We woke up in Salisbury and made straight for the cathedral. It came recommended by a facebook friend and boy was she right! Salisbury Cathedral turned out to be one of The Captain’s favorite places on the trip.
If you are worried the cathedral doesn’t have a William Marshal contention, fear not it’s got plenty:
- His cousin by marriage, William Longspee is buried there.
William Longspee’s Tomb
Longspee also happened to be the illegitimate son of King Henry II and Ida de Tosney. Later Ida went on to marry Earl Bigod and their son married William Marshal’s oldest daughter— you got all that right?
- One of the best preserved original copies of the Magna Carta is kept here. And, you know William Marhsal and William Longspee played a major role in the negotiation of the Magna Carta.
In addition to such wonderful history related to The Marshal, the building itself is truly a wonder. Unlike Winchester Cathedral, the spire at Salisbury seems to shoot straight into the sky and reach for the clouds. In the middle ages when most the buildings were wood, this amazing structure certainly proclaimed the wonder of god.
The inside is quite dramatic, as well.
After finishing with the cathedral and a glimpse of the Magna Carta, we drove on to Lacock Abbey.
Again, you may wonder what is the connection to William Marshal? His cousin founded the Abbey after her husband, William Longspee died. So again we have found a connection–its Medieval Kevin Bacon.
The village of Lacock was very cute and the kids had a nice time walking around. We stopped for lunch at a little pub and visited the town’s small church. The village was also used as a filming location for one of the Harry Potter movies–the kids liked that of course.
Then it was back in the car for the drive to Bath…
The Booky Mom 