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Old Sarum was initially a hill fort strategically situated on the conjunction of two trade routes and the River Avon, Hampshire. The hill fort is broadly oval in shape and measures 405m in length and 360m in width, consisting of a single circuit of bank and ditch with an entrance in the eastern end. The Romans established a station nearby named Sorviodonum. Cynric, king of Wessex, was said to have captured the place in 552.

After the Norman Conquest, the town was renamed Salisberie after the Earl who received the area. He built a wooden castle with a ditch, and in 1067 started a cathedral and bishop's palace. He completed it in 1092 (it burned down five days later), and in 1100 built a stone keep. A replacement cathedral was completed in 1190.

But space ran out and water was in short supply on the hilltop, with cathedral and castle sitting cheek by jowl and their respective chiefs in regular conflict; so in 1219Events Saint Francis of Assisi introduces Catholicism into Egypt, during the Fifth Crusade Ongoing events Fifth Crusade ( 1217- 1221) Births Deaths Jayavarman VII, ruler of the Khmer Empire Minamoto no Sanetomo, third shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of J the bishopA bishop is an ordained person who holds a specific position of authority in any of a number of Christian churches. Bishops in the New Testament The bishop's role is typically called the " episcopacy", because the word "bishop" is derived ultimately from started construction on a new cathedral on the banks of the Avon. A new settlement grew up around this, called New Sarum, and eventually the name of Salisbury was used only for the new town. Old Sarum was slowly abandoned and fell into ruin. Not much is still standing there, but visitors may easily trace the outlines of the old castle and cathedral.

Old Sarum by John ConstableJohn Constable ( June 11, 1776 March 31, 1837) was born in East Bergholt, a village on the River Stour in Suffolk, England. He became a great landscape painter. The area of Dedham Vale in Suffolk is known as 'Constable Country'. Flatford Mill, the subject, 1829

From mediaeval times Old Sarum elected two members to the House of CommonsThe House of Commons is a component of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also includes the Sovereign and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 659 members, who are known as "Members of Parliamen, despite the fact that from at least the 17th century it had no resident voters at all. In 1831Events February- March Revolts in Modena, Parma and the Papal States are put down by Austrian troops February 20 Battle of Grochow. Polish rebel forces divide a Russian army. March 1 Democrat Samuel Smith becomes President Pro Tempore of the United States it had eleven voters, all of whom were landowners who lived elsewhere. This made Old Sarum the most notorious of the rotten boroughThe term rotten borough (or pocket borough as they were seen as being "in the pocket" of a patron) refers to a parliamentary borough or constituency in the Kingdom of England (pre-1707), the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1801), the Kingdom of Ireland (15s of the pre- 1832Events February 12 Ecuador annexes the Galapagos Islands February 12 serious cholera epidemic begins in London from the East London. It is declared officially over in early May but deaths continue. At least 3000 victims March 24 In Hiram, Ohio a group of House of Commons. The Reform ActIn the United Kingdom, the Reform Act could refer to various Acts Reform Act of 1832 (The "First Reform Act" or "The Great Reform Act"), which abolished rotten boroughs and gave representation to previously unrepresented urban areas like Birmingham etc. of that year deprived Old Sarum of both its seats.

Old Sarum's long history makes it a popular location for historical reenactments.