Magna Carta 1215: From Runnymede to Lincoln

In January 1215 King John and the rebellious barons met in the Temple. William Marshal acted as negotiator and swore on the king's behalf that the barons' grievances would be addressed in the summer. That promise led to the signing of Magna Carta in June. The church's chancel was consecrated on Ascension Day 1240.

Visitor guidance: Check the church's opening hours before you go.

As the crisis grew, Windsor Castle was King John's base. It had been besieged in 1214, and he used it during the negotiations before Magna Carta was sealed at nearby Runnymede in 1215. Windsor has been used by monarchs since Henry I and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe.

Visitor guidance: Check the official Windsor Castle site for opening dates.

On 10 June 1215 John met the rebel leaders at Runnymede, a water-meadow on the south bank of the Thames. It was neutral ground between royal Windsor and the rebel base at Staines. By 15 June a text was agreed, and on 19 June the rebels renewed their oaths and copies of the charter were issued. Runnymede is the most likely place of sealing. Today the meadow holds the Magna Carta Memorial, unveiled on 18 July 1957 at a ceremony attended by American and English lawyers.

Location precision: The sealing is described as most likely at the Runnymede water-meadow; the pin marks the meadow, not an exact spot.

Visitor guidance: The meadow is open for walks; the Magna Carta Memorial stands on the lower slopes of Cooper's Hill.

Copies of the charter went out across the kingdom, and Elias of Dereham, who was at Runnymede in 1215, was given the task of distributing some of them. He later became a canon of Salisbury and supervised the building of the cathedral. That is why Salisbury's chapter house now displays the best-preserved of the four surviving original copies of Magna Carta.

Visitor guidance: The Magna Carta is displayed in the chapter house; check opening times on the cathedral's site.

Hugh of Wells, Bishop of Lincoln, was one of the signatories to Magna Carta, and for hundreds of years the cathedral held one of the four remaining original copies. It is now displayed in nearby Lincoln Castle. The Lincoln copy was shown at the British Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The rebel barons had marched on Lincoln earlier in 1215, so the city was part of the conflict, too.

Visitor guidance: The cathedral is open to visitors; the Lincoln Magna Carta is in Lincoln Castle's vault.