Medieval graffiti unveiled in new cathedral tour

A new tour has been launched at Salisbury Cathedral to showcase the building's medieval graffiti for the first time.

The cathedral, which dates back to the 13th Century, is home to hundreds of historic examples of images and words carved into the stone, with a particularly large cluster existing in the morning chapel.

The graffiti takes on many different forms including religious and heraldic symbols, gaming boards, design drawings and curses.

"You get graffiti made by priests. You get graffiti made by people who worship and by pilgrims," said Marjoleine Butler, who is a graffiti tour guide.

The tour owes its creation to a dedicated team of researchers who have uncovered and documented the artworks over the past year.

Ms Butler said she was impressed by the sheer diversity of images that remain.

"There are hundreds, if not thousands, of examples of graffiti on surfaces here in the cathedral," she said.

Certain images give an insight into late medieval fashion, including some rather eye-catching footwear called poulaines.

Ms Butler said they were "really, really" fashionable in the 14th Century and 15th Century.

"The priests hated them because they got so ridiculously long that people couldn't kneel to pray," she added.

The drawings also reflect changes in society, dating back to an era when graffiti was tolerated.

"In the past, attitudes were very different, and it is obvious when you look around you, and the more you look around you, the more you see there is graffiti everywhere," Ms Butler added.

"It's done in plain sight, and people would have been aware of it, and it would not have been considered to be vandalism."

The tours run on Thursdays and Saturdays and last approximately 75 minutes.

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