Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England. The city forms the largest part of the Salisbury district. It has also been called New Sarum to distinguish it from the original site of settlement at Salisbury, Old Sarum, but this alternative name is not in common use. Similarly, a native of Salisbury may be known as a "Sarumite", but this term is also not commonly used. In 1990 Salisbury was twinned with Saintes in France, and in 2006 with Xanten in Germany. The city is located in the south-east of Wiltshire, at the edge of Salisbury Plain. Salisbury railway station serves the city, and is the crossing point between the West of England Main Line and the Wessex Main Line making it a regional interchange. Salisbury is at the confluence of five rivers: the Nadder, Ebble, Wylye and Bourne are tributary to the Avon (Brythonic for 'river'), which flows to the south coast and into the sea at Christchurch, Dorset.
In 1219 Richard Poore, the then Bishop of Sarum decided to establish a new town and cathedral on an estate in his possession (confusingly known as Veteres Sarisberias - Old Salisburys) in the valley, on the banks of the River Avon. The town was laid out in a grid pattern, and work started in 1220, with the cathedral commencing the following year. The town developed rapidly, and by the 14th Century was the foremost town in Wiltshire. The city wall surrounds the Close and was built in the 14th century. There are five gates in the wall; four are original, known as the High Street Gate, St Ann's Gate, the Queen's Gate, and St Nicholas's Gate. A fifth was created in the 19th century to allow access to Bishop Wordsworth's School located inside the Cathedral Close. A room located above St Ann's Gate is where the composer Handel stayed, and whilst there wrote several works. During the Great Plague of London, Charles II held court in the Close. The novel Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, is an imaginary retelling of the history of Salisbury. More on Salisbury

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