Free Tours and Demonstrations

Cathedral Floor Tours

Daily tours available on request  (subject to availability)

We have over 250 knowledgeable volunteer guides who will welcome you and help you get the most from your visit. If there are enough guides available, you might even get your own private tour! Alternatively, you can explore at your own pace using one of our free family-friendly guide maps or our fun Cathedral trail for younger children.

Medieval Clock demonstration: marking the centuries

Mondays – Fridays after 11.00 Prayers; Saturdays at 10.30 in the North Nave Aisle

Make sure you join us in time to see, and hear, the world’s oldest working mechanical clock in action.  Made in 1386 or earlier, it is mounted in an iron frame and has no dial!  In the past the clock struck a bell to remind the priests to pray.

Today the clock still measures the day with a steady tick but can now be seen at ground level in the Cathedral rather than in the tower.  It is wound up every day and has ticked over 5 billion times.  Come and watch while the mechanism is unlocked allowing the clock to strike a bell as it first did over 600 years ago.

NEW Elias Dereham Spotlight Talk

Thursdays and Saturdays, 14:15, meet in the North Quire Aisle, no booking required. Running until the end of February 2024.

Elias de Dereham (d 1245) was a priest who oversaw the construction of most of Salisbury Cathedral. He was also involved in the distribution of Magna Carta. Elias’ house was possibly the first house built in the Close in about 1220. His house was called Leaden Hall because the roof was made of lead. Today there is still a house called Leaden Hall in the Close, it is on the same site as Elias’ house but was built later in the 1700s and 1800s. Come and learn more about Elias and Leaden Hall in our free-with-admission spotlight talks series.

Stained Glass Window Tours

Mondays, 12.00, Cathedral entrance in Cloisters, no booking required

Discover the rich history of our beautiful stained glass windows. The tour sheds new light on the Cathedral’s history and its community, from the scandal of the medieval glass abandoned in a ditch during the late 1700s, to windows commemorating wars, suffrage and even a Cathedral cat. Tours last approximately one hour.

Wealth, Power, Passion: Free Guided Tour

Wednesdays, 11:30, meet inside the Cathedral doors, no booking required

Designed by Cathedral Guide Helen Townend and her colleagues, this tour will introduce visitors to three women whose stories are intertwined with the history of the Cathedral and Wiltshire.

Meet the Masons

Tuesdays from 5 April – 3 October, 10:30 – 12:30, West Cloister or South Transept, no booking required

Watch our stonemasons at work on Tuesdays from 10:30 to 12:30. See the experts who maintain and restore our Cathedral using tools and techniques that haven’t changed for hundreds of years. We welcome you to ask questions as they carve the stone before your eyes to find out more about life as a Salisbury Cathedral stonemason.

Vestments Demo

Please note these demos are currently unavailable

Learn about a thousand years of worship with our free Vestments talks every Thursday.

Follow the journey from Old Sarum to the current site of Salisbury Cathedral, and discover the practices and traditions that have remained. Learn about life in the vestry, where vergers prepare for worship across the centuries and view some of the beautiful vestments and artefacts on display. No booking required.