Winchester Cathedral

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Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, said to be the second longest in Europe. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun and is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and centre of the diocese of Winchester.

Contents 1 Pre-Norman cathedral 2 Brief history 3 Events 4 Features 5 Trivia 6 External links

[edit] Pre-Norman cathedral

Main article: Old Minster, Winchester

The cathedral was originally founded in 642 on an immediately adjoining site to the north. This building was known as the Old Minster. It became part of a monastic settlement in 971. Saint Swithun was buried near the Old Minster and then in it, before being moved to the new Norman cathedral. Mortuary chests said to contain the remains of Saxon kings, first buried in the Old Minster, are also housed in the present cathedral. The Old Minster was demolished in 1093.

[edit] Brief history

Construction of the cathedral began in 1079 under bishop Walkelin. The earliest part of the present building is the crypt, which dates from that time. William II of England (son of William I 'the Conqueror') was buried in the cathedral on 11 August 1100, after he was killed in a hunting accident in the nearby New Forest. The squat, square central tower was begun in 1202 to replace an earlier version which collapsed on top of him. It has an indisputably Norman look to it. Work continued on the cathedral during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, notably with the building of the retrochoir to accommodate the many pilgrims to the shrine of Saint Swithun. The Benedictine foundation, the Priory of Saint Swithun, was dissolved in 1539. The cloister and chapter house were demolished, but the cathedral continued.

Restoration work was carried out by T.G. Jackson during the years 1905–1912, including the famous saving of the building from total collapse. 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.

[edit] Events

Important events which took place at Winchester Cathedral include:

• 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)

[edit] Features

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.

The crypt, which frequently floods, features a statue by Antony Gormley, called "Sound II", installed in 1986, and there is a modern shrine to Saint Swithun.

A series of nine icons were installed between 1992 and 1996 in the retroquire screen which for a short time protected the relics of St Swithun destroyed by Henry VIII in 1538. This iconostasis in the Russion Orthodox tradition was created by Sergei Fedorov (sometimes spelt Fyodorov) and dedicated in 1997. The icons include the local religious figures St Swithun and St Birinus. Beneath the retroquire Icons is the Holy Hole once used by pilgrims to crawl beneath and lie close to the healing shrine of St Swithun. The 'external link' below connects to images of each icon and the retroquire.

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).

[edit] Trivia

• Burial place of King Edwy of England and his wife Queen Elgiva.
• Winchester Cathedral and the associated diocese are the setting for Anthony Trollope's novel of 19th century Church life, Barchester Towers.
• Winchester Cathedral is possibly the only cathedral to have had popular songs written about it. "Winchester Cathedral" was a UK top ten hit and a US number one song 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 movie version of The Da Vinci Code with the north transept was used as the Vatican. The cathedral also hosted discussions and displays to debunk the book.

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Virtual tour
• Thirty images of Winchester Cathedral with descriptions
• Images of Fedorov's Iconostasis at Winchester Cathedral
• A history of the Pilgrims' School and of the choristers of Winchester Cathedral
• Adrian Fletcher’s Paradoxplace Winchester Cathedral Pages – Photos