When my wife and I visited some time ago, I just happened to ask one of the guides where the Dipstick was?! His face lit up and he was delighted to show me and demonstrate it to us. He said not many people know about it - it really made our visit !!
I found a gold crucifix at old Sarum about two years ago, just a small glint in the mud and i was onto it! I handed it in to the FLO at Salisbury museum and was surprised to get it back eventually as it was probably only a couple of hundred years old and didn't qualify as treasure.
"When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest castle in all of England."
Thanks Paul, good fun for all. You missed the plaque at floor level and photo of the day in 1915 when the water levels rose too high and the whole cathedral was 5-10cm deep in water. My best explanation of the prinicple which keeps the 70,000 tons of the cathedral "afloat" is to realise that it has been built on the top of a flooded valley. The rivers washed gravel from Salisbury Plain into the valley since the Ice Age. The valley is like a giant "soup plate" one with a wide rim - filled to the brim wide sand and then topped up with water. The weight of all of the water at the edges pushes across and dorwnwards, then wells upwards in the middle. Water is a non-compressible fluid and so all of that weight of water holds the gravel in place which hold the building up. The main columns which support the tower and the spire (added 70-90 years after the original building was completed) crushed the gravel below it a little and sank about 10cm when the 6500 tons of extra weight were added. The spire leans slightly off centre, but it hasn't moved for several centuries.
@@T_Mo271Paul is a lovely historian, but I don’t think knows as much about civil engineering. There’s some fantastic videos about civil engineering on here which will explain the hydraulic forces of building on and reinforcing wet ground, especially from Practical Engineering, but I don’t think Paul is the guy to try and sum it up. For instance, another commenter commented on the mass damper mentioned in the tower and he replied “is that the weight thingy?” So all in, the fact he brought up the engineering and said it was floating was plenty! Maybe a slight clarification that it’s saturated wet ground rather than pure water would’ve been nice, but to be fair that IS what “built on a swamp” means.
The spire doesn't move anymore because they reinforced it several centuries ago with an inner structure. They have some kind of rope that they occasionally hang from the top of the spire (on the inside) to measure how off-center it is. Oh, how I LOVE Salisbury Cathedral! Wish I could visit it again! But I didn't know about the water.
Oh gosh! There was no marsh or swamp in the position where the cathedral was built. The 4 feet of foundation is about as deep as the height of the summer water table. This foundation stands on 28 feet of a mix of gravel, chalk, flint which lies on top of the natural chalk. This makes for a very strong foundation. The purpose of the dipstick is to check the height of standing water to ensure that the cathedral isn’t about to flood. If the ground dries out it wouldn’t be a huge problem for years and it’s never yet happened as far as we know. There was settlement caused by the building not being originally designed for the extraordinary additional weight of the extended tower and spire hence the added buttressing and the crossing arches which were installed in the late 14 and early 15th centuries years after the tower and spire were added, they weren’t part of the original design or build. I was Head Guide at Salisbury Cathedral, now retired.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that many years ago a member of the cathedral staff spotted a crack in the tower. They called in a structural engineer who dug a hole to look at the foundations. He went down, had a look, and re-emerged ashen faced: "What foundations?!!! he exclaimed! 4 feet of foundations for a 404 foot tower does seem a little under-engineered!
It seems to be a form of raft foundation, and provided that you have no earthquakes or the water table doesn't drop too low, it's a valid form of construction in areas which have weak soils. Driving piles is expensive, and often in older buildings where wood was the only option, the piles can rot.
I feel so lucky having grown up in the countryside a few miles outside Salisbury. To any visitors to the city I definitely recommend a trip round the cathedral, especially one of the regular tours up into the roof and up the tower. And yes, all the volunteers there care so deeply about this incredible building and its stories that they'll all be happy to spend as much time as they can answering any questions you ask. And not just the volunteers; all the masons and everyone up to the bishop will stop and help you learn more if they have the time.
I think that any mention of the massive spire added to the cathedral should mention that the biggest concern at least from my knowledge of it and a one time visit was that the spire was kind of an after thought because the cathedral was not designed to handle such a massive spire. Over time the massive weight of spire caused the main stone pillars supporting to literally bend inward. This bend in the visible to anyone visiting the cathedral. At any rate the deformation of the stone columns went unaddressed until 1668 when architect Christopher Wren visited the cathedral to assess its stability and recommended iron trusses be placed around the columns to stop them from deforming further. This appears to have worked
@@marqsee7948Strides have been made since the 50's, and in 1996 the first photocopied sheep in modern time was produced. Many of us thought commercialization was just a few years away, but the project was put on ice after a market survey showed that the demand for vellum photocopies has plummeted since 1215. I guess you could say the scientists were too preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
Most medieval buildings in England have surprisingly shallow foundations. There was a lot of trial and error, and a lot of them fell down, in part at least. At Ely and Lincoln the great towers collapsed. At Wells the arches under the central tower started to crack, and ingenious inverted 'strainer' arches were inserted to reinforce them. I think Canterbury had a few problems too! But what else could the builders do? They could hardly drive in reinforced concrete piles!
The rivers around salisbury were channelled through the street and was once called little Venice. As the water table is only around 4ft below I think they can't manage the flow. But they manage the water meadows, perhaps they rely on them
Well this puts a whole new light on why the peasants in Monty Python and the Holy Grail were yelling "churches" when asked by Sir Bedivere "what floats on water"...
Trust the local town council gives out flyers to anyone building nearby who wants to dewater the ground for construction. Lots of places where dewatering occurs results in surrounding buildings settling and tilting unevenly.
Thanks! The tour of the Salisbury Cathedral, including far up the steeple, was one of the highlights of my visit to England. Alas, that tour did not include the Holy Dipstick.
I am a Salisbury local,and the cathedral regularly used to flood in winter, as recently as the rearly 20th century. It isn't just that its built on a swamp (ground water is so close to the ground, it's scary. And the cathedral is actually sighted on a loop of the river
If you didn't make the trip up the Tower, definitely go back for that, ever so informative & the best views you'll get of Salisbury. Another great video, thank you!
I grew up in Salisbury and if you leave the close at the city side and take the first left , walk past the ale house and head to the bridge over the river Avon ,there is an inlet that appears to point directly to the cathedral . I always wondered what this was for and where it went and had plans to enter with wellies and a head torch ,but never did . I wonder if this is the elusive inlet for the sluices?
Another great walking tour today. I appreciate your work on these, Paul. A lot of research and time dedicated. Hello to Rebecca and enjoy the week ahead. See you on the next. Cheers Rebecca and Paul! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🙂🙂👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
I would say it is the most beautiful. Others have odd features that are interesting but Salisbury is unique and just rather perfect. |f you go to Winchester for example it just looks a crude and basic mess by comparison, while St Davids looks like a barn.
last september I was in Ravenna, Some of the large buildings are sinking into the sand and silt and so some of the basements are already flooded. To see some of the mosaic floors you have to look through a metre of water. Some of the churches have already been "raised" a bit in previous centuries - at least the walls are bit taller and you can often see where this has happened. (especially if you have a good guide to point hem out). You do get the feeling that some of our ancestors werent clued in when building huge religious edifices.
looking on Google Maps in satellite mode, there is a mill there and looks like a diversion canal from the high side of the dam into what looks like valve structure. Naturally I am at the mercy of whatever resolution of satellite images being I am in the USA. but that would mean it would have to cross under the river Avon. Interesting note is there appears to be a small outbuilding right where the river forms a Y at the back of a section of land with a building labeled as Arundells.
A large swathe of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway "floats" on top of a marsh; Chat Moss. When that line (the world's first inter city railway line) was being built, everyone told George Stephenson (the chief civil engineer) that it was impossible to build anything on that marsh, and impossible for anyone to cross it, but Stephenson had thousands of bundles of brushwood sunk into the marsh, followed by thousands of barrels of tar, and then laid the railway embankment on top of it, and there it has remained to this day, carrying thousands of trains per year for about a century and a half.
there is a road in my town, that can be found as the "meanwhile, in Oregon" road, where they built the roadbed by sinking logs in the swamp. it settles about a half inch a year.
Really fascinating video! I sang in a concert at Salisbury Cathedral back in 1990 when I was on a tour with a college chorale. We sang at a number of cathedrals across southern England, actually, and I became fascinated by the ways the ancient architects had to "fix" certain architectural problems created by the massive weights of these buildings. I found the hourglass-shaped bracing in Wells Cathedral particularly interesting, but the way Salisbury Cathedral supports that massive spire is just as interesting. I remember dropping a few pounds into a collection box that was labeled "Save the Spire" or something like that.
The depth of the water shall be six feet, and six feet shall be the depth of the water. It shall not be seven, nor shall it be five except that thou then toppeth it up to six. Eight is right out.
Oh my goodness. An architecture video, just for me? This was short, but man was that a bunch of information. I actually have seen a winch like this before, in the roof truss of Regensburg Cathedral. We had a guided tour there during my retraining as a stone mason. A behind the scenes tour really. I am actually not surprised that the water system is overseen by an automated computer controlled system. A bunch of elderly volunteers are for sure not the right people to be responsible for overlooking such a most likely complicated system. And actually hiring technicians would be to expensive. Who owns the cathedral? Anyway. It's always a delight to see Gothic architecture like Salisbury Cathedral and learning about an oddity like the dipstick and why it's there, that's a great addition. Looking forward to next week. 👌
The old Milwaukee journal sentinel building in downtown Milwaukee has the same concept. The reason was to keep the timber pilings wet so they don't rot.
Stone isn't strong in tension, so tall stone spires often have weights suspended from the cap stone to keep the stonework at the top in sufficient compression. This helps resist damage from high winds.
Paul, it's really not. I used to be a hydrologist in the EA and while I didn't work in Salisbury so I don't know the answer, if I did, I'd be thrilled to give it to you. I'm sure whoever sorts it now would also be happy. It's not very often that people don't get a glazed expression and walk away when we talk about our job. 😂
Winchester Cathedral, with William Walker, Siebe Gorman's chief diver, cutting through peat to gravel. Interestingly, Cadbury Schweppes HQ at Marble Arch had similar problems, built on marsh where Tyburn Gallows first stood. The wood, seasoned oak from the Gallows and Audience Stands, was repurposed as a raft, and encased on top and sides with brick. On that was built Connaught Place, the buildings in front of you as you drive round. By the early 1980s, the oak had rotted, and the walls on the brick arch dropped into the void. The entire place was rebuilt, within the shell, with certain rooms held in place. During the demolition phase, some earthen beds were removed, and yet another body surfaced, far more recent than the felons buried at the foot of the gallows, whose bones lie in a charnel house in the grounds of a convent slightly to the west. By this time, early carbon dating was possible, and this poor fellow dates from 1940, when a German bomb fell nearby. Was he an accidental victim, perhaps a tramp sleeping there buried by the soil going up and then coming down on him? Or murdered? We'll never know.
I've known about the dip stick most of my life but never thought to ask where the water comes from! I wouldn't be surprised if it's now supplied from mains water but obviously not when it was first set up. The nearest stretch of river is to the west, so that might be the most likely place. This is right on the water meadows so there would be a history of water management in the area. A bigger question though: Adding water is the easy part. How do you lower the water if it's too high?
Amazing. You’ve whetted my appetite as the saying goes. I am going to read more about this. What a fascinating story. Thank you Paul for another incredible piece of info.
4:30 Thanks Paul. "it didn't really make for great content, because we found absolutely nothing....." Finding absolutely nothing does not stop a large percentage of YT from slapping a link bait title on it and uploading. I have found your videos very well researched and entertaining and your statement above is only repeat of your actions for all of your videos. Would like to learn more about the systems that maintain the water level for Salisbury cathedral. What would happen if it did get too high?
I believe large parts of Salisbury, including the cathedral, are at risk of flooding and have been flooded many times over the years e.g. in 1915. The Environment agency is working with others to deliver essential flood risk mitigation for Salisbury. So, I suspect water levels under the cathedral are largely uncontrolled i.e. the environment agency does not artificially increase or reduce the water level and it is just whatever the water table level happens to be in that area of Salisbury.
Fascinating video. I used to work in the school next to and visited on numerous occasions without realising it was afloat. It became the tallest building in Europe when the spire was added but I don’t think they physically moved the building from Old Sarum, rather they built a new one. Keep’em coming. Best regards.
Great video Paul, it’s staggering to think that 800 years ago we had the knowledge to float a cathedral on a swamp. Try getting planning permission for that these days.
Lovely. Like Stonehenge, I've only ever really seen this beauty out of the back of a 4 tonner. Top tip for Paul - let Rebecca take the car, you take the train, lose in style and visit every pub you can before she blocks the debit card.
Time Team did an episode on the temporary bell tower in the grounds. this was used while being built, to call the faithful. As with any Time Team ep geo phys was done in that area. If sluices were noted... I don't remember.. on a personal note. this vid has brought back memories of living in Salisbury back in late 70s. In Canada now but miss Salisbury. Its my Heart home. Cheers@@pwhitewick
The project manager would have been Elias of Dereham and during construction he would not have expected a 404ft spire above the cathedral as that was added around a hundred years later.🙂👍
Hi Paul, Very intriguing story be great to see how they manage the water table. I wonder if one of your viewers knows? Lovely looking clock, a very special place for lots of reasons. Mind you, its far too easy to get back to Andover by car, next time you will have to go back on horse and cart smoking a pipe like Jack Hargreaves!! Have a great week!!
@@SteamCrane I mean yeah, you couldn't just make this into a tv show but Paul would be more than able to work on one if they approached him with a good concept
Saw Salisbury Cathedral, and the Old Sarum site, 43 years ago. Wonderful Cathedral, and so interesting about the water. I’ve heard of other buildings having water pumped under them to keep them from sinking. Fascinating!
@@polymath9372no, one would NOT say anything like that. They put a building in a swamp and they have to maintain it a certain way as a result. What exactly is divine about that ? Its not 'Divinity' to maintain a building, it's common sense if it is a valuable historical building
Great video as always! If you’re around on Sunday 25th August, the front of the cathedral becomes a stage for a fantastic local big band called Swing Unlimited! It’s a free event, usually from around 2-5pm. Lots of party music to dance to in the sun (fingers crossed!). In good weather there’s usually a good 1000+ people there!
I'm VERY happy this came out of the Twitter discourse with Madeline Odent! :D I happened to follow it from the start, but I'm a LIIIIIIITTLE far from Salisbury these days, so couldn't pay a visit (although I really wanted to)!
@@pwhitewick Yea you!!! You do it more than once too! Am I anticipating new merch here... a picture of you... with an added halo and the now legendary phrase under it... "The Holy Dipstick"???
thats where id expect any gates to be tbh, but i imagine most of the time there is an inflow weir and an outflow weir somewhere else so things pretty much self regulate as what flows in and out matches
@@jamesflames6987Yes, computer controlled telemetry operates the sluice gates of this entire stretch of Avon to Christchurch - not specifically for the Cathedral. It's mostly to alleviate flooding in Salisbury and downstream, given the high water table on which Salisbury, at the junction of 5 rivers, sits. The numerous water meadows and Trout farms provides enormous reservoir. Parts of Salisbury were flooded a few weeks back - sometimes the river systems cannot cope with exceptional periods of rainfall.
Lower the Dipstick and maybe add a little water to the mixture underneath. Seems to have kept this magnificent structure upright for rather longer than those lying below!
HI Paul, when I first saw the title for this episode I almost gagged while drinking my beer. An a ecclesiastical dipstick it reminded me of an old limerick..........There was a Bishop from Birmingham...................I'm sure with a bit of research you can find the rest. But seriously an absolutely fascinating video.
Love comedy where we learn interesting stuff. Those interested in a more technical understanding of how the cathedral stays afloat will surely now research it for themselves. What the best engineers may never find is the source for topping up the water under the cathedral. Paul has demonstrated that he is the go to person to read the landscape and find stuff. The Landscape team at English Heritage should hire Paul on a project basis ad a research consultant. Even if the water source is now just a copper garden pipe and tap connected to the town water supply, I sure Paul will find it!!
Damn this video, you answered your question. But left me with more questions I didn't even know existed. I guess I'll check your channel for some answers.
Since you already mentioned the diver - perhaps that would also make an interesting video? I lived not far from that cathedral many years ago so know the story well!
Anybody who's interested in the cathedral should read The Spire by William Golding who also wrote Lord of the Flies and was from Salisbury. The book is a dramatised account of the raising of the tower then the addition of the spire and the frantic efforts undertaken to prevent the extra weight from destroying the building. The cathedral is actually one of the best examples of lightweight medieval stone building, most of the structure being thin and the stresses being taken by ribs, struts, pillars and some flying buttresses.
I guess the fellows in those days dug down to the gravel and job done, thats where its boots sit, good and firm, exactly as Time Team found when they explored the foundations of the now demolished (separate) Bell Tower. Actually, isn't it four yards down to the gravel? I last bumped into Phil Harding a year ago, he'd know, he dug it, I'll ask him when I next see the lad. Wet (enough) gravel is key so the dipstick tells them when to open the sluices some to let the H2O flow from the water meadows, conversely if there is too much of the soggy stuff they close the sluices. Easy, job done.
They built my Grammar school in 1970 on Essex Clay around a cow pond . They were surprised when by 1976 cracks were appearing. Anyone from the area knew but the architect obviously didnt expect the summer of 1976 or the wet summer of 1977
Salisbury cathedral is a wonder, not least as because unusually for a medieval cathedral in England, it was all built at the same time. I wonder if the environment agency can give any answers about the “digital dipstick” they use today?
For a more in depth video on Salisbury Cathedral, not just the Dipstick, go check out Sam's video here: ua-cam.com/video/WhVjvwNnkDA/v-deo.html
When my wife and I visited some time ago, I just happened to ask one of the guides where the Dipstick was?! His face lit up and he was delighted to show me and demonstrate it to us. He said not many people know about it - it really made our visit !!
....and you definitely made that guide’s day (week) by the sound of it 🙂
Lovely story, thanks for sharing it. ❤
That's very hip!
There’s lipstick on that dipstick!
I found a gold crucifix at old Sarum about two years ago, just a small glint in the mud and i was onto it! I handed it in to the FLO at Salisbury museum and was surprised to get it back eventually as it was probably only a couple of hundred years old and didn't qualify as treasure.
Still... Worth while handing in as you never know.
Must still have been exciting to find it.
@@janebaker966 definitely 😎
I think I can safely assume it didn't go in the bin.
> probably *only* a couple of hundred years old
*😄s in American*
"When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest castle in all of England."
lovely monty python reference
But father... i just want to... NO NO STOP THAT STOP THAT
I was about to post the same thing, as this certainly sounded like THAT skit from "Holy Grail", glad someone else also noticed it. Well-done!
A man of culture I see
Worked for Shrek.
Thanks Paul, good fun for all.
You missed the plaque at floor level and photo of the day in 1915 when the water levels rose too high and the whole cathedral was 5-10cm deep in water.
My best explanation of the prinicple which keeps the 70,000 tons of the cathedral "afloat" is to realise that it has been built on the top of a flooded valley. The rivers washed gravel from Salisbury Plain into the valley since the Ice Age. The valley is like a giant "soup plate" one with a wide rim - filled to the brim wide sand and then topped up with water. The weight of all of the water at the edges pushes across and dorwnwards, then wells upwards in the middle. Water is a non-compressible fluid and so all of that weight of water holds the gravel in place which hold the building up.
The main columns which support the tower and the spire (added 70-90 years after the original building was completed) crushed the gravel below it a little and sank about 10cm when the 6500 tons of extra weight were added. The spire leans slightly off centre, but it hasn't moved for several centuries.
Would have been great if that information was part of the video.
@@T_Mo271Paul is a lovely historian, but I don’t think knows as much about civil engineering.
There’s some fantastic videos about civil engineering on here which will explain the hydraulic forces of building on and reinforcing wet ground, especially from Practical Engineering, but I don’t think Paul is the guy to try and sum it up. For instance, another commenter commented on the mass damper mentioned in the tower and he replied “is that the weight thingy?”
So all in, the fact he brought up the engineering and said it was floating was plenty! Maybe a slight clarification that it’s saturated wet ground rather than pure water would’ve been nice, but to be fair that IS what “built on a swamp” means.
The Leaning Spire of Salisbury.
The spire doesn't move anymore because they reinforced it several centuries ago with an inner structure. They have some kind of rope that they occasionally hang from the top of the spire (on the inside) to measure how off-center it is. Oh, how I LOVE Salisbury Cathedral! Wish I could visit it again! But I didn't know about the water.
@@theclearsounds3911 Not just a Holy Dipstick, but a Holy Plumb Bob?
That Diver you mentioned is my great great grandfather. William walker the Winchester diver.
No way!
how lovely.
I remember seeing a video claiming that he worked 6 hrs a day, 6 days a week for 6 years, is that correct ?
I'm in the US bit I know of William Walker and I have a red woollen diver's cap, like the one he wore, from Tony Ash.
Oh gosh! There was no marsh or swamp in the position where the cathedral was built. The 4 feet of foundation is about as deep as the height of the summer water table. This foundation stands on 28 feet of a mix of gravel, chalk, flint which lies on top of the natural chalk. This makes for a very strong foundation. The purpose of the dipstick is to check the height of standing water to ensure that the cathedral isn’t about to flood. If the ground dries out it wouldn’t be a huge problem for years and it’s never yet happened as far as we know. There was settlement caused by the building not being originally designed for the extraordinary additional weight of the extended tower and spire hence the added buttressing and the crossing arches which were installed in the late 14 and early 15th centuries years after the tower and spire were added, they weren’t part of the original design or build. I was Head Guide at Salisbury Cathedral, now retired.
Global warming so the land will all dry out. And these buildings fall over,, at least until the ocean takes them!!
I seem to remember reading somewhere that many years ago a member of the cathedral staff spotted a crack in the tower. They called in a structural engineer who dug a hole to look at the foundations. He went down, had a look, and re-emerged ashen faced: "What foundations?!!! he exclaimed! 4 feet of foundations for a 404 foot tower does seem a little under-engineered!
It seems to be a form of raft foundation, and provided that you have no earthquakes or the water table doesn't drop too low, it's a valid form of construction in areas which have weak soils. Driving piles is expensive, and often in older buildings where wood was the only option, the piles can rot.
Piles take centuries to rot as long as they remain saturated with water
Sounds like a decent draft for a barge though ;-)
I feel so lucky having grown up in the countryside a few miles outside Salisbury. To any visitors to the city I definitely recommend a trip round the cathedral, especially one of the regular tours up into the roof and up the tower. And yes, all the volunteers there care so deeply about this incredible building and its stories that they'll all be happy to spend as much time as they can answering any questions you ask. And not just the volunteers; all the masons and everyone up to the bishop will stop and help you learn more if they have the time.
I think that any mention of the massive spire added to the cathedral should mention that the biggest concern at least from my knowledge of it and a one time visit was that the spire was kind of an after thought because the cathedral was not designed to handle such a massive spire. Over time the massive weight of spire caused the main stone pillars supporting to literally bend inward. This bend in the visible to anyone visiting the cathedral.
At any rate the deformation of the stone columns went unaddressed until 1668 when architect Christopher Wren visited the cathedral to assess its stability and recommended iron trusses be placed around the columns to stop them from deforming further. This appears to have worked
WOW! One of 4 copies of the Magna Carta, who knew the photocopier was so old?!!
I guess there would be more I'd the paper didn't keep jamming
@@pwhitewick Vellum. 🙂
@@PeterWasted heh, lost technologies. Nobody knows how to run a sheep through a photocopier anymore.
Yes, it’s called a Secretary.
@@marqsee7948Strides have been made since the 50's, and in 1996 the first photocopied sheep in modern time was produced. Many of us thought commercialization was just a few years away, but the project was put on ice after a market survey showed that the demand for vellum photocopies has plummeted since 1215. I guess you could say the scientists were too preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
Most medieval buildings in England have surprisingly shallow foundations. There was a lot of trial and error, and a lot of them fell down, in part at least. At Ely and Lincoln the great towers collapsed. At Wells the arches under the central tower started to crack, and ingenious inverted 'strainer' arches were inserted to reinforce them. I think Canterbury had a few problems too! But what else could the builders do? They could hardly drive in reinforced concrete piles!
The rivers around salisbury were channelled through the street and was once called little Venice. As the water table is only around 4ft below I think they can't manage the flow. But they manage the water meadows, perhaps they rely on them
Indeed, I once worked in an office on "Water lane", which was just a little channel through the city.
We wake every morning to the sight of this magnificent cathedral. we are only a few metres from St Anne's Gate
So lucky!!!
Aren’t you fortunate!
Well this puts a whole new light on why the peasants in Monty Python and the Holy Grail were yelling "churches" when asked by Sir Bedivere "what floats on water"...
Trust the local town council gives out flyers to anyone building nearby who wants to dewater the ground for construction. Lots of places where dewatering occurs results in surrounding buildings settling and tilting unevenly.
Thanks! The tour of the Salisbury Cathedral, including far up the steeple, was one of the highlights of my visit to England. Alas, that tour did not include the Holy Dipstick.
I am a Salisbury local,and the cathedral regularly used to flood in winter, as recently as the rearly 20th century. It isn't just that its built on a swamp (ground water is so close to the ground, it's scary. And the cathedral is actually sighted on a loop of the river
If you didn't make the trip up the Tower, definitely go back for that, ever so informative & the best views you'll get of Salisbury. Another great video, thank you!
I grew up in Salisbury and if you leave the close at the city side and take the first left , walk past the ale house and head to the bridge over the river Avon ,there is an inlet that appears to point directly to the cathedral . I always wondered what this was for and where it went and had plans to enter with wellies and a head torch ,but never did . I wonder if this is the elusive inlet for the sluices?
Another great walking tour today. I appreciate your work on these, Paul. A lot of research and time dedicated. Hello to Rebecca and enjoy the week ahead. See you on the next. Cheers Rebecca and Paul! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🙂🙂👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
Salisbury is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in this country!! Absolutely glorious!!
I would say it is the most beautiful. Others have odd features that are interesting but Salisbury is unique and just rather perfect. |f you go to Winchester for example it just looks a crude and basic mess by comparison, while St Davids looks like a barn.
last september I was in Ravenna, Some of the large buildings are sinking into the sand and silt and so some of the basements are already flooded. To see some of the mosaic floors you have to look through a metre of water. Some of the churches have already been "raised" a bit in previous centuries - at least the walls are bit taller and you can often see where this has happened. (especially if you have a good guide to point hem out).
You do get the feeling that some of our ancestors werent clued in when building huge religious edifices.
There is a sluice at the nearby Harnham Water Meadows which is partly owned by the cathedral. Maybe related?
looking on Google Maps in satellite mode, there is a mill there and looks like a diversion canal from the high side of the dam into what looks like valve structure. Naturally I am at the mercy of whatever resolution of satellite images being I am in the USA. but that would mean it would have to cross under the river Avon. Interesting note is there appears to be a small outbuilding right where the river forms a Y at the back of a section of land with a building labeled as Arundells.
Be interesting to see where the water does end up but was great to see the Holy Dipstick, great video Paul
Thanks 👍
A large swathe of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway "floats" on top of a marsh; Chat Moss. When that line (the world's first inter city railway line) was being built, everyone told George Stephenson (the chief civil engineer) that it was impossible to build anything on that marsh, and impossible for anyone to cross it, but Stephenson had thousands of bundles of brushwood sunk into the marsh, followed by thousands of barrels of tar, and then laid the railway embankment on top of it, and there it has remained to this day, carrying thousands of trains per year for about a century and a half.
there is a road in my town, that can be found as the "meanwhile, in Oregon" road, where they built the roadbed by sinking logs in the swamp. it settles about a half inch a year.
A thread on cathedrals and their construction would be an interesting divergence. Keep them coming.
Really fascinating video! I sang in a concert at Salisbury Cathedral back in 1990 when I was on a tour with a college chorale. We sang at a number of cathedrals across southern England, actually, and I became fascinated by the ways the ancient architects had to "fix" certain architectural problems created by the massive weights of these buildings. I found the hourglass-shaped bracing in Wells Cathedral particularly interesting, but the way Salisbury Cathedral supports that massive spire is just as interesting. I remember dropping a few pounds into a collection box that was labeled "Save the Spire" or something like that.
@Paul ... Seriously fascinating vid. On a flippant note though, Is the "Holy hand grenade of Antioch" kept there to, with the dipstick !!
They said it was daft to build a cathedral in a swamp.
The depth of the water shall be six feet, and six feet shall be the depth of the water. It shall not be seven, nor shall it be five except that thou then toppeth it up to six. Eight is right out.
@@gcewing Mega LOL! Look out for the killer rabbit
@@mapwiz-sf5yt Still doing it today ... Major housing builds in flood planes ... WTF!!
Sarum by Edward Rutherford is my favourite book of all time. Worth a read for anyone interested in Salisbury and the cathedral.
YEEEES. Read this when I was maybe 18. Loved it.
Oh my goodness. An architecture video, just for me?
This was short, but man was that a bunch of information.
I actually have seen a winch like this before, in the roof truss of Regensburg Cathedral. We had a guided tour there during my retraining as a stone mason. A behind the scenes tour really.
I am actually not surprised that the water system is overseen by an automated computer controlled system. A bunch of elderly volunteers are for sure not the right people to be responsible for overlooking such a most likely complicated system. And actually hiring technicians would be to expensive. Who owns the cathedral?
Anyway. It's always a delight to see Gothic architecture like Salisbury Cathedral and learning about an oddity like the dipstick and why it's there, that's a great addition.
Looking forward to next week. 👌
Just for you indeed Aki
The old Milwaukee journal sentinel building in downtown Milwaukee has the same concept. The reason was to keep the timber pilings wet so they don't rot.
Stone isn't strong in tension, so tall stone spires often have weights suspended from the cap stone to keep the stonework at the top in sufficient compression. This helps resist damage from high winds.
hi again Paul , really interesting video, who would plonk a great big building like that on a swamp lol really well done and thank you 😊
Me smells a follow up video. '...and the Environment Agency Said.'
Awks
Paul, it's really not. I used to be a hydrologist in the EA and while I didn't work in Salisbury so I don't know the answer, if I did, I'd be thrilled to give it to you. I'm sure whoever sorts it now would also be happy. It's not very often that people don't get a glazed expression and walk away when we talk about our job. 😂
@relfyem haha.... fair. No assumption that there would be issue. Just a whole project I'm not sure I'm ready for! I'd need a new take etc
@@pwhitewick I might find out for you... But you'll need to present it. ;)
Danke! Thanks Paul, great story, and not yet fully finished, isn't it?
Thank you. Yup. I think there is more to tell here.
Winchester Cathedral, with William Walker, Siebe Gorman's chief diver, cutting through peat to gravel.
Interestingly, Cadbury Schweppes HQ at Marble Arch had similar problems, built on marsh where Tyburn Gallows first stood. The wood, seasoned oak from the Gallows and Audience Stands, was repurposed as a raft, and encased on top and sides with brick. On that was built Connaught Place, the buildings in front of you as you drive round. By the early 1980s, the oak had rotted, and the walls on the brick arch dropped into the void. The entire place was rebuilt, within the shell, with certain rooms held in place. During the demolition phase, some earthen beds were removed, and yet another body surfaced, far more recent than the felons buried at the foot of the gallows, whose bones lie in a charnel house in the grounds of a convent slightly to the west. By this time, early carbon dating was possible, and this poor fellow dates from 1940, when a German bomb fell nearby. Was he an accidental victim, perhaps a tramp sleeping there buried by the soil going up and then coming down on him? Or murdered? We'll never know.
I've known about the dip stick most of my life but never thought to ask where the water comes from! I wouldn't be surprised if it's now supplied from mains water but obviously not when it was first set up. The nearest stretch of river is to the west, so that might be the most likely place. This is right on the water meadows so there would be a history of water management in the area. A bigger question though: Adding water is the easy part. How do you lower the water if it's too high?
There is five rivers in Salisbury. I wonder if whoever it is at the Environment Agency is sworn to secrecy and if he told Paul he'd have to kill him.😂
@@r.h.8754 Enough water for what purpose? The manual flooding of the gravels under the Cathedral is a human intervention...
Amazing. You’ve whetted my appetite as the saying goes. I am going to read more about this. What a fascinating story. Thank you Paul for another incredible piece of info.
I would be keen to see whatever else you find!
Saw the Holy Dipstick when we visited last summer. 😊 Nice to see your explanation.
There are 3 sluices serving the Bishops Palace pond, that is one more than you could possibly need for a pond. See "Know your Place" mapping 1880's OS
I am loving these in depth , longer videos that were promised as a result of great and diligent research
Well. I have the option of sticking out little fillers like this one. Which works quite well I think, between the long indepth ones.
@@pwhitewick Is the dipstick called Rodney ?
4:30 Thanks Paul. "it didn't really make for great content, because we found absolutely nothing....." Finding absolutely nothing does not stop a large percentage of YT from slapping a link bait title on it and uploading. I have found your videos very well researched and entertaining and your statement above is only repeat of your actions for all of your videos. Would like to learn more about the systems that maintain the water level for Salisbury cathedral. What would happen if it did get too high?
In 1915 it did and everybody got wet feet.
I believe large parts of Salisbury, including the cathedral, are at risk of flooding and have been flooded many times over the years e.g. in 1915. The Environment agency is working with others to deliver essential flood risk mitigation for Salisbury. So, I suspect water levels under the cathedral are largely uncontrolled i.e. the environment agency does not artificially increase or reduce the water level and it is just whatever the water table level happens to be in that area of Salisbury.
And their work is so good areas nearby that did not flood before now flood with heavy rain.
That is some genius level engineering to have a floating foundation. I still don’t get it but it’s amazing that it’s worked for centuries.
Fascinating video. I used to work in the school next to and visited on numerous occasions without realising it was afloat. It became the tallest building in Europe when the spire was added but I don’t think they physically moved the building from Old Sarum, rather they built a new one. Keep’em coming. Best regards.
Great video Paul, it’s staggering to think that 800 years ago we had the knowledge to float a cathedral on a swamp. Try getting planning permission for that these days.
Thank you. 😊
Lovely. Like Stonehenge, I've only ever really seen this beauty out of the back of a 4 tonner. Top tip for Paul - let Rebecca take the car, you take the train, lose in style and visit every pub you can before she blocks the debit card.
Its part of my cycling route homewards. I live 2 km's away. Great Doc as always Paul. Love the local Wiltshire focus, i learn so much!
This is mad, how lovely of them showing you.
They we just the most wonderful guides.
I have witnessed the Great Dip. Amazing yet simple geological assistance in the foundation.
When you started talking about "The Holy Dipstick", I thought that you were referring to the current Archbishop of Canterbury!
Lmao
or indeed the current Mayor of Salisbury!
HI-HOOO!!!
Such a thought did flit across my mind.
The spirit of Henry II is not dead.
Very interesting video as always and great to see the lovely Rebecca at the end leading in the train vs car video
Didn't know that the water. Fascinating.
Has no one carried out a geophysical?
Great video, Paul. Thanks.
I guess so!?... 🤷♂️
Time Team did an episode on the temporary bell tower in the grounds. this was used while being built, to call the faithful. As with any Time Team ep geo phys was done in that area. If sluices were noted... I don't remember.. on a personal note. this vid has brought back memories of living in Salisbury back in late 70s. In Canada now but miss Salisbury. Its my Heart home. Cheers@@pwhitewick
The project manager would have been Elias of Dereham and during construction he would not have expected a 404ft spire above the cathedral as that was added around a hundred years later.🙂👍
Elias was a sensible chap!!
There has been a book written about him
Love Salisbury Cathedral -A great video-Thank you
Thanks James.
Hi Paul, Very intriguing story be great to see how they manage the water table. I wonder if one of your viewers knows?
Lovely looking clock, a very special place for lots of reasons.
Mind you, its far too easy to get back to Andover by car, next time you will have to go back on horse and cart smoking a pipe like Jack Hargreaves!!
Have a great week!!
I really wanted to find out more about that.
Excellent really enjoyed watching. So fascinating to watch.
Now with the level of research and presentation you're doing I really wondwer why traditional telly hasn't gotten to you yet
Too kind.
Commercial TV would ruin it. Sort of a dying breed anyhow.
@@SteamCrane I mean yeah, you couldn't just make this into a tv show but Paul would be more than able to work on one if they approached him with a good concept
It's TOO good for trad tv now. Theres no cake baking bit,no masked singing spot,and no love quests in a hot tub. No good at all for trad tv!
@@janebaker966 All the better for me since I probably wouldn't get the show here in germany
Saw Salisbury Cathedral, and the Old Sarum site, 43 years ago. Wonderful Cathedral, and so interesting about the water. I’ve heard of other buildings having water pumped under them to keep them from sinking. Fascinating!
It's weird to think that, without ongoing human intervention, that lot would come down.
Yuuup. Absolutely
You might even say that its continued existence was due to _divine_ intervention!
@@polymath9372no, one would NOT say anything like that. They put a building in a swamp and they have to maintain it a certain way as a result. What exactly is divine about that ? Its not 'Divinity' to maintain a building, it's common sense if it is a valuable historical building
@@RoseBushThorns588the joke
You
Great video as always! If you’re around on Sunday 25th August, the front of the cathedral becomes a stage for a fantastic local big band called Swing Unlimited! It’s a free event, usually from around 2-5pm. Lots of party music to dance to in the sun (fingers crossed!). In good weather there’s usually a good 1000+ people there!
Fascinating video, architecture, & video. Thanks for the post!
When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a cathedral on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them.
Sounds like it has a mass damper as well as the dipstick, neat.
Damper.... is that that eight thingy?
@@pwhitewick The weight you described hanging in the spire sounds like it acts as a mass damper to counter the movement of the spire.
I'm VERY happy this came out of the Twitter discourse with Madeline Odent! :D I happened to follow it from the start, but I'm a LIIIIIIITTLE far from Salisbury these days, so couldn't pay a visit (although I really wanted to)!
No wonder the Millennium Tower in San Francisco keeps sinking -- it doesn't have a dipstick!
You do know that you're setting yourself for no end of name calling...using the phrase "The Holy Dipstick" whilst looking straight into the lens!!!
Who meeee
@@pwhitewick Yea you!!! You do it more than once too! Am I anticipating new merch here... a picture of you... with an added halo and the now legendary phrase under it... "The Holy Dipstick"???
800 years! Probably the oldest ship still afloat!
Old power station 💯🧠🤝 great video as always 🙋♂️
Power station.
Coming across a random channel and hearing them say “in the doobleydoo” makes me so exceedingly happy 😆
Welcome.
The River Avon is only 250-300m away, so I guess the water table is self regulating. Adjacent water meadows acts as a natural reservoir.
I was thinking the same thing.
thats where id expect any gates to be tbh, but i imagine most of the time there is an inflow weir and an outflow weir somewhere else so things pretty much self regulate as what flows in and out matches
He said it was digitally controlled by the environment agency. That means there is a computer system in charge of it.
@@jamesflames6987Yes, computer controlled telemetry operates the sluice gates of this entire stretch of Avon to Christchurch - not specifically for the Cathedral. It's mostly to alleviate flooding in Salisbury and downstream, given the high water table on which Salisbury, at the junction of 5 rivers, sits. The numerous water meadows and Trout farms provides enormous reservoir. Parts of Salisbury were flooded a few weeks back - sometimes the river systems cannot cope with exceptional periods of rainfall.
Intriguing - did not know about that!!! 🤔🚂🚂🚂
And as everyone knows - the tallest cathedral in the country - the race home was fun ! Found the water table aspect very interesting - thank you
Brilliant video 👍👏👏
Cheers Vic
Thanks, Paul-That was fun. Yikes, a lot of weight pushing into the meadow-
Lower the Dipstick and maybe add a little water to the mixture underneath. Seems to have kept this magnificent structure upright for rather longer than those lying below!
That's crazy you would think foundation's and water definitely don't mix , but hey how there you go
Such complexity. I never knew. I've been to Salisbury Cathedral a few times.
"They called me mad for building a cathedral in a swamp. But I showed them!
First one I built, it sank in the swamp..."
Fascinating. Had no idea of this. It is an amazing cathedral though.
You're such a great storyteller. Thanks for the lesson! Subscribed!
Welcome aboard!
We already knew about the clock, and the spire's exact height as well. Thanks GRU!
Wait... If it's done digitally, does that mean the cathedral now also has a holy moisture level sensor?
Yuuuup
Fascinating. Flipside, deep foundation wooden pilings ALAO have problems of the water table falls.
So glad that you were not being rude to the Dean. (No, of course you wouldn't do that. You're much too nice.)
HI Paul, when I first saw the title for this episode I almost gagged while drinking my beer. An a ecclesiastical dipstick it reminded me of an old limerick..........There was a Bishop from Birmingham...................I'm sure with a bit of research you can find the rest. But seriously an absolutely fascinating video.
Wonderful! I have visited a few times and never knew that. Taking some friends for the first time next nonetheless so we will be sure to ask a guide
*next month
Love comedy where we learn interesting stuff. Those interested in a more technical understanding of how the cathedral stays afloat will surely now research it for themselves.
What the best engineers may never find is the source for topping up the water under the cathedral. Paul has demonstrated that he is the go to person to read the landscape and find stuff. The Landscape team at English Heritage should hire Paul on a project basis ad a research consultant.
Even if the water source is now just a copper garden pipe and tap connected to the town water supply, I sure Paul will find it!!
Damn this video, you answered your question. But left me with more questions I didn't even know existed. I guess I'll check your channel for some answers.
Since you already mentioned the diver - perhaps that would also make an interesting video? I lived not far from that cathedral many years ago so know the story well!
Anybody who's interested in the cathedral should read The Spire by William Golding who also wrote Lord of the Flies and was from Salisbury. The book is a dramatised account of the raising of the tower then the addition of the spire and the frantic efforts undertaken to prevent the extra weight from destroying the building. The cathedral is actually one of the best examples of lightweight medieval stone building, most of the structure being thin and the stresses being taken by ribs, struts, pillars and some flying buttresses.
I guess the fellows in those days dug down to the gravel and job done, thats where its boots sit, good and firm, exactly as Time Team found when they explored the foundations of the now demolished (separate) Bell Tower. Actually, isn't it four yards down to the gravel? I last bumped into Phil Harding a year ago, he'd know, he dug it, I'll ask him when I next see the lad. Wet (enough) gravel is key so the dipstick tells them when to open the sluices some to let the H2O flow from the water meadows, conversely if there is too much of the soggy stuff they close the sluices. Easy, job done.
They built my Grammar school in 1970 on Essex Clay around a cow pond . They were surprised when by 1976 cracks were appearing. Anyone from the area knew but the architect obviously didnt expect the summer of 1976 or the wet summer of 1977
In this case a damp basement is a good thing.
So wait... What was that about a different cathedral and a victorian diver? You'll have to tell us more about that one another time!
I believe that’s Westminster Abby. Something about the foundation shifting.
@@r.h.8754 So when they sing 'you're bringing me down', they're really talking about diving?
There are 5 rivers running through Salisbury, so the water could come from any of them, ir a feeder stream.
Does Lidar show anything?
I had a good search but couldn't see anything.
Salisbury cathedral is a wonder, not least as because unusually for a medieval cathedral in England, it was all built at the same time.
I wonder if the environment agency can give any answers about the “digital dipstick” they use today?
Any way of asking them?
That was really interesting and unusual. Thank you SO much.
😊
My pleasure!
My children's graduations were held here. It's a fantastic structure. Even better now I know it's history 🎉