Winchester
Winchester or Winton (archaic) is a historic city in southern England, with a population of around 40,000 within a 3 mile radius of its centre. It is the seat of the City of Winchester local government district, which covers a much larger area, and is also the administrative capital and county town of Hampshire. Winchester was formerly the capital of England, during the 10th and early 11th centuries, and before that the capital of Wessex. The city is at the western end of the South Downs with the scenic River Itchen running through it. The city is served by trains running from London Waterloo, Weymouth, Brighton, Portsmouth, Southampton and the North. According to a Channel 4 survey program in October 2006, Winchester is the best place to live in the UK.
Notable buildings
Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral, the second longest building in Europe, was originally built in 1079. It contains much fine architecture spanning the 11th to the 16th century and is the place of interment of numerous Bishops of Winchester (such as William of Wykeham), Anglo-Saxon monarchs (such as Egbert of Wessex) and later monarchs such as King Canute and William Rufus [1], as well as Jane Austen. It was once an important pilgrimage centre and housed the shrine of Saint Swithun. The ancient Pilgrims' Way travelling to Canterbury begins at Winchester. The plan of the earlier Old Minster is laid out in the grass adjoining the cathedral. The New Minster (original burial place of Alfred the Great and Edward the Elder[1]) once stood beside it. It has a girls choir and a boys choir, which sing on a regular basis at the cathedral.
Cathedral Close
The Cathedral Close contains a number of historic buildings from the time when the cathedral was also a priory. Of particular note are the Deanery which dates back to the 13th century. It was originally the Prior's House, and was the birthplace of Arthur, Prince of Wales in 1486. Not far away is Cheyney Court, a mid-15th century timber-framed house incorporating the Porter's Lodge for the Priory Gate. It was the Bishop's court house.
The earliest hammer-beamed building in England is also situated in the Cathedral Close, next to the Dean's garden. It is known as the Pilgrims' Hall, as it was part of the hostelry used to accommodate the many pilgrims to Saint Swithun's shrine. Left-overs from the lavish banquets of the Dean would be given to the pilgrims who were welcome to spend the night in the hall. It is thought by Winchester City Council to have been built in 1308. The Pilgrims' School is planning to organise some events in the year 2008. Now, the hall is used by the school for assemblies in the morning, drama lessons, plays, orchestral practices, Cathedral Waynflete rehearsals, the school's Senior Commoners' Choir rehearsals and so forth.
Wolvesey Castle and Palace
Wolvesey Castle was the Norman bishop's palace, dating from 1110, but standing on the site of an earlier Saxon structure. It was enhanced by Henry de Blois during the Anarchy of his brother King Stephen's reign. He was besieged there for some days. In the 16th century, Queen Mary Tudor and King Philip II of Spain were guests just prior to their wedding in the Cathedral. The building is now a ruin (maintained by English Heritage), but the chapel was incorporated into the new palace built in the 1680s, only one wing of which survives.
Winchester Castle
Winchester is well known for the Great Hall of its castle, which was built in the 12th century. The Great Hall was rebuilt, sometime between 1222-1235, and still exists in this form. It is famous for King Arthur's Round Table, which has hung in the hall from at least 1463. The table actually dates from the 13th century, and as such is not contemporary to Arthur. Despite this it is still of considerable historical interest and attracts many tourists. The table was originally unpainted, but was painted for King Henry VIII in 1522. The names of the legendary Knights of the Round Table are written around the edge of the table surmounted by King Arthur on his throne. Opposite the table are Prince Charles' 'Wedding Gates'. In the grounds of the Great Hall is a recreation of a medieval garden. Apart from the hall, only a few excavated remains of the stronghold survive amongst the modern Law Courts. The buildings were supplanted by the King's House, now incorporated into the Peninsula Barracks where there are several military museums. Winchester is also home to the Army Training Regiment Winchester, otherwise known as Sir John Moore Barracks, where Army recruits undergo their phase one training.
Winchester College
The buildings of Winchester College, a public school founded by William of Wykeham, still largely date from their first erection in 1382. There are two courtyards, a gatehouse, cloister, hall and a magnificent college chapel. It was planned to educate poor boys before they moved on to New College, Oxford and a life in the church.
Hospital of St Cross
The almshouses and vast Norman chapel of Hospital of St Cross were founded just outside the city centre by Henry de Blois in the 1130s. Since at least the 14th century, and still available today, a 'wayfarer's dole' of ale and bread has been handed out there. It was supposedly instigated to aid pilgrims on their route through to Canterbury.
Other buildings
Other important historic buildings include the Guildhall dating from 1871, the Royal Hampshire County Hospital and one of the city's several water mills driven by the various channels of the River Itchen that run through the city centre. Winchester City Mill, has recently been restored, and is again milling corn by water power. The mill is owned by the National Trust.
History
Early history
Settlement in the area dates back to pre-Roman times, with an Iron Age enclosure or valley fort, Oram's Arbour, on the western side of the present-day city. After the Roman conquest of Britain the civitas, then named Venta Belgarum or "Market of the Belgae", was of considerable importance.
The city may have been the Caergwinntguic or Caergwintwg (literally meaning "White Fortress") as recorded by Nennius after the Roman occupation. This name was corrupted into Wintanceastre following the Anglo-Saxon conquest of the area in 519.
Anglo-Saxon times
The city has historic importance as it replaced Dorchester-on-Thames as the defacto capital of the ancient kingdom of Wessex in about 686 after King Caedwalla of Wessex defeated King Atwald of Wight. Although it was not the only town to have been the capital, it was established by King Egbert as the main city in his kingdom in 827. Saint Swithun was Bishop of Winchester in the mid-9th century. The Saxon street plan laid out by Alfred is still evident today: a cross shaped street system which conformed to the standard town planning system of the day - overlaying the pre-existing Roman street plan (incorporating the ecclesiastical quarter in the south-east; the judicial quarter in the south-west; the tradesmen in the north-east). The town was part of a series of fortifications along the south coast. Built by Alfred to protect the Kingdom, they were known as 'burhs'. The boundary of the old town is visible in places (a wooden barricade surrounded by ditches in Saxon times) now a stone wall. Four main gates were positioned in the north, south, east and west plus the additional Durngate and King's Gate. Winchester remained the capital of Wessex, and then England, until some time after the Norman Conquest when the capital was moved to London.
Medieval and later times
A serious fire in the city in 1141 accelerated its decline. However, William of Wykeham (1320-1404) played an important role in the city's restoration. As Bishop of Winchester he was responsible for much of the current structure of the cathedral, and he founded Winchester College as well as New College, Oxford. During the Middle Ages, the city was an important centre of the wool trade, before going into a slow decline.
The famous novelist Jane Austen died in Winchester on 18 July 1817 and is buried in the cathedral. The Romantic poet John Keats stayed in Winchester from mid August through to October 1819. It was in Winchester that Keats wrote Isabella, St. Agnes' Eve and Lamia. Parts of Hyperion and the five-act poetic tragedy Otho The Great were also written in Winchester.
Further learning
The City Museum located on the corner of Minster Street and The Square contains much information on the history of Winchester.
Sport
Winchester's association football club, called Winchester City F.C., was founded in 1884 and has the motto "Many in Men, One in Spirit", and currently play in the Sydenhams Wessex League Division 1.
Winchester also has a rugby team named Winchester RFC and a thriving athletic club called Winchester and District AC.
Winchester has a thriving successful Hockey Club (http://www.winchesterhc.co.uk/), with ten men's and three ladies' teams catering to all ages and abilities.
Winchester women also have successful sports teams with Winchester City Women FC currently playing in the Hampshire County League Division 1 and recently went through a league campaign unbeaten. The club caters for players of all ability and ages (www.winchestercitywomen.co.uk)
The city has a growing roller hockey team which trains at River Park Leisure Centre.
Lawn bowls is played at several greens during the summer months and at Riverside Indoor Bowling Club during the winter.
Barnsley midfielder Brian Howard was born in Winchester.
Education in Winchester
There are numerous educational institutions in Winchester.
There are three state secondary schools: Kings' School Winchester, The Westgate School, and Henry Beaufort, all of which have excellent reputations. The sixth form Peter Symonds College is the main college that serves Winchester; it is rated amongst the top and the largest sixth form colleges in the UK.
Among privately owned preparatory schools, there are The Pilgrims' School Winchester, Twyford, Prince's Mead , St Swithuns etc. Winchester College, which accepts students from ages 13 to 18, is one of the most well-known public schools in Britain and many of its pupils leave for well-respected universities.
The University of Winchester (formerly King Alfred's College) serves as Winchester's primary university. It is located on a purpose built campus near the city centre. The Winchester School of Art is part of the University of Southampton.
Winchester abroad
The city of Winchester is twinned with Laon in France and the Winchester district is twinned with Gießen in Germany.
The city of Winchester gave its name to a suburb of Paris, France, called Le Kremlin-Bicêtre (23,724 inhabitants), due to a manor built there by John of Pontoise, Bishop of Winchester, in the end of the 13th century.
Media and culture
Winchester is the main location of Samuel Youd's post-apocalyptic science fiction series, Sword of the Spirits. The books were published under the pen name John Christopher.
On Channel 4 UK's Television Programme "The Best And Worst Places To Live In The UK" 2006, which was broadcast on Channel 4 UK on 26 October 2006, it was officially branded as the Best Place In The UK To Live In: 2006.[2]
In 'the Idler book of Crap Towns:The 50 Worst Places To Live In The UK', Winchester was 5th just beating Liverpool (6th).[3]
Since 1974 Winchester has hosted the annual Hat Fair, a celebration of street theatre that includes performances, workshops, and gatherings at several venues around the city.
In the movie Merlin, King Uther's first conquest of Britain begins with Winchester, which Merlin foresaw would fall.
In Philip Pullman's novel The Subtle Knife (part of the His Dark Materials trilogy) the main male protagonist, Will Parry, comes from Winchester. However, little of the book is set there.
In the Japanese manga Death Note, The Wammy's House, an orphanage founded by Quillsh Wammy, where the detective L's successors are raised, is located in Winchester.
Winchester hosts one of the UK's largest and most successful farmers' markets, with close to - or over - 100 stalls, and is certified by FARMA. The farmers' market takes place on the second and last Sunday monthly in the town centre.
Famous people from Winchester
- Oswald Mosley, (1896-1980), British politician
- Mary Warnock, Baroness Warnock, (1924-), philosopher and writer on existentialism
- George Ferguson, (1947-), architect
- Tony Middleton, (1964-), cricketer
References
- ^ a b Dodson, Aidan. The Royal Tombs of Great Britain. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co. 2004.
- ^ http://www.channel4.com/4homes/ontv/best&worst/2006/winchester.html
- ^ Idler book of crap towns ISBN 0-7522-1582-5 page 131
External links
- Template:Wikitravel
- Street Level Guide to Arts and Entertainment in Winchester
- Virtual Tour of Winchester Cathedral
- Virtual Tour of Winchester, maps and photos
- Thirty images of Winchester Cathedral with descriptions
- Winchester School of Art
- University of Winchester
- Winchester City Football Club
- The Winchester Hat Fair
- Winchester Hockey Club
