Dr Caroline Shenton, a distinguished archivist, gave members of Sarum Decorative and Fine Arts Society the perfect lecture for this 800th anniversary year of the sealing, not signing, of the Magna Carta. This was especially interesting to Salisbury members as one of the four remaining original copies is on display in the cathedral.

Dr Shenton gave a comprehensive historical background to the need for the document and explained why the 63 clauses of what was essentially a peace treaty were reduced over the years to four, including the combination of clauses thirty-nine and forty. This clause is the one with which we are most familiar beginning ‘All free men...’ She enlarged on how the parchment was produced, how the ink was made, and how a quill pen was manufactured and maintained in use and errors were scraped away with a knife.

She showed how the style of writing in the Salisbury version differs from the other three original copies.

She showed, with many illustrations, how the Magna Carta became visual shorthand for human rights protests, from the unlawful arrest of John Knox, through a biting Rowlandson cartoon, via Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment to the present day.

Altogether a thought-provoking and fascinating lecture.

The next meeting The Arts of Japan: Highlights of Japanese Art and Culture Through the Ages took place on Tuesday, at the Methodist Church, St Edmund’s Church Street, Salisbury, following the AGM.