The Close, Salisbury Cathedral

A close is the area of land, often with hard or grassed open space and buildings that surround most, though not all, cathedrals. It frequently holds administrative buildings that are adjuncts to the cathedral, sometimes it has a cathedral school or an ancient Bishop's Palace. The cathedral close at Salisbury is the largest such space in England at 80 acres (32 hectares) and widely regarded as the most beautiful. Substantial remains of the fourteenth century wall that surrounded it can still be seen. It has twenty one Grade 1 Listed Buildings, many of which resemble small country houses, as do the two in today's photograph, the Walton Canonry and Myles Place.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Conservation workers, Salisbury Cathedral

I've always had something of an admiration for those who work at heights. Not only do such people need to master the technicalities of their job, they also have to overcome the difficulties of doing it high above the ground. Consequently, when I see workers engaged in in this way and in this kind of location, I invariably take a shot or two of them. I've photographed wind turbine engineers, big wheel erectors, church spire repairers and conservation workers. I came across the latter again quite recently. They were on the west front of Salisbury Cathedral and seemed to be checking the statues and carved stonework, removing any loose debris.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Vaulting, Salisbury Cathedral

One of the finest views in any cathedral is that seen when you stand underneath the crossing tower and look upwards. What grabs the eye are the patterns of rib vaulting that are used to transfer the weight of the roof to the columns and piers of the arcades in the nave, chancel and transepts. The patterns chosen vary with the period in which they were built - fashions changed as architectural skills developed. At Salisbury Cathedral quadripartite rib vaults were used throughout, giving uniformity to the interior. Under the tower, in the 1400s, lierne vaulting replaced the earlier work and here the greater complexity makes the tower a focus for the eye.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Cloister, Salisbury Cathedral

The presence of a cloister at a cathedral usually signifies that the building was originally built by a monastic order (Franciscans, Carthusians, Cistercians etc). Salisbury Cathedral is an exception to this rule. But, the purpose of the cloister remains the same - to provide a sheltered (often south-facing) enclosed, covered quadrangle around which monks could walk and which kept them separate from wider society. The cloister at Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire, dates from the thirteenth century and features large, alternating cinquefoils and sexfoils.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Nave, Salisbury Cathedral

The thirteenth century nave of Salisbury Cathedral is built in what nineteenth century writers called the "Lancet" style but which today is more usually referred to as the Early English style. The nave arcades and most arches elsewhere are tall and pointed. Dark, polished Purbeck marble shafts flank these arches, a motif common to this period, and at Salisbury the light grey Chilmark stone adds further emphasis. As is commonly seen today, an altar has been placed where the nave meets the choir, making the congregation closer to this focal point.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

West front, Salisbury Cathedral

For centuries most buildings have had a front and a back (and sides too, of course!) The front has always been the favoured elevation, the one that aims to impress, the one where the architect (or builder or owner) have given greatest consideration, and where most money per square foot has been spent. Cathedrals are no exception to this general rule though its true to that all elevations are designed to be seen and to impress. However, the west front is usually the most favoured elevation, is often symmetrical, and has the main processional entrance. Many cathedrals have west fronts decorated with statues of biblical figures and saints. This is the case at Salisbury where this approach is thought to have been borrowed from not too distant Wells Cathedral. At Salisbury, however, fewer of the statues are original, with many being Victorian in age.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Salisbury Cathedral

Cathedrals are big. Moreover, the space around them is often limited. Consequently fitting the building into the viewfinder can frequently be a challenge. If you haven't got a very wide lens then you either have to accept massively converging verticals or you have to move back as far as you can. On the evening of our visit to Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire, a building with a much larger "close" than is usual, this was the position where I could just about get the verticals to be vertical, with the trees making a dark, detailed "frame". This building was erected relatively quickly compared with many cathedrals. The main body of the church was built between 1220 and 1258. The chapter house was added around 1263 and the tower and spire were completed by 1320. Incidentally, it's the height of that spire, Britain's tallest at 404 feet (123m) that accentuates the photographer's problem described above.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Salisbury Cathedral through a sexfoil

If you were a bit concerned reading the title of this post let me set your mind at rest. A sexfoil is a 6-petalled (or 6-leafed) shape. Gothic architecture features a lot of different numbered foils - trefoil, quatrefoil, cinquefoil, septfoil etc. In this instance the sexfoil is one of many that alternate with cinquefoils in the cloisters of Salisbury Cathedral. The reason I photographed the top of the cathedral tower and the bottom of the spire through it is for compositional reasons but also because it's difficult to get sufficiently distant to fit the whole building in the frame.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300