Salisbury Cathedral
This is the Chapter House, notable for its octagonal shape, a slender central pillar and decorative medieval frieze, which is 58 feet in diameter and 52 feet in height. It was built between 1263 and 1284 in Edward I’s reign by Richard the Mason, and around the walls are 49 seats for the members of the Chapter. Quite apart from the Protestant determination to remove statuary, the Chapter House was also used as a prison in the 17th century and was in a perilous state before it was restored and redecorated in 1855–9 by William Burges. The frieze depicts scenes and stories from the books of Genesis and Exodus. Having tasted the apple, here we have Adam and Eve (now aware of their nakedness and clothed) being expelled from the Garden of Eden.
salisbury salisburycathedral cathedral chapterhouse frieze adamandeve