Cathedral close

A cathedral close is the area immediately around a cathedral, sometimes extending for a hundred metres or more from the main cathedral building. In Europe in the Middle Ages, and often later, it was usually all the property of the cathedral and under the bishop or cathedral's legal jurisdiction rather than that of the city. It normally had gates which were locked at night or when there were disturbances in the city, hence the name. It usually included buildings housing diocesan offices, schools, free-standing chapels associated with the cathedral, and the palace of the bishop and other clergy houses associated with the cathedral. They sometimes, although not necessarily, are arranged in a sort of square around a courtyard, as in the close at Salisbury Cathedral. The German term is Domfreiheit.