Dorothy L Sayers (1893 – 1957)

Until 2011 there were no Salisbury blue plaques dedicated to notable women. In 2011 a blue plaque was erected to Dorothy L Sayers on the Cathedral hotel. From 1909-1912 Dorothy L Sayers was educated at the Godolphin School in Salisbury. In 1923 she published her first novel, “Whose Body?” which introduced Lord Peter Wimsey and describes how he lunched at the Cathedral Hotel (alias the Minster Hotel) in Salisbury. Lord Peter Wimsey was her hero for 14 volumes of novels and short stories. After the unveiling of the plaque, some 70 people stayed for a special lunch menu which was devised by the hotel with dishes that appear in some of her works. Girls from Godolphin read extracts from Dorothy’s books, and the chairman of the Dorothy L Sayers Society brought memorabilia along to display.