SARUM (OLD), a borough (ancient), in the parish of
STRATFORD-under-the-CASTLE, hundred of UNDERDITCH,
county of WILTS, 1 mile (N.) from Salisbury. The population
is returned with the parish. This place was orir
ginally a British settlement of some importance previous
to the time of the Romans, who, on their establishment
in the island, fixed here their station Sorbiodumtm,
situated on the Via Iceniana, or Iknield-street. By the
Saxons, who, under their leader Kenric, son of Cerdic,
second king of Wessex, took this town from the Britons
in 552, it was called Searesbyrig, from the dryness of
its situation, and continued to be a residence of the
West Saxon kings till the union of the Octarchy
under Egbert, after which time it still continued to be
a royal castle. Alfred issued an order to the sheriff of
Wiltshire to fortify this place with a trench and palisades,
which order is given by Ledwiche, in his "Antiquitates
Sarisburienses," and the remains of the present
fortifications are evidently of Saxon character. In 960,
Edgar convoked a wittenagemote, or great council of
the state here, the especial object of which was to deliberate
upon the best mode of defending the northern
counties against the incursions of the Danes, by whom
this part of the kingdom was particularly infested. In
1003, Sweyn, King of Denmark, having landed on the
western coast, to retaliate the massacre of his countrymen
in the reign of Ethelred, pillaged the town and
burnt the castle. Soon after the Norman Conquest,
pursuant to a decree of a synod held in St. Paul's
cathedral, in 1076, for removing episcopal sees from
obscure villages into fortified cities, the seat of the
bishoprick of Wiltshire was, by Bishop Herman, removed
from Sherborne (which had fallen into decay) to
this place, where he laid the foundation of a cathedral
church, which was completed by his successor, Bishop
Osmund, in 1092. On the completion of the Norman
survey, in 1086, William the Conqueror summoned all
the bishops, abbots, barons, and knights of the kingdom,
to attend him at Sarum, and  do homage for the
lands which they held by feudal tenure. In 1095, or 1096,
William Rufus assembled a great council here, in which
William, Count of Eu, was impeached of high treason
against the king, in conspiring to raise Stephen, Earl of
Albemarle, to the throne. Henry I. held his court here
several months during the year 1100, where he received
Archbishop Anselm, on his arrival in England, whom
he required to do homage, and swear fealty to him, and
to receive from his hands the investiture of his see.
This demand gave rise to a dispute between the king
and the pope, which was at length compromised, the
pope allowing the prelates to do homage to the king,
and reserving to himself alone the right of investiture,
which was the first attempt to establish papal supremacy
in the island. This monarch again fixed his residence
here in 1106, and in 1116 assembled the prelates
and barons of the realm, to swear allegiance and
do homage to his son William, as his successor on the
English throne, previously to his embarkation for Normandy,
on his return from which place that prince
was unfortunately drowned. In the reign of Stephen,
Bishop Roger held the castle for the king; and soon
after the instalment of his successor, Joceline, in. 1142,
the partisans of the Empress Matilda took possession
of the town, which, in the course of the contest, was
alternately occupied by both parties. On the accession
of Henry II., in 1154, the castle was found to be hi a
dismantled state, and a considerable sum was expended
in putting it into repair. From the time of Stephen,
disputes had arisen between the castellans and the
clergy, which became so violent, that in the reign of
Richard I., Herbert, then bishop, induced by these annoyances,
and other inconveniences attending the situation
of his church, among which was the difficulty of
obtaining water, which could not be accomplished, except
by permission of the governor, obtained license
from the king to remove the see, and to erect a new
church in the valley, at the distance of nearly two miles
from the castle. This design was carried into execution
by his successor, who having obtained a special indulgence
from the pope, laid the foundation of the present
cathedral of New Sarum, or Salisbury, to which place
the episcopal chair was transferred. From that period
the town of Old Sarum began, to decay, and was gradually
deserted by its inhabitants, who established themselves
in the more immediate vicinity of the new cathedral
church. Of the old town there is scarcely a
single vestige, except a few fragments of foundation
walls of some of the houses, on the declivity of an
eminence rising from the western side of a valley, and
forming the extremity of a ridge which extends towards
the east. The vast ditches and ramparts of the
ancient city, and the site of the castle, may be traced,
and, while they constitute the only visible remains of
this once nourishing city, are among the most interesting
objects of antiquarian research: there were houses
remaining down to the time of Henry VIII., and service
was performed in the old chapel of the cathedral until
nearly the same period. Old Sarum is a borough by
prescription, and first exercised the elective franchise
in the 23d of Edward I., but made no other return
till the 34th of Edward III., since which time it has
continued to send two members to parliament: the
right of election is vested in the burgage freeholders, of
whom, the number is seven: the bailiff is the returning
officer. A temporary house is erected under a large
tree for holding the election. John of Salisbury, one
of the most eminent scholars of his time, and celebrated
as an historian and biographer, was born at Old Sarum,
in the early part of the twelfth century.