I’m not sure why it was called Manor Road. It could be a reference to the ‘manor of Milford’, which is how the Milford area was referred to in older documents and maps.

It might be derived from the building that was known as ‘The Grange’ (and then, strangely, ‘Concordes’), but this would seem unlikely because the Grange was on the other side of Saint Mark’s Roundabout.

It could be that Manor Road is named after Milford Manor, but it seems to be too far away from the building, which is at the bottom of Shady Bower.

There are a number of buildings at the northern end of Manor Road which might be grand enough to be called ‘The Manor’ but I don’t know – I’ll have a look next time I’m up there.

Visiting Salisbury?

For accommodation, see the Hotels in Salisbury page.

This is my first attempt at creating a map annotated with what I think are the derivations of the road names.

It’s for a fairly small area of East Harnham. It would be great to create one for the whole of Salisbury – but that may take some time!

If you click on the blue dots, then you should get a short explanation of the road’s name.

I quite like this view of the back of Saint Paul’s Church, taken from the Spire View roundabout. It’s not a great photo, but it’s an interesting view.

I wrote about how Saint Paul’s church was built to replace the older Saint Clement’s church, which gives “Churchfields” its name on my post on St Clements Way

Maples come in many different varieties. The sugar maple is tapped to make maple syrup.

The maple leaf is featured in the flag of Canada.

It has been a symbol of Canada since the 1830s (¹), but the flag was not officially adopted until 1965, when it replaced the Union Jack (²)

(³)

Visiting Salisbury?

For accommodation, see the Hotels in Salisbury page.

Footnotes

1. Canadian heritage website
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Canada
3. Image from Wikipedia

There have been a series of posters at the railway stations which have been a bit odd, especially one promoting the new ticket machines saying something like ‘Dont fear machines – except for the terminator’. Anyhow, I quite like this one, advertising daytrips to Stonehenge.

If you came to this page looking for how to get to Stonehenge then it might be worth looking at my page on getting from Salisbury to Stonehenge

The derivation of the name ‘Marina Road’ is a bit of a puzzle. I can’t see any clear reason for the name.

Is Marina Road’s name related to Saint Martin’s?

One possibility is that it is a reference to Saint Martin’s Church. The words ‘Marina’ and ‘Martin’ are similar, and Marina Road is very close to the church – I think one side of the road would back onto the churchyard.

I think a connection with St Martin’s is unlikely though. The female form of Martin is Martina, and in any case, why would a road be named after a name which is just close to the name of the church. The words have different roots too. ‘Martin’ is related to Mars, the god of war, whereas ‘Marina’ is related to the sea.

Is Marina Road related to the sea?

More fancifully still, perhaps Marina Road is an obscure reference to the idea of Salisbury being a ’sea-port’. I’m on very shakey ground here , because I’m not sure I remember it correctly, but I believe there was an attempt to build a canal from Salisbury to Southampton.

I’ve seen the word ‘Navigation’ on maps to the south of Southampton Road – whether this is related or not I don’t know.

I think there was an article about the Salisbury to Southampton canal in a ‘Sarum Chronicle’ a couple of years ago. I’ll look it up when I’m next in the library.

Is Marina Road a reference to somebody’s name?

My guess would be that Marina Road is probably named after somebody called Marina. Perhaps the developer was called Marina, or had a close relative with the name.

Visiting Stonehenge?

For accommodation, see the Hotels in Salisbury page.

I like this purple dragon from the Saint George stained glass window in St Thomas’ Church. He looks as if he’s just biding his time to me, believing that he’s going to get the last laugh in the end.

Reproduced courtesy of Francis Frith.

The ‘Charter Market’

King Henry III granted the right to hold a market in Salisbury in the city’s charter of 1227.

However, the Salisbury market had already been running for some years before then. The earliest reference in the Victoria County History is to the holding of a market in 1219, when Bishop Poore had to give the king a horse to be allowed to do so.¹

At the time of writing (2010), the market could claim to be 791 years old.

I was interested to compare this with the age of markets in other towns and cities:

• Petticoat Lane, London – 1750s(²)
• Columbia Road Flower Market – 1864 (although it hasn’t been there continuously)(³
• Barnstaple Pannier Market – 1855 (⁴)
• Colchester Market – first mentioned in 1189

Salisbury Market timeline

All of the facts below are taken from the Victoria County History of Wiltshire (⁵), unless there’s a footnote to the contrary.

Early 14th Century – Butcher Row is mentioned
1307 – There was a cross on the current site of the Poultry Cross (⁶). It seems to have been known as the High Cross. An early 14th century incarnation of the Poultry Cross was built by Lord Montacute (⁷)
1314 – some shops had been built in an area to the east called the ‘Fysschamels’‘. (⁸). This was the ‘Fish Shambles’, now Fish Row. ‘Shambles’ here means ‘meat or fish market’(⁹).
1337 – straw sold at a house in Carter Street called ‘Chesecornere’ after its owner
1342 – hemp and linen thread were sold in the north east corner
1345 – wool was sold at the Guildhall
14th and 15th Century – there was a corn market in north west corner, near Castle St. This location persisted to some extent in that the library was once the ‘Corn Exchange’. In the early to mid 2000s, there was a pub called the ‘Corn Exchange’ next to the library where the faux-Italian ‘Strada’ chain is now.
Early 15th Century – butchers slaughtered animals in open space south of Butcher Row
15th Century – Council House between the Cheese Market and St Thomas. It was sold in the 18th Century, but had been replaced by what is now the Guild Hall in 1584
15th Century – current base of hexagonal Poultry Cross is built
15th Century – the Blue Boar Inn is mentioned. This may have been where Debenhams now is rather than the Chough.
Before 1416 – fruit, veg, herbage and poultry sold in Minster St and around the Poultry Cross
1416 – there was a Cheese Cross or Milk Cross on the Cheese Market. The Cheese Market is the triangular area in the north west of the market square, bordered by the HSBC bank, Neals Yard, the Strada restaurant, and the library
1427 – it was decreed that fisherman from outside the City should have stalls behind those from Salisbury
1431 and 1455 – mention of coal being seld at ‘le colecorner in Carter Street’
1442 – a Chafcorner is mentioned. This perhaps could be ‘chaff’ as in ‘wheat and chaff’ – I don’t know.
1469 – ‘Le Cookerowe’ is near the George Inn
1473-4 – Oatmeal Corner is mentioned
1499 – there was a yarn market
1525 – there was a stone cross ‘opposite Carter Street’ – presumably at what is now the junction of the New Canal and Queen Street.
1554 – the fish shambles was known as Fish Row.
Before 1580 – a ‘great elm’ stood on the site of what is now the Guildhall
1584 – the Council House (Guild Hall) was finished
1637 – a workhouse stood on the north side of St Thomas Square
18th Century – stocks, pillory and whipping post still stood opposite the Blue Boar
1711 – The Poultry Cross was topped with a sundial and ball
1780 – the Council house burnt down
1795 – the current Guildhall building was built as a Council House, with a donation by the Earl of Radnor
1810 – Wheeler Row was mentioned as part of Oatmeal Row
1845 – the pillory post was moved to the Wood Market
1853 – the top part of Poultry Cross, as it now is, was built
1859 – Market House (latterly called the Corn Exchange, now the site of the library) was built. It was connected to the railway station by a dedicated line,
1887 – lime trees were planted to celebrate Victoria’s 50th year as Queen
1887 – the statue of Henry Fawcett was erected
1927 – the Council House becomes the Town Hall, and then the Guild Hall
2003(approx) – cafes and pubs begon putting tables and chairs out around the perimeter of the market square
2004(approx) – inaugural Salisbury Food and Drink Festival

Salisbury Market Place and the encroachment of the rows

The Market Place was originally slightly bigger than it is now – the roads and alleys between the market and the New Canal were ‘rows’ of market stalls which became more and more permanent until they became rows of buildings.

I don’t know whether the use of the word ‘row‘ in the name of the many of these thoroughfares (Oatmeal Row, Butcher Row, Ox Row and Fish Row) is connected with their origins as ‘rows’ of stalls – this may be assuming too much.

Salisbury Market today

Salisbury Market today consists of about 90 general retail stalls, plus twelve or so ‘farmers market’ stalls (¹⁰. Typically, the stalls are run by the same traders each market day.

The BBC has a 360-degree view of the market square their Wiltshire website.

The future of Salisbury Market

Salisbury Market place is being re-developed over the next few years.

A competition was launched to re-design the market square in August of 2009. Six architectural teams were shortlisted. The Letts Wheeler firm was selected. (¹¹)

Used with the permission of Letts Wheeler

Letts Wheeler say that:

Our winning scheme provides a large, flexible space capable of accomodating an expanded Charter Fair and Charter Market. Subtle reordering has created more generous spaces in which other activities can take place, such as the Remembrance Day parade and outdoor seating for the existing pubs and cafes. The design comprises warm, natural materials and features a shallow rill, reflecting the Market Place’s heritage.

Wolfgang Buttress will be working with us on the integrated public artwork as part of the ‘cathedral aisle’. This avenue, lined with trees and seating, will provide more intimate social spaces and help us to animate the edges of the space.(¹²)

Visiting Salisbury?

For accommodation, see the Hotels in Salisbury page.

Footnotes

1. ‘Salisbury: Markets and fairs’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 138-141. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41801 Date accessed: 13 February 2009.
2. Petticoat Lane » eastlondonhistory.com
3. Columbia Road Market » eastlondonhistory.com
4. History
5. ‘Salisbury: The market place’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 85-87. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41787 Date accessed: 11 December 2009.
6. Wiltshire Council – Wiltshire Community History Get Wiltshire History Question Information
7. Salisbury – LoveToKnow 1911
8. This is mentioned in the Victoria County History ['Salisbury: The market place', A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 85-87. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41787 Date accessed: 11 December 2009.] The ‘Fysschamels’ are also mentioned in a document which discusses the renting of ‘a cellar under a hall in the town of Salisbury in a place which is called ‘Fysschamels’ built by him, and from shops made in the same place and adjacent to the cellar’Edward2vol2page0112.pdf (application/pdf Object)
9. Online Etymology Dictionary
10. Salisbury City Council – Charter Market
11. Salisbury Market Place, Competition, England
12. Letts Wheeler Architects

The first is Salisbury Daily Photo. Salisbury Daily Photo is one of a growing number of ‘daily photo’ blogs – the author takes and publishes pictures of their home city. It’s not dissimilar in theme to the stuff I’ve published on this website in the ‘Photos’ category, but the photography is much better!

If you enjoyed the recent ‘Salisbury in Detail’ book then you’ll like Salisbury Daily Photo

The second is the Across the Bourne blog, which has recently moved from being hosted on Wordpress to being hosted by the Salisbury Journal.

The author is an American who has moved to Laverstock, and he has a really interesting perspective on living in Salisbury – and supporting Southampton.

Reproduced courtesy of Francis Frith.

The Market Place, in the centre of Wilton, could be said to date from ‘time immemorial’.

Edward I (king from 1272 until 1307) referred to a charter for a market in Wilton having been granted by his ‘ancestors’. (¹)

The market was a significant part of the economy of a town or city. Apart from being the place where a significant quantity of goods and services were traded, taxes on the market were a source of income for the local aristocracy.

The decline of Wilton’s market, and the decline of Wilton itself as a regional centre, was mirrored, if not caused, by the growth of Salisbury market, which was permitted by the city’s charter in 1227 (²)

The holding of the market in Salisbury was the subject of some controversy. In 1240, people in Wilton alleged that there was a market being held in Salisbury every day, when the charter only allowed for a Tuesday market. In 1274, people in Salisbury accused the bailiffs in Wilton of physically way-laying traders and forcing them to go to Wilton market rather than Salisbury (³)

In 1305, the king forbade merchants to trade in Salisbury on the days of Wilton markets.(⁴)

Wilton fair

The fair in Wilton dates back to at least 1212.

In 1288 it lasted from the 14th to the 21st of September. In 1300, it was said to last only from nine o’clock on St Matthew’s Eve (20th September) until nine o’clock on St Matthew’s Day (the 21st).

According to the Victoria County of History, there were various different fairs at various different times. There were fairs of Saint George and Saint Giles in 1751, and fairs in April, July, October and November in 1731.

By the 19th Century, the September sheep fair was the main fair in Wilton. At peak 100,000 sheep were brought to the Wilton Sheep fair.

Footnotes

1. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41767 Date accessed 30 November 2009.
2. ‘Salisbury: The market place’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 85-87. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41787 Date accessed: 30 November 2009.
3. ‘Wilton: Markets, fairs, agriculture and mills’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 17-21. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41767 Date accessed: 03 December 2009.
4. ‘Wilton: Markets, fairs, agriculture and mills’, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 6 (1962), pp. 17-21. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41767 Date accessed: 04 December 2009.