Salisbury Plain
- Alternate use: Salisbury Plain is also an area on South Georgia Island.
Salisbury Plain is a
300 sq mi (780 kmē) chalk plateau in central southern
England. The plain is sparsely populated and the principal
land uses are
arable agriculture,
chalk grassland,
military institutions, and a few small areas of
beech and
coniferous woodland. The plain is the largest remaining area of calcareous grassland in northwest
Europe. The plain is one of the
Ministry of Defence and
NATO's principal training grounds because of the sparse population. Because of the large training areas inaccessible to the public, the plain is also a wildlife haven, and home to two National Nature Reserves, but there is concern that the low level of grazing on the plain could allow
scrub to encroach on the
grassland. The plain is also home to
DSTL Porton Down, a
laboratory whose work is shrouded in secrecy.
Stonehenge
Salisbury Plain is famous for its history. In
Neolithic times there was an extensive population and much of the original vegetation had been cleared. The population was centred around the causeway camps of Whitesheet Hill and Robin Hood's Ball. By 2200 BCE,
Stonehenge and
Avebury had become a focus for building, including a large quantity of round barrows and long barrows. Around 600 BCE, large
Bronze Age hill forts were constructed at Scratchbury and Battlesbury.
Roman roads are visible features, probably serving a settlement near
Old Sarum. Villas are sparse, however, and
Anglo-Saxon place names suggest that the plain was mostly a
grain producing
imperial estate.
In the sixth century Anglo-Saxon incomers built planned settlements in the valleys surrounded by strip lychetts, with the downland left as sheep walks. To the south is the city of
Salisbury, whose
13 and
14th century cathedral is famous for having the tallest
spire in the country, and the
building was, for centuries, the tallest building in
Britain. The cathedral is evidence of the prosperity the wool and cloth trade bought to the area. In the post-
Medieval period, the system of floated flood meadows was developed, and large manors and
estatess developed around
Salisbury. In the mid-
19th century the
wool and
cloth industry began to decline, leading to a decline in the
population and change in land use from
sheep farming to
agriculture and
military use.
Wiltshire became one of the poorest counties in England during this period of decline. There are a number of chalk carvings on the plain, of which the most famous is the
Westbury White Horse. The
Kennet and Avon Canal runs to the north of the plain, through the
Vale of Pewsey.
The Wylye,
Avon and
Bourne valleys cut through the
plain. They have narrow flood plains, steep sides, and relatively high
population density. All three valleys flow down to
Salisbury where the
rivers meet. Durrington and
Amesbury are the only towns on the plain, though there are a number of small villages and
hamletss. The
A303 cuts across the plain, and a
tunnel is soon to be constructed to protect
Stonehenge from the damage done by the huge volume of
traffic which passes just metres from the stones.
The Hampshire Downs and the Berkshire and Marlborough Downs are chalk downland to the east and north of Salisbury Plain, and the Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase are to the southwest. In the west and northwest the
geology is mainly of the clays and limestones of the
Blackmore Vale, Avon Vale and Vale of Wardour. To the south is the
New Forest.
In
1896 George Kemp and
Marconi experimented with
wireless telegraphy on Salisbury Plain, and achieved good results over a distance of 1
3/
4 miles.
Salisbury Plain has featured in the writings of
William Wordsworth,
Thomas Hardy,
William Henry Hudson, and A.G. Street and in the paintings of
Constable.
External links
\n*The Countryside Agency - Lots of information on the plain\n*
The Salisbury Plain Life Project\n*
The Ministry of Defense's Salisbury Plain information document \n*
William Wordsworth Poems on Salisbury Plain\n*
http://www.themodernantiquarian.com
See also
\n*Geology of the United Kingdom