From 1295, a form of this constituency on a narrower area, the Parliamentary borough of Salisbury, returned two MPs to the House of Commons of England Elections were held using the bloc vote system. This afforded the ability for wealthy male townsfolk who owned property rated at more than £2 a year liability in Land Tax to vote in the county and borough. The franchise in the town was generally restricted to male tradespersons and professionals within the central town wards, however in medieval elections would have been the aldermen. The borough constituency co-existed with a neighbouring minuscule- seat described towards its Great Reform Act abolition as a rotten borough: Old Sarum that covered the mostly abandoned Roman citadel to the northeast. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, the borough's representation was reduced to one member. The parliamentary borough of Salisbury was abolished for the 1918 general election however the name transferred immediately to a new county division.
Boundaries
1918–1950: The Municipal Boroughs of Salisbury and Wilton, and the Rural Districts of Amesbury, Salisbury, Tisbury, and Wilton. 1950–1983: The Municipal Boroughs of Salisbury and Wilton, and the Rural Districts of Amesbury, and Salisbury and Wilton. 1983–2010: The District of Salisbury wards of Alderbury, Amesbury, Bemerton, Bishopdown, Bulford, Chalke Valley, Donhead, Downton, Durrington, Ebble, Fisherton and Bemerton Village, Fonthill, Fovant, Harnham, Idmiston, Laverstock, Milford, Nadder, Redlynch, St Edmund, St Mark, St Martin, St Paul, Stratford, Till Valley, Tisbury, Upper Bourne, Whiteparish, Wilton, Winterbourne, Winterslow, Woodford Valley, and Wylye. 2010–present: The District of Salisbury wards of Alderbury and Whiteparish, Amesbury East, Amesbury West, Bemerton, Bishopdown, Chalke Valley, Downton and Redlynch, Ebble, Fisherton and Bemerton Village, Harnham East, Harnham West, Laverstock, Lower Wylye and Woodford Valley, St Edmund and Milford, St Mark and Stratford, St Martin and Milford, St Paul, Till Valley and Wylye, Upper Bourne, Idmiston and Winterbourne, Wilton, and Winterslow. The constituency is based around the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire. A large portion of the former Salisbury district, excluding a part to the west, is included within the constituency. Downton was a former borough constituency until abolished as a rotten borough, like Old Sarum, in 1832.
The constituency consists of Census Output Areas of one local government district with a working population whose income is close to the national average and lower than average reliance upon social housing. At the end of 2012 the unemployment rate in the constituency stood as 1.6% of the population claiming jobseekers allowance, compared to the regional average of 2.5%. The rural county as a whole has a low 14.8% of its population without a car, 18.6% of the population without qualifications and a high 29.5% with level 4 qualifications or above. In terms of tenure across the whole county 67.5% of homes are owned outright or on a mortgage as at the 2011 census.
