Choir Trip 2024: Salisbury, July 22

Salisbury! The boy's choir visited here for a day in 2014 but did not perform any services, and the Schola did a residency in 2017, so those who had been here were really excited to return! Several people on the tour have been reading Pillars of the Earth in preparation of our arrival here, Ken Follett, the author, has said that when he first imagined the fictional town of Kingsbridge in Pillars, he had Wells in mind, but the finished cathedral, with its spire, it actually resembled Salisbury.
Construction on Salisbury took 300 people only 38 years to complete, a short time considering the size, and that the stone had to be brought in from about 30 miles away. It was built between 1220 and 1258. The spire, added later, is England's tallest, at 404" high, and was finished in 1330.
The Choir of Salisbury Cathedral is believed to have started in 1258, but they did not have girl choristers until 1991. They were the first Cathedral in England to have a girl's choir!
We hit the ground running with a choral Eucharist honoring the Feast of Mary Magdalene. Moving is exhausting, so everyone was in bed pretty early!.