This volume investigates the administrative and religious operations of the diocese of Salisbury during the late thirteenth century through the primary source documentation of its bishops. B. R. Kemp, a specialist in medieval ecclesiastical history, compiles and analyzes nearly 250 individual documents issued by six consecutive bishops between 1263 and 1297. The work provides a structured framework for understanding how episcopal authority functioned across the counties of Berkshire, Dorset, and Wiltshire during a period of significant institutional development.

Scholars and historians regard this volume as a foundational reference for the study of medieval English church administration. The text is noted for its rigorous scholarly apparatus and its utility in reconstructing the daily operations of the thirteenth-century diocese of Salisbury.