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Changing Salisbury: an argument for a return to poetic ordering of urban space following 300 years of objectification

This article is concerned with the process of heritage and tradition in relation to urban modification and highlights the current tendency to objectify the past. It looks at significant alterations to the urban conditions of Salisbury since its foundation in the thirteenth century, many of which have concealed and undermined the original relationships structured within, and beyond, the city walls. It suggests that this evolving situation has been governed by differing philosophical ideas rooted in the time when the various additions and demolitions have been undertaken with little regard for the relationships already established within the city, or the needs of the citizens. The paper outlines the original intentions behind the foundation and planning of the medieval city and then charts various plans overlaid onto the original layout. This leads to a discussion on the diverse ideas behind the different plans—including issues related to ornament, values inherent to the medieval city in its continuing development, the contemporary importance of festival and how buildings are used use in the context of heritage politics.

Research involved a thorough literature review of the various planning proposals for the city from the first massive reworking of the cathedral under Wyatt, through the industrial revolution and twentieth century town planning, placed within a theoretical discussion surrounding the difference between decoration and ornament arguing for a more poetic understanding of the environment before alterations to monuments and cities are undertaken. The hermeneutic approach undertaken offers both a critique and a possible solution to some of the issues surrounding the finance of heritage and the identity of current communities.

The first copy of the journal was built out of an International annual conference in Portugal (1000 proposals and 300 papers); it is one of only 12 papers selected to be published in this issue.