, a duo called Hautbois performed carefully researched music and songs of the period in a covered wagon … and here, surprisingly, is something the film-makers do sometimes get right!
It might not have had a lot to do with St. George, but it was good, instructive fun. In the true English tradition, the event didn’t take place on St. George’s Day itself, but on the previous week-end. And, in the true English tradition, it rained!
14 Spooky Sarum
Oliver is reputed to be a very handsome ghost, in his scarlet velvet suit and flamboyant, plumed Cavalier hat. He’s also a considerate ghost. When he’s not making one of his infrequent appearances, he likes to move things around, but, unlike more common poltergeists, does so very carefully.
That’s fortunate, for he lives in the House of John A’Port, in Queen Street, Salisbury. It’s a shop, nowadays, called Watson’s … where they sell china, porcelain and glassware!
In Oliver’s day, he could have looked out of the windows across the street to the Market Place. Beyond that, there used to be two inns standing side-by-side, the Saracen’s Head and the Blue Boar. The street they stood in is still called Blue Boar Row, although the inns are now gone. In their place stands Debenham’s department store, which may be able to claim to be the only department store to be haunted by a 14th Century Duke.
A plaque on the wall outside the store tells most of the story. In the Market Place, near that spot, Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham was beheaded for treason; some say he was involved in the murder of the ‘Princes in the Tower’. It’s said that the Duke protested his innocence until the end, claiming that, if he could speak to the King, Richard III, who was in nearby Wilton at the time, his name would be cleared. But, his message was ignored … .. if it ever reached the King.
When the deed had been done, it was said that the Duke’s head and right arm were shown to the King as proof. And, when the Blue Boar was extensively renovated in 1839, a skeleton, minus its head and right arm was discovered, buried under the kitchen floor. On several occasions, since, a figure, believed to be that of the Duke, has been sighted within the building.
Another old inn, dating from 1320, is the Haunch of Venison in nearby Minster Street. The back of the inn overlooks the graveyard outside the church of St. Thomas A’Becket. Sometimes, in one of the back rooms a smell of newly-dug earth has been detected. Very occasionally, a lady has been seen to pace the room, looking sadly over the graveyard.
The Haunch of Venison also made a macabre discovery during renovations. Embedded in a wall was a severed hand, holding two playing cards. It would seem, therefore, that when playing cards at the Haunch of Venison, you should always deal from the top of the deck!
At the far end of Blue Boar Row, on the corner of Endless Street, there’s a ghost called Matilda. She’s a young, blonde-haired girl, said to be friendly, but has been known to throw the odd carton down the stairs. Although, according to report, she seems to have the run of the upper floors of Blue Boar Row as far along as Debenham’s, she’s most often seen in the attic above what used to be Mr. T’s Café.
Like the Duke of Buckingham, Matilda had the disconcerting habit of walking through dividing wall walls to the building next door. Coincidentally, Debenham’s store is next door to the Pizza Hut … and Mr. T’s Cafe was next door to Pizza Express.
So, maybe ghosts like pizza?
Note: If you’re visiting Salisbury, and would like to ‘meet’ the Duke, Oliver, Matilda and many of their friends, the Salisbury Tourist Information Centre run frequent ‘Ghost Tours’ around the city throughout the Summer ……. and also during Hallowe’en. Sightings are, of course, never guaranteed!
Tours start from the TIC in Fish Row; further details can be obtained from the TIC, tel. no. (01722) 334956.