Bring the “Great Charter” alive in 2015 and discover the locations with direct relevance to the liberties we enjoy today.
In 2015 it will be 800 years since Magna Carta was
agreed between King John and his barons, so
enshrining the rule of law in English society and
limiting authoritarian rule.
In 2015 we invite you to visit England and
commemorate, along with the ten Charter towns
and the many towns and villages connected with
this period of history, the 800th anniversary of
this corner stone of modern freedom.
Trail 1:London to Windsor
Starting the trail in the centre of London, you'll have the opportunity to see the church where King John was first confronted by a posse of barons demanding a charter. After seeing the Magna Carta room at the British Library on day 2 containing original medieval documents, day 3 you'll see the 'meeting meadow’ where King John agreed to Magna Carta in 1215 before concluding your trail on day 4 in Windsor, the home of King John.
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Trail 2:Salisbury and Wiltshire
Beginning your 2 days in Salisbury you'll be able to see what is arguably considered the finest preserved copy of the 1215 Magna Carta, housed at Salisbury Cathedral. Travelling to Trowbridge via the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge, your second day will allow you to explore one of the Baron Towns.
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Trail 3:Cathedral Cities of the North
Start your trip in Lincoln where you can see one of the final version of 1215 Magna Carta on display in a new vault and visitor centre at Lincoln Castle, alongside 1217 Charter of the Forest. Visit the city of York on day 2 where King John granted the citizens the right to rule themselves before carrying on to Cartmel. Finish your trail in Durham City where three editions of the Magna Carta are held and where the only surviving issue of the 1216 edition will be displayed throughout the summer of 2015 in Durham University's Palace Green Library.
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Trail 4:Kent and East Sussex
Canterbury Cathedral forms one third of Canterbury’s UNESCO World Heritage Site and whilst here you can learn more about Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1207. Travelling to Faversham and Rochester on day 2 to see a 1300 copy of the Magna Carta as well as the first code of English law, you can either complete the trail at Dover Castle or Pevensey which received a royal charter in 1207
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Trail 5:East of England
The first day will take you to Abbeys both in St Albans and Bury St Edmunds, both of which locations where people of influence gathered to make demands of King John. The following day will take you to Framlingham Castle seized by King John in 1216 before continuing to Norwich where both its Castle and Cathedral pre-date the Magna Carta era.
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Trail 6:The Heart of England
Beginning in Oxford's Bodleian Library where nearly a quarter of the world’s original 13th century manuscripts of Magna Carta is held, your second day will take you to Worcester where King John is buried. Your final day will be at Hereford which houses the finest surviving 1217 Magna Carta as well as the sole surviving copy of the ‘Kings Writ'.
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