Old Sarum Rite

Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salsbury  in England. The site contains evidence of human habitation as early as 3000 BC. Old Sarum is mentioned in some of the earliest records in the country. It sits on a hill about two miles north of modern Salisbury.

Various parts of Britain and Ireland developed local variants of the Western Liturgy: The Sarum Rite was originally the local form used in the Cathedral and Diocese of  Salsbury.  It later became prevalent throughout much of the British Isles, particularly in southern England.

Although abandoned after the 16th century, the Sarum rite was the original basis of the liturgy in the Anglican Book of common Prayer. This is most evident in its sequence of  Sundays in Advent, which vary considerably from those used in the Roman Tridentine Rite. It also inspired the counting of Sundays after Trinity rather than Pentecost. One may also take note of the marriage rite and the Sarum custom of "plighting troths".