Wonderful Winchester

There's something I like about Winchester, and I instantly know what it is - the city is just so historic.  Is there anywhere in England with more of a claim on English history than the Hampshire county town?  I don't think so - the surrounding countryside is home to at least three Iron Age hillforts, including the very near St Catherine's Hill, from whence the Belgae tribe eventually left the slopes and formed the first town-like settlement here, likely known as Wenta, which the Romans adapted to Venta Belgarum ("Venta of the Belgae".)  There's not much Roman remains still visible in the city, for the sheer reason that after the Roman withdrawal, Winchester continued to serve as an urban centre (albeit on a reduced scale) thus developing the city ever forwards.  Winchester famously became the Capital of Wessex under Alfred The Great in the 800s, who obliterated what remained of the Roman street system as he reorganised the city to counter the Viking threat.  From here, it just stayed, a permanent English fixture, important and influential.  After the Norman Conquest, the Bishop of Winchester (one Walkelin) began work on a new cathedral to replace the Old Minster that had served as cathedral since 642, eventually creating one of the largest cathedrals in Europe.  At its consecration in 1093, the Annals of Winchester tell us that "in the presence of almost all the bishops and abbots of England, the monks came with the highest exultation and glory from the old minster to the new one; on the Feast of St Swithun they went in procession from the new minster to the old one and brought thence St Swithun's shrine and placed it with honour in the new buildings, and on the following day Walkelin's men first begun to pull the old minster."  Much of Walkelin's work survives, nearly a thousand years later.  It just doesn't get more historic than this.

Now for my sins, having family connections to this area and having visited Winchester so many times in my life, I've never actually been into the cathedral before.  Until now.  The cathedral will probably feature on my blog series "The Archaeology Files" at some point, so I'm not going to delve too deeply on this today - suffice to say, it's another stunning and quite moving place to be, and whilst the tourists gather like sheep around Jane Austen's tomb, I'm delighted to have found the memorial to Devonian General Sir Henry Redvers Buller (although his final resting place is Crediton Church), even if he gets a bad rap nowadays for daring to have Victorian ideas during the Victorian period (gasps!)  Elsewhere in Winchester Cathedral is the aforementioned shrine to St Swithun, Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester and the world's most famous weather forecaster.  I love to see an old shrine in an English cathedral, and St Swithun's is certainly rather charming.

With apologies to Lizzie, our trip to Winchester descends into a proper history tour, as we follow the high street towards the Great Hall, to take in the famous Round Table.  The Great Hall dates back to the 13th century, and was once part of a bigger castle complex, the majority of which has now been sadly removed.  The Great Hall itself was built by Henry III, and has an interesting history of justice - Sir Walter Raleigh went on trial for treason here, conducting his own defence in the process; the Bloody Assizes started here, and amongst others saw the trial of Lady Alice Lisle, shockingly sentenced to death on a false charge of harbouring fugitives (Westcountry folk are all too familiar with Judge Jeffreys, the "Hanging Judge", whose shocking version of justice puts him firmly in the seventh circle of hell); and in more recent times, the Great Hall played host to an IRA trial after one person died, and 200 were injured, when two car bombs were set off outside the Old Bailey and Scotland Yard.  That November day in 1973 saw a heavy security presence, with all doors to the Hall bolted, and 15 police officers surrounding the accused.  I prefer it on our visit - calm, peaceful and basking in its own glory.

Of course, dominating the beautiful space is the Round Table itself, thought to have been commissioned by Edward I, who was said to be an Arthurian enthusiast.  The table is a brilliant piece of English history, and is one of my favourites (I bought a fridge magnet and a coaster), but what struck me most was learning how Henry VIII used it for propaganda.  Henry visited Winchester for the first time in 1516, and within days had issued a writ ordering "the repair of the Great Hall at Winchester and the Round table there."  He clearly saw an opportunity - on having it restored and repainted, Henry saw fit to add an enormous Tudor rose into the centre of the table, and had the image of King Arthur painted very much in his own likeness.  When it was finished, Henry brought Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, to Winchester to take a look - it is said that the table reminded Charles of Henry's claim to Arthur's inheritance, and his true links to the ancient British throne.  It's a brilliant example of how English history was written by the victors.

Our day in Winchester comes to an end with a walk through Wolvsey Castle grounds and a stroll along the Itchen.  Even the water here is historic - the Vikings famously sailed up here in 860 to besiege the town in what became known as the Battle of Winchester.  Considering I haven't been here in 13 years, I'm amazed at how well I remembered how to navigate us around, but I suppose its easy in a city like this, where everything is ancient, and little has changed in the course of my lifetime, if not for at least 500 years.  It's a timelessness that's so rare in general, and yet so abundant here, and it makes Winchester a real jewel in the crown of English history.