Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral as seen from the Cathedral Close

View along the nave of Winchester Cathedral to the west door

A plan published in 1911

View of Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral in Winchester, Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England. The earliest part of the present cathedral building is the crypt, which dates from the early 12th century. The squat, square central tower was begun in 1202, and has an indisputably Norman look to it. Work continued on the cathedral during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, and restoration work was carried out by T.G. Jackson during the years 1905–1912. The cathedral is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

The cathedral is part of a former monastic settlement, originally founded in 642. The Benedictine foundation, the Priory of St Swithun, was dissolved in 1539.

Boxes said to contain the remains of Saxon kings, and dating (allegedly) from before the founding of the cathedral, have been housed in the cathedral for centuries. The cathedral also contains a shrine to Saint Swithun, a 9th century bishop, and the burial site of Alfred the Great.

William II of England (son of William I, "the Conqueror") was buried in the cathedral on August 11, 1100, after he was killed in a hunting accident in nearby New Forest.

Nowadays the cathedral draws many tourists as a result of its association with Jane Austen, who died in the city and is buried in the cathedral's north aisle of the nave. The original 19th century marker gave reluctant praise for her writing ability. Much later a more descriptive marker about Austen's talent was placed on a nearby wall.

The Epiphany Chapel has a series of Pre-Raphaelite stained glass windows designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and made in William Morris's workshop. The foliage decoration above and below each pictorial panel is unmistakably William Morris and at least one of the figures bears a striking resemblance to Morris's wife Jane, who frequently posed for Dante Gabriel Rossetti and other members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

At the beginning of the 20th century, some waterlogged foundations on the south and east walls were reinforced by a diver, William Walker, packing the foundations with more than 25,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks and 900,000 bricks. He worked six hours a day from 1906 to 1912 in total darkness at depths up to 6 m, and is credited with saving the cathedral from total collapse. For his troubles he was awarded the MVO.

The crypt, which frequently floods, features a statue by Antony Gormley, called "Sound II", installed in 1986.

The cathedral also possesses the only diatonic ring of 14 church bells in the world, with a tenor (heaviest bell) weighing 36 cwt (or approximately 1.83 metric tonnes).

Events

Important events which took place at Winchester Cathedral include:

Coronation of Edward the Confessor (1043)
Marriage of Edward the Confessor and Edith (1045)
Coronation of Matilda of Flanders as queen consort (1068)
Coronation of Henry the Young King and his queen, Marguerite (1172)
Second coronation of Richard I of England (1194)
Marriage of King Henry IV of England and Joanna of Navarre (1403)
Marriage of Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain (1554)

Trivia

Winchester Cathedral is possibly the only cathedral to have had popular songs written about it. "Winchester Cathedral" was a UK top ten hit for The New Vaudeville Band in 1966. The cathedral was also the subject of the Crosby, Stills & Nash song, "Cathedral".
In 2005 the building was used as a film-set for The Da Vinci Code, as a substitute for Westminster Abbey

Anglican Cathedrals in England and Wales

Church of England

Church in Wales

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