Salisbury is renowned among ringers as being one of only three cathedrals in the country to not have bells hung for change ringing. This was not always the case – for several hundred years there stood a separate bell tower, in the cathedral close.
The recent dry weather has made the location of the 13th century tower very clear with the drying out of the grass above the still-existing foundations which must be very close to the surface. The substantial walls and buttresses can clearly be seen. The satellite image on Google maps also shows its position within the close, though less clearly.
The expense of maintaining the tower was cited as a main reason for its demolition in 1790, along with the drunken and dissolute behaviour of the ringers! The print below, from 1760, shows what it looked like and reminds us of what a wonderful facility we might have had if history had dealt us a different hand.
Andy Waring
