Old Sarum (Sorbiodoni)

The settlement of Old Sarum can be traced back to approximately 3000 BC. The site was already significant in Celtic times, and the Romans established an important military base here, known as Sorbiodunum, at a meeting point of trade routes and the River Avon. In 552, Cynric, King of Wessex, is said to have conquered Old Sarum, after which it rose to become a prominent town in the western kingdom under Anglo-Saxon rule. Following the Norman Conquest of England, a wooden castle was erected, and from 1075, construction began on a cathedral and a bishop's palace, which were, however, destroyed by fire shortly after their completion in 1092. A stone keep was built around 1100, and a replacement cathedral was completed in 1190.