Built in essence over the footprint of the Norman Cathedral built Old Sarum in 1075, the Foundation stone was laid in 1220 on the Salsibury Water Meadows. The cloisters came into being around 1270. Overall, the entire cathedral took less than fifty years to complete which is, relative to others in Europe, practically overnight. It's considered a point of significant pride in Britain, and features the tallest in spire in all of Wales.
The 13th-century octagonal choir house still contains one of the original four Magna Carta texts as well as other gems, manuscripts, and unspeakable treasures from the diocese of Salisbury. In all, there are some 75 buildings in the Salisbury compound, some were built as little as two hundred years ago.
As for the spire, which Salisbury is known for as it was in its day, in 1315 it was the tallest man-made building in the world. It stood some four hundred and four feet tall and, interestingly, it was not even part of the original design of the cathedral but came as an exquisite afterthought to an unknown master-mason over fifteen years after the Church's completion. Although some naysayers have claimed the tower is off kilter, angling badly and looking to topple, to wit Sir Christophen Wren as early as 1668, the truth is the glorious tower, a crown jewel of England still, can even now be climbed up-presumably safely-by bold visitors who have faith in the over seven hundred year old construction. It is of course up to their legs (and lungs) to make it to the tiptop and back down.