WINCHESTER, a city, having separate jurisdiction, locally in the
hundred of Buddlesgate, Fawley division of the county of
SOUTHAMPTON, of which it is the capital, 63 miles (S. W. by W.)
from London, containing 7739 inhabitants, according to the census
of 1821. This place, which the ancient Britons called Caer-Gwent,
from the whiteness of its chalky soil, was the Venta Selgarum of
Ptolemy and Antoninus; on its subsequent occupation by the Saxons,
it obtained the appellation of Wintan- Ceaster, from which its
present name is derived. It was probably first inhabited by the
Celtic Britons, who emigrated from the coasts of Armorica in Gaul,
and established themselves in this part of the island; where,
finding well-watered vallies, fertile plains, and shady forests,
adapted to their support, and suited to the exercise of their
religious rites, they fixed their chief residence, and continued
in undisturbed possession till within a century prior to the
Christian era, when they were expelled by a tribe of the Belgae,
who, after having established themselves on the southern coasts,
concentrated their forces, and, advancing into the country, made
this one of their principal settlements. Among the several towns
which were called Venta, this became the most important, and was,
prior to the Roman invasion, the capital of the Belgian territory
in Britain: it retained its pre-eminence till it fell under the
power of the Romans, who, having achieved the conquest of this
part of the island, under Vespasian, made it one of their
principal stations. In the year 50, Ostorius Scapula fortified all
the cities of the Belgae between Anton, or the Southampton river,
and the Severn, and placed garrisons in them, to defend them from
the frequent assaults of the Britons, who were ever on the alert
to surprise the enemy, and to recover the towns of which they had
been deprived. The fortifications of this station- may be still
discerned in various places; and on Catherine hill, within a-mile
of the present town, are vestiges of a Roman camp, quadrangular in
form, and defended by strong intrenchments: this, which was
probably the castra (Estiva of the station, communicated with the
Roman road between Porchester and Winchester on one side, and with
the river on the other, also with the several roads leading to the
neighbouring stations of Findonum, or Silchester, and Sorbiodunum,
or Old Sarum. Two Roman temples are said to have been erected in
this place, one consecrated to Apollo, and the other to Concord,
near the site of the present cathedral; and, among other evidences
of Roman occupation, sepulchres have been recently discovered
without the walls of the city to the north and east, nine of
which, on being opened in 1789, were found to contain human bones,
urns of black pottery elegantly formed, a coin of Augustus Crosar,
fibula, and other Roman relics. Carausjus and Alectus, who assumed
the imperial purple in Britain, are said to have fixed their
residence in this place, where their coins have been discovered in
greater profusion than in any other part of the kingdom. Soon
after the establishment of Chris- tianity in the island, a
monastery was founded here, of which Constans, son of Constantine,
was one of the brethren; but being allured by his father from his
devotional retirement, to take the command of the forces in Spain,
he was, by the revolt of his general, made prisoner, and
afterwards put to death.
After the departure of the Romans from Britain, Vortigern, who had
previously exercised authority over the western part of it, was
elected king, in order to defend it from the incursions of the
Picts and Scots, who were making continual depredations; this
prince made Winchester the metropolis of the kingdom, and it was
subsequently the residence of his successors. On the invasion of
the island by the Saxons, under Cerdic, and the defeat of the
united Britons in the New Forest, it became the capital of the
Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and the residence of the conqueror, who
was crowned king of the West Saxons. Cerdic, after having, in
conjunction with his son Cenric, spent several years in extending
his dominions and in giving security to his conquests, died, and
was buried here in 534: during his government, the monastery was
converted into a Pagan temple, and appropriated to the service of
the Saxon deities. In 635, St. Birinus, whom Pope Honorius had
sent into Britain, to propagate the Christian faith in those parts
of the island which were still in Pagan darkness, met with a
favourable reception from Cynegils, who, hi conjunction with his
son Cwichelm, was then king of the West Saxons. Cynegils, by the
persuasion of Oswald, King of Northumbria, who afterwards espoused
his daughter, Kineburga, was baptized at York; and, in the
following year, his son and many of his subjects were converted to
Christianity, which from that time began to nourish in this part
of the island. Subsequently, he commenced collecting ma- terials
for building a cathedral in Winchester, intending to make it the
seat of a bishoprick, which St. Birinus had, in the mean time,
established at Dorchester, where his son Cwichelm held his court;
but the design was frustrated by his death, which happened about
six years after that of Cwichelm, who died the year after his
conversion. Cenwahl, his second son, succeeding to the throne
after the death of his father and elder brother, the people again
relapsed into Paganism, under a prince who refused to acknowledge
the new religion; but on his conversion to Christianity and
baptism by St. Birinus, Cenwahl completed the cathedral in 648,
dedicating it to St. Birinus, St. Peter, and St. Paul, and
founded, and amply endowed, a monastery near it. About ten years
after the death of St. Birinus, who was buried at Dorchester,
Cenwahl divided the see into two portions, assigning the northern
part of his kingdom to Dorchester, and the southern part to
Winchester, to the cathedral of which last the remains of St.
Birinus were removed, by Hedda, the fifth bishop. Egbert, who
succeeded to the throne of Wessex in 800, after many severe
struggles for empire, obtained the sovereignty of all the other
kingdoms of the Octarchy, of which he was crowned sole monarch, in
the cathedral church of Winchester, in 827, in the presence of a
wittenagemote, or great assembly of the people. On this occasion
he published an edict, abolishing all distinctions, and commanding
all his subjects, in every part of his dominions, to be called
English. This union of the kingdoms greatly promoted the
importance of Winchester, which, from being the capital only of
Wessex, became the metropolis of the kingdom. Ethelwolf, who
succeeded Egbert, dated his charter from this city in 855, for the
general establishment of tithes, which was signed by himself, by
Bhurred, King of Mercia, and Edmund, King of the East Angles (his
tributary vassals), and by the chief nobility and prelates, in the
cathedral church. About this time the city seems to have been in a
nourishing condition, and a commercial guild was established in
it, under royal protection, at least a century earlier than in any
other part of the kingdom. During the reigns of Ethelwolf and
Ethelbald, St. Swithin, a native either of the city or of the
suburbs, presided over the see: by his advice the latter monarch
enclosed the cathedral and the cloisters with a wall and
fortifications, to defend them from the predatory attacks of the
Danes, who, at this period, were beginning to make frequent
incursions upon this part of the coast, and who, in the succeeding
reign, having landed in considerable numbers at Southampton,
advanced to Winchester, where they, committed the most barbarous
outrages. They were, however, attacked, on their retreat to their
ships, and routed with great slaughter, and the immense quantity
of plunder which they had taken in the city was recovered. On this
occasion, the cathedral and monastic buildings, which had been
previously fortified, escaped without injury. About the year 872,
after repeated battles fought with varied success, in which
Ethelbert was assisted by his younger brother, Alfred, a band of
those rapacious pirates assaulted the city, in which they made
dreadful havoc; the cathedral was greatly damaged, and the
ecclesiastics were inhumanly massacred. After the victory
subsequently obtained over them by Alfred, Winchester was restored
to its former, importance, and again became the seat of government
j and Alfred, who had fixed his chief residence here, ordered a
general survey of the country to be made and deposited in the
archives of the city, which was thence called the Codex
Wintoniensis. This monarch founded a monastery on the north side
of the cathedral, for his chaplain, St. Grimbald, intending it
also as a place of interment for himself and family; but dying
before it was completed, he was buried in the cathedral, from
which his remains were subsequently removed, and deposited in the
new minster. In the reign of Athelstan, six mints were established
in the city, for coining as many different kinds of money: during
this reign, the legendary battle between Guido, Earl of Warwick,
and a Dane of gigantic stature, named Colbrand, is said to have
taken place in a meadow near the city, on a spot of ground still
called Danemark. In commemoration of this combat, which many
historians regard as fabulous, there are numerous traditionary
records; and, in the north wall of the city, the turret, called
Athelstan's chair, from which that monarch is said to have viewed
the battle, and a representation of it in stone, are stated to
have existed formerly; and the battle-axe of Colbrand was kept in
the cathedral till after the reign of James I; In the reign of
Edgar, a law was made to prevent frauds arising from the diversity
of measures in different parts of the kingdom, and for the
establishment of a legal standard measure to be used in every part
of his' dominions; the standard vessels made by order of that
monarch were deposited in this city, from which circumstance
originated the appellation "Winchester mean sure:" the original
bushel is still preserved in the guildhall. In this reign, St.
Ethelwold, a native of Winchester, who presided over the see,
partly rebuilt the cathedral, which, on its completion in the
following reign, he re-consecrated, in the presence of King
Ethelred, Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the principal
nobility and prelates of the kingdom; and included in the
dedication the name of St. Swithin, whose remains, buried at his
own request in the churchyard, were removed and re-interred in the
cathedral under a magnificent shrine, which had been prepared for
that purpose by King Edgar. During the prelacy of St. Ethelwold,
the Secular canons who officiated in the cathedral, being married
men, had been, under the directions of Dunstan, Archbishop of
Canterbury, replaced by Benedictine monks from the abbey of
Abingdon; but on the accession of Edward the Martyr to the throne,
Elfrida endeavoured to reverse that measure, which had been
adopted generally throughout the kingdom, and by her influence
caused, the suppression of three Benedictine abbeys, which St.
Ethelwold had founded, transferring their possessions to the
married clergy. In consequence of these proceedings, a synod was
held in the refectory of the old monastery in this city, in which
the general dissolution of all monasteries was debated; but the
measure was negatived by the intervention of one of those supposed
miracles which were not uncommon upon such occasions. Ethelred, in
1002, having resolved upon the extermination of the Danes, by a
general massacre throughout the kingdom, dispatched secret letters
to every part of his dominions for that purpose, which was carried
into effect with the greatest inhumanity: such as were not.
actually put to death were, mutilated and rendered incapable of
any military service j and, in commemoration of that barbarous
policy, the " Hoctide sports," so called from cutting the
hamstrings of the victims, were instituted by that king, and
continued, till within the last few ages, to be celebrated on. the
Monday in the third week after Easter. The retaliating vengeance
of the Danes under Sweyn, King of Denmark, did not reach
Winchester till some time after it had been inflicted on other
parts of the kingdom; and on their approach in 1013, the
inhabitants sued for peace, and gave hostages for the performance
of any conditions.
After the partition of the kingdom between Edmund Ironside and
Canute, the latter having obtained the entire sovereignty, divided
it into four parts, three of which he entrusted to the government
of subordinate rulers; but, reserving the fourth and most
important for his own administration, he fixed his seat of
government at Winchester, and greatly enriched the cathedral
church, to which, after the memorable reproof of his courtiers at
Southampton, for their flattery, he presented his regal crown,
depositing it over the high altar, and making a vow never to wear
it more. This monarch here held a general assembly of the
nobility, in which he enacted laws for the government of the
kingdom, and for the preservation of the royal forests and chases,
Onthe death of Hardicanute, in 1041, Edward the Confessor was
crowned with great pomp and splendour in the cathedral, to which
he granted an additional charter, and ordered a donation of half a
mark to the master of the choir, and a cask of wine and one
hundred cakes of white bread to the convent, as often as a king of
England should wear his crown in that city. During this reign,
Queen Emma, his mother, by her own desire, to vindicate her
innocence of the crime of incontinence, with which she had been
aspersed, underwent the trial of the fiery ordeal in the cathedral
church; and being conducted by two bishops, in the presence of the
king and a crowded assembly of nobles and of the people, she is
stated to have walked barefoot over nine heated plough-shares,
without receiving the smallest injury. In gratitude for her
deliverance, she enriched the possessions of the church with nine
additional manors; the same number was also added by Bishop Alwyn,
her kinsman and her asserted paramour, and the manors of Portland,
Weymouth, and Wyke, were given on this occasion by the Icing: the
first great seal of England was, in the course of this reign, made
and kept in the city. At the time of the Conquest, William fixed
his principal residence at Winchester, which he made the seat of
government, and built a strong castle at the south-west extremity
of the city, in order to keep his new subjects in awe. Here he
enacted most of his laws, and framed political  measures for the
security of his government, among which were the institution of
the Curfew, and the general survey and estimate of the property of
his subjects, called the Roll of Winchester, or Domesday-book, a
probable imitation, or enlargement, of the Codex Wintonlensis of
Alfred. Though he occasionally resided in Londort, which was
growing into importance, and more especially during the latter
part of his reign, yet he invariably celebrated the festival' of
Easter in this city. Soon after his establishment on the throne,
Waltheof, who had been married to his niece, Judith, and was
created Earl of Huntingdon, being charged with entering into a
conspiracy against him, was beheaded on St. Giles hill, near
Winchester. In 1079, Walkelyn, a relation of the Conqueror's, and
bishop of the see, began to rebuild the cathedral and the
adjoining monastery; for-which purpose, he obtained from the king
a grant of timber from the woods in the vicinity. The building was
completed" in 1093, and dedicated, with great pomp, in the
presence of all the bishops and abbots in the kingdom. On the
death of Walkelyn, in 1098, William Rufus, who was crowned here,
seized upon the bishoprick, and held it till the year 1100, when,
being killed while hunting in the New Forest, his body was brought
into the city on the following day, in a cart belonging to a
charcoal maker, and interred in the centre of the choir of the
cathedral: the lineal descendants of this man, whose name was
Purkis, still pursue that occupation in the same place, which is
within a few hundred yards of the spot where the monarch fell. On
the death of Rufus, his elder brother Robert being then on a
crusade, Henry, his younger brother, hastened to Winchester; and
bavins made himself master of the royal treasure, he, in the
presence of the reluctant nobles, drew his sword, and secured his
pretensions to the crown by seizing and placing it upon his head.
In this year he espoused Matilda, daughter of Malcolm III., King
of Scotland, who had assumed the veil in the monastery of St. Mary
in this city, but had not taken the vows: by this marriage the
royal Saxon and Norman lines were united; on the birth of a son,
in the following year, he conferred many additional privileges on
the inhabitants. In the same year also a dreadful fire broke out,
which destroyed the royal palace, the mints, the guildhall, a
considerable portion of the city, and many of the public records.
Henry, by the advice of Roger, Bishop of Sarum, ordered a general'
meeting of the masters of the several mints to assemble at
Winchester, on Christmas- day in 1125, to investigate the state of
the coin, which had been generally debased throughout the kingdom;
after due examination they were, with the exception of three of
the Winchester mint-masters, found guilty of gross fraud, and
punished by the loss of their right hands. An entirely new coinage
was ordered to be made, and the management of it was exclusively
confided to those of the mint-masters of this city who had been
declared innocent. About the same time, Henry, to prevent frauds
in the measurement of cloth, ordered a standard yard, of the
length of his own arm, to be made and deposited here with the
standard measures of Edgar.
At this time Winchester appears to have attained its highest
degree of prosperity: it was the seat of government, and the
residence of the monarch; the royal mint, the treasury, and the
public records were kept here; it had also a magnificent royal
palace, a noble castle erected by the Conqueror, likewise another
not less considerable, which was subsequently built, as an
episcopal palace for the bishops, with various stately public
buildings, and numerous mansions for the residence of the nobility
and gentry connected with the court: it had three royal
monasteries, exclusively of inferior religious houses; a splendid
cathedral, in which many of the monarchs of England had been
crowned, and were interred; a vast number of parish churches, of
which Stowe relates that not less than forty were destroyed in the
war between Stephen and Matilda: its population was great, and its
suburbs, in every direction, extended a mile further than they do
at present 5 it was the general thoroughfare from the eastern to
the western parts of the kingdom; it had a considerable
manufactory for woollen caps, and enjoyed an extensive commerce
with the continent, from which it imported wine, in exchange for
its manufactures, and was a place of great resort for its
numerous fairs, which were frequented by persons from various
parts of the kingdom. On the death of Henry I., Winchester
suffered greatly in the war which followed in the reign of
Stephen, who, having seized the episcopal palaces throughout the
kingdom into his own hands, a synod was held here, to protest
against the injustice of that measure, and to concert means of
obtaining redress: at this meeting it was resolved that the
assembled prelates should prepare an address and send a deputation
to the king, who then resided at the palace of Winchester, which
was accordingly done, but the king, without paying the least
attention to it, left the city and departed for London.
At this conjuncture the Empress Matilda landed on the coast of
Sussex, to dispute Stephen's title to the throne, and the royal
castle of Winchester was secured by a party in her interest; but,
through the influence of Henry de Blois, brother of the king, who
was then bishop of the see, the city was preserved in its
allegiance to Stephen. On the subsequent captivity of the king,
who was made prisoner in the war, and the acknowledgment of
Matilda's claim to the crown by the greater part of the kingdom,
the bishop abandoned the cause of his brother; and, having gone
out with a solemn procession of his clergy, to meet the empress at
Magdalene hill, he conducted her and her partizans into the city
with great ceremony. Her haughtiness, however, having excited
disgust in the minds of the citizens, and the public opinion
beginning to change in favour of the captive king, the bishop
relaxed in his attention and deference to the empress, who, on
that account, summoned him to wait upon her at the castle, where
she then resided. Having returned an ambiguous answer to her
summons, the bishop immediately began to put his castle of
Wolvesey into a state of defence, and had scarcely completed its
fortifications, when it was closely invested by the forces of
Matilda, under the command of Robert, Earl of Gloucester, her
natural brother, and her uncle, David, King of Scotland. A
considerable body of Stephen's party having taken up arms, marched
to the relief of the bishop: the armies on both sides were
numerous and well appointed, and the city suffered dreadful havoc
from their hostilities, which were carried on in the very centre
of it, for several weeks, with the utmost acrimony. The party of
the empress had possession of the royal castle and the northern
part of the city; the king's party held the castle of Wolvesey,
the cathedral, and the southern parts, and, discharging fireballs
from Wolvesey castle, destroyed the abbey of St. Mary, the houses
of the opposite party, and almost all the north part of the city,
and ultimately succeeded in confining his opponents within the
limits of the royal castle. The supply of water having been cut
off, and provisions beginning to fail, the garrison began to
entertain thoughts . of surrendering; but, having previously
spread a report of Matilda's sickness and death, they obtained a
truce for her interment, and placing her in a coffin, she was
carried out through the army and escaped in safety to Gloucester.
In the mean time, the Earl of Gloucester, with the King of Scots,
taking advantage of the truce, made a sally from the castle; but
being pursued, the earl was taken prisoner at Stockbridge, and
subsequently exchanged for the captive monarch. Stephen,
immediately on his liberation, repaired to Winchester, and began
to strengthen the fortifications of the castle by the addition of
new works; but, while engaged in that undertaking, an army, which
had been newly raised in the adjoining counties, marched against
him, and he was compelled to abandpn his design, and save himself
by flight. During this war, the bishop held a synod here, by an
act of which it was decreed, that ploughs should have the same
privileges of sanctuary as churches; and a sentence of
excommunication was issued against all who should molest any
person employed in agriculture. On the conclusion of this war,
during which nearly one-half of the city was destroyed, the treaty
between Stephen and Henry, the son of Matilda, the terms of which
had been agreed upon at Wallingford castle, was ratified at
Winchester, by general consent.
Henry II., on his accession to the throne, was crowned here with
his queen Margaret. Here also, in 1184, his daughter, the Duchess
of Saxony, gave birth to a son, named William, from whom the
illustrious house of Hanover is supposed to have sprung. This
monarch conferred many privileges upon the city, among which was
that of being governed by a mayor and a subordinate bailiff.
During his reign a calamitous fire, which began in the mint,
destroyed the greater part of the town. On the death of Henry, his
son Richard I., surnamed Coeur de Lion, having secured the royal
treasure in this city, was crowned in London; but after his ransom
from the captivity into which he fell, in returning from the
crusades, he had the ceremony of his coronation performed with
great pomp in the cathedral of Winchester. In 1207, King John held
a parliament here, in which he imposed a tax of one-thirteenth
part on all moveable property; and in the same year his queen gave
birth to a son, who, from the place of his nativity, was surnamed
Henry of Winchester. The year following, in consideration of 200
marks paid down, and an annual payment of £100, that monarch
granted the inhabitants a charter of incorporation, confirming all
previous privileges; and on his subsequent submission to the pope,
he received absolution in the chapter-house of the monastery from
sentence of excommunication, which had been pronounced against him
by the legate of Pope Innocent III.
Henry III., during his minority, kept bis court here, under the
guardianship of the Earl of Pembroke, and, after the earl's death,
under that of Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester. The
residence of the king contributed materially to restore Winchester
to the importance it had enjoyed previously to the war between
Stephen and Matilda; but this advantage was greatly diminished by
the existence of numerous bands of lawless plunderers in the city
and its vicinity, with whom many of the inhabitants, and even
members of the king's household, were connected. The depredations
committed by these bands were at length suppressed by the firmness
and resolution of the king, thirty of the offenders being brought
to trial and publicly executed. During the war between this
monarch and the barons, the city experienced considerable
devastation, and suffered severely from the violence of both
parties, who alternately had possession of it. After the battle of
Evesham, the king held several parliaments here, in which all who
had borne arms against him were attainted; but, with the exception
of the Montfort family, none of the attainders were carried into
execution, and the highest penalty inflicted did not exceed five
years' rent of the forfeited estates. The celebrated trial of John
Plantagenet, Earl of Surrey, took place here, for the murder of
Alan de la Zouch, chief justice of Ireland, whom that nobleman
killed on the bench in Westminster Hall, when summoned before him
to give evidence of the tenure by which he held his estates. On
his oath, and on that of twenty-four compurgators, that he did not
strike the judge from preconceived malice, the earl was acquitted,
and fined 1200 marks.
Edward I. also held several parliaments at Winchester, in one of
which the celebrated ordinances, afterwards called the Statutes of
Winchester, were passed. But the royal residence for the greater
part was transferred to London, which, having risen into higher
importance, had now become the metropolis of the kingdom; and
Winchester, which hitherto had held the first rank among the
cities of the empire, began to decline. Towards the end of his
reign, this monarch, offended at the escape of a foreign hostage,
who had been confined in the castle under the mayor's custody,
deprived the city of all its privileges, which were however
subsequently restored. Soon after the death of Edward II., a
parliament was held here by Queen Isabel and Mortimer, in which
Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, was arraigned on a charge of
high treason, and condemned to death. Edward III. having made
Winchester a staple for the sale of wool, the merchants erected
large warehouses for conducting that lucrative trade, and the city
began to recover its commercial importance. Its progress, however,
was interrupted by the destruction of Portsmouth and Southampton,
in 1337, by the French; also, in the following year, by the
plague, which ten years afterwards raged violently in the
neighbourhood; and ultimately by the removal of the staple to
Calais in 1363. During this reign, Bishop Edington, who was
treasurer and chancellor to the king, commenced rebuilding the
nave of the cathedral, which was completed by his successor,
William of Wykeham, who, for his skill in architecture, was
employed by Edward III. to superintend the erection of part of
Windsor Castle.
Richard II. and his queen visited Winchester in 1388; and in 1392,
that monarch removed to it his parliament from London, which was
then suffering a suspension of its privileges under the king's
displeasure. The marriage of Henry IV. with the Dowager Duchess of
Bretagne was solemnized in the cathedral, by Bishop Wykeham, in
1401; and on the death of that prelate, Henry, afterwards Cardinal
Beaufort, son of John of Gaunt, was appointed to the see. Here
Henry V. gave audience to the French ambassadors, whose insolence
on the occasion led to the invasion of France which soon followed.
Henry VI. was a great benefactor to the city, which he frequently
visited; and in 1449 he held a parliament here, which continued to
sit for several weeks. In the course of this reign, however, its
trade and population so greatly declined, that, in petitioning the
king for the renewal of a grant conferred by his predecessor in
1440, the inhabitants represented that 997 houses were deserted,
and seventeen parochial churches closed. Bishop Waynfleet having
succeeded to the see, the king honoured the ceremony of his
installation with bis presence; and in the reign of Henry VII.,
the queen resided in the castle, where she gave birth to a son,
whom, to conciliate the Welsh, the king named Arthur, in honour of
the British hero of that name. In 1522, Henry VIII., in company
with his royal guest, Charles V., spent several days in the city;
on this occasion the celebrated Round Table, at which the renowned
King Arthur and his knights used to dine, and which was preserved
in the castle, was newly painted, and an inscription placed
beneath it, in commemoration of the visit.
The dissolution of the monasteries, which took place during this
reign, and the demolition of many of the religious establishments,
completed the downfall of this once splendid and opulent city, and
reduced it to a mere shadow of its former grandeur. On the
accession of Mary, some transient gleams of returning prosperity
revived, for a time, a hope of restoration: the marriage of that
queen with Philip of Spain was solemnized in the cathedral, and
several of the estates which had been alienated during the former
reigns were restored to the see  but the real importance of
Winchester had subsided, and, in a charter obtained for it from
Elizabeth, through the solicitation of Sir Francis Walsingham, it
is described as "having fallen into great ruin, decay, and
poverty." On the death of Elizabeth, Sir Benjamin Tichborne, high
sheriff of Hampshire, instantly on learning that event, and
without waiting for any instructions from the lords of the privy
council, who had been for many hours in close deliberation,
proclaimed the accession of James I. in the city of Winchester.
For this spirited conduct he was afterwards rewarded with the
hereditary grant of the royal castle, and a pension of £ 100 per
annum, during his own life and that of his eldest son, on whom the
king also conferred the honour of knighthood. In the first year of
this reign, the trial of Sir Walter Raleigh, Lords Cobham and Grey
de Wilton, and others, on a charge of conspiracy, took place here,
and Sir Walter Raleigh, though reprieved, was removed to the Tower
of London, where he passed thirteen years in confinement. At the
commencement of the parliamentary war. Sir William Waller took
possession of the castle for the parliament; but towards the close
of the year 1643, it was re-taken and garrisoned for the king, by
Sir William, afterwards Lord Ogle, and the city was appointed the
general rendezvous of the army then forming in the west for the
re-establishment of the king's authority. Fortifications were at
that time constructed round it, and more especially on the east
and west sides, where vestiges of the intrenchments are still
discernible; but the vigilance andactivity of Sir William Waller
disconcerted the enterprize, and on the subsequent defeat of Lord
Hopton's party on Cheriton Down, Waller obtained possession of the
city without difficulty. The castle, notwithstanding, held out for
the king; and on the retreat of the parliamentarians to join the
forces of the Earl of Essex, who was then laying siege to Oxford,
the city also fell into the hands of the royalists. After the
battle of Naseby, Cromwell was sent with an army to reduce
Winchester, which, after being repeatedly summoned, refused to
surrender, and the siege was immediately commenced. The garrison
made a resolute defence, but after a week's resistance capitulated
on honourable terms; the castle was immediately dismantled, and
the works blown up; the fortifications were demolished, together
with the Bishop's castle of Wolvesey, and several churches and
public buildings. The wanton violence of the parliamentary troops
was manifested in defacing the cathedral, destroying its
monuments, violating the tombs, and the indiscriminate insult
offered to the relics of the illustrious dead, whose bones were
scattered about the church; the statues of James and Charles, at
the en-- trance of the choir, were thrown down, and the communion-
plate and other valuables belonging to the church were carried
away. After the restoration of Charles II., that monarch chose
Winchester for his residence during the intervals of his absence
from London, and purchased the remains of the ancient castle; on
the site, and with the materials, of which he began to erect an
extensive and magnificent palace. The example of the king was
followed by many of his nobility, who also began to build splendid
mansions, and Winchester once more exhibited signs of retrieving
its distinction; but the death of the king, before the completion
of these works, put an end to those flattering prospects. The
palace, upon which considerable sums had been expended, was left
unfinished; and after having been at various times used as a place
of confinement for prisoners of war, and for various other
purposes, was ultimately converted into barracks for the military.
On the defeat of the duke of Monmouth, in the reign of James II.,
Alice Lisle, widow of John Lisle, Esq., member for the city during
the parliamentary war, and one Of. the judges who passed sentence
of condemnation upon Charles I., was brought to trial in this city
before the notorious -Judge Jeffreys, on a charge of harbouring
and concealing parties who were concerned in that rebellion: of
this charge, though in opposition to the assertions of the jury
that they were not satisfied with the evidence, she was pronounced
guilty, and condemned to be burnt, which sentence being changed
into decapitation, it was accordingly carried into execution in
1685. Queen Anne, after her accession to the throne, paid a visit
to the city, accompanied by Prince George of Denmark, on whom the
royal palace of Charles II. had been settled at the time of his
marriage, in the event of his surviving the queen, his consort.
The city is pleasantly situated on the eastern acclivity of an
eminence rising gradually from the river Itchen, which is
navigable to Southampton, and consists of one spacious regular
street passing through the centre, and intersected at right angles
by several smaller, streets, which extend in a parallel direction
for about half a mile through the breadth of the city, which is
nearly the same as its length; extensive hills, Or downs, encircle
it on the east and west. The prin- cipal parts of the city are
within the limits, of the ancient walls, which were of flint,
strongly cemented with mortar, and defended by turrets at short
intervals. The chief entrances from the suburbs, were through four
ancient gates, of which only the West gate is remaining, which,
though it has undergone considerable alteration, still retains
much of its ancient character the other gates were removed by the
commissioners appointed in 1770, by act of parliament, for the
general improvement of the town. Over the river is a handsome
stone bridge, and several smaller branches of the Itchen intersect
the town in various places, of which two pass under the High-
street. At a small distance beyond the West gate an obelisk has
been erected, on the spot where the people of the neighbouring
country used to deposit their provisions, for the supply of the
city during the time of the plague, the inhabitants leaving the
stipulated sum for payment, to prevent any communication of the
contagion. In the centre of the High-street is the city cross,
forty-three feet high, an elegant pyramidal structure in the later
style of English architecture, consisting of three successive
stages, richly ornamented with open arches, canopied niches, and
crocketed pin- nacles, erected by the fraternity of the Holy Cross
instituted by Henry VI. In one of the niches of the second stage
is a figure, supposed by some to be that of St. John the
Evangelist, but, more probably, by others to be that of St.
Lawrence, to whom the church near the spot is dedicated: this
beautiful relic owes its preservation to the spirited conduct of
the inhabitants, who by force resisted an attempt, on the part of
the commissioners of the pavements, to take it down, and drove
away the workmen employed for that purpose. The houses are in
general substantial and well built, and many of them possess an
appearance of great antiquity The city is indifferently paved, and
but partially lighted with oil; but it is amply supplied with
water of excellent quality. A public subscription, library has
been established in HighrStreet, within the last few years, which
is supported by one hundred proprietary members, whose shares are
five guineas, and annual subscription one guinea and a half, and
by annual subscribers of two guineas each. The theatre, in Gaol-
street, a neat building handsomely fitted up, is occasionally
opened by the Southampton company of Comedians, but is very
indifferently, supported. A trienr nial musical festival was
formerly celebrated in September, for three days, during which
oratorios and selections of sacred music were performed in the
cathedral; but Dr. Rennell, the present dean, having objected to
the use of this sacred edifice for such a. purpose, it has for
many years been discontinued. Miscellaneous concerts and balls are
held in St. John's rooms, in which also the general winter
assemblies and subscription concerts usually take place. Hot,
cold, vapour, and shower baths have been erected in High-street,
for the use of the inhabitants. Races are held annually in July,
when the king's plate of one hundred guineas and other stakes are
run for, on Worthy down; about four miles from the city, on the
road to Oxford. On the site of the ancient castle is the
unfinished palace of Charles II., now called the King's House,
which, had it been completed according to the original design,
would have been one of the most spacious and magnificent palaces
in Europe; the front is three hundred and twenty-eight feet in
length, and the principal story contained a splendid suite of
state apartments; this building has been converted into an
extensive and handsome range of barracks for the district, capable
of containing two thousand men, with spacious grounds for
exercise. The trade of Winchester is very unimportant; it was
formerly considerable for the manufacture of woollen caps, but at
present there is only an extensive manufactory for sacking, and a
very little business is done in wool-combing; the spinning of silk
was introduced here a few years since, but the undertaking totally
failed. A canal to Woodmill, about two miles above the Itchen
Ferry, near Southampton, supplies the town with t:oal and the
heavier articles of merchandise. The market days are Wednesday and
Saturday, the latter for corn . the market-house, erected in 17T2,
is a handsome and commodious building, in every respect adapted to
its use. The fairs are on the first Monday in Lent, August 2nd,
September 12th, and October 24th, for horses and pedlary 5 the
first and last are held m the city,:and the two others on the
hills immediately Adjoining; the September fate, which is held on
bt. fcues hill, is a very, large cheese fair.
Winchester received its first regular charter of incorporation
from Henry II., in 1184, twenty-two years before London was
incorporated.; and among other privileges conferred by that
monarch, was the superintendence of the kitchen and laundry of the
kings, at the ceremony of their coronation. By this charter,
which, after having been confirmed and extended by succeeding
sovereigns, was remodelled by Queen Elizabeth, the government is
vested in a mayor, recorder, two bailiffs, six aldermen, and
twentyfour common councilmen, assisted by a town clerk, two
coroners, four Serjeants at mace, and subordinate officers. The
mayor is chosen, annually in September, from three persons
nominated by the aldermen and those who have previously served the
office, of which number one is struck off the list by the mayor
for the time being, and from the other two his successor is
appointed by the corporation at large, who also elect the
bailiffs. Four constables, four Serjeants at mace, and two
coroners, are chosen by the common council, on the first Saturday
in December. The mayor, recorder, and the six aldermen, are
justices of the peace within the city and liberties, and hold
quarterly courts of session for all offences not capital; also a
court of record, on Wednesdays and Fridays, for the recovery of
debts to any extent.- The Cheyney court, so called from-its having
been anciently held under an oak (chtne being the French word for
oak), which makes its origin revert to the time of the Druids, is
an ancient court of the Bishops of Winchester, for the determining
of actions, and the recovery of debts to any amount: its
jurisdiction extends over all places which ever belonged to the
see of Winchester, or the convent of St. Swithin, including one
hundred parishes, tythings, and hamlets, in the county of
Southampton, some of which are thirty miles distant from the city;
this court is held in the Cathedral Close weekly; the jury is
selected from the liberty, or soke, of Winchester, and the judge
is appointed by the bishop. The town hall, a handsome structure in
the Grecian style of architecture, and of the Doric order, was
rebuilt in 1713, on the site of a more ancient hall, which was
erected on the foundation of a former, burnt down in 1112: in it
are preserved the public records of-the city, the original
Winchester bushel, made by order of King Edgar, the standard yard
of Henry, and the standard measures of succeeding sovereigns, with
various other remains of antiquity; its front is decorated with a
well-executed statue in bronze of Queen Anne, which was presented
to the corporation by George Brydges, Esq., who represented the
city in seven successive parliaments. The common gaol and
bridewell is in High-street, an inconvenient building, not adapted
to classification, and capable of receiving only twenty prisoners.
The city first exercised the elective franchise in the 33rd of
Edward I., since which time it has regularly returned two members
to parliament: the right of election is vested in the members of
the corporation, who, by the privilege of electing freemen, may
add to their number, which having been augmented by the
appointment of additional residents, now amounts to above one
hundred, of whom the majority are nonresident; the mayor is the
returning officer. The prevailing interest is that of the Duchess
of Buckingham and Lady Mildmay. The assizes and general quarter
sessions for the county, and the election of knights of the shire,
are held at Winchester, as the county town. The several courts are
held in the chapel of the old castle, which has been converted
into a county hall, and appropriately fitted up for that purpose;
it is one hundred and ten feet in length. At the east end is
suspended the celebrated round table, attributed to the renowned
King Arthur, but which, with greater probability, is said to have
been introduced by King Stephen, with a view to prevent disputes
for precedence; it is made of oaken planks, and is eighteen feet
in diameter, and a' figure of King Arthur, and the names of his
knights, as collected from the romances of the times, are painted
on it, in the costume and characters of the time of Henry VIII.;
in several parts it is perforated by bullets, probably by
Cromwell's soldiers, while in possession of the city. An extensive
common gaol for the county was erected in Gaol-street, in 1788,
upon the principle recommended by the philanthropist Howard: it
comprises two yards for debtors, two dayrooms on the side for poor
debtors, and one day-room on the master's side, five yards and
five day-rooms for male felons, and two yards and two day-rooms
for females: the prisoners not condemned to hard labour are
employed in useful occupations, and receive a portion of their
earnings on their discharge: there are four separate infirmaries,
a chapel, and other requisite offices. The county bridewell, in
Hyde-street, was erected in 1786, and is a spacious structure,
containing fourteen wards, six work-rooms, fourteen day-rooms, and
eighteen airing-yards, in some of which are tread-wheels arid
capstans; the prisoners here are also employed in useful labour,
and receive one-fourth of their earnings on being discharged; the
building, which is well adapted to the classification of the
prisoners, comprises an infirmary, and a chapel, in which divine
service is performed twice on the Sunday, and morning prayer
daily.
Winchester is the seat of a diocese, the jurisdiction of which
extends over the counties of Southampton and Surrey; its origin
may be traced to the early part of the seventh century, when
Cynegils, the first Christian king of the West Saxons, having been
converted by St. Birinus, resolved to make his capital the seat of
a bishoprick, and began to collect materials for building a
cathedral, which was afterwards accomplished by his son Cenwahl,
in 646. The establishment having been dispersed by the Danes, in
867, Secular priests were substituted the year following, who
remained till Q63, when Ethelwold, by command of King Edgar,
expelled them, and supplied their place with monks of the
Benedictine order from Abendon: these kept possession of it
without molestation, and it continued to nourish, en- riched with
royal donations and ample endowments, till the dissolution, at
which time its revenue amounted to £1507. 17. 2. It was afterwards
refounded by Henry VIII., for a bishop, dean, chancellor, twelve
prebendaries, two archdeacons, six minor canons, ten lay clerks,
eight choristers, and other officers. The cathedral, situated in
an open space near the centre of the city, towards the south-east,
originally dedicated to St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Swithin, was,
upon the establishment of the present society by Henry VIII.,
dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is a spacious,
massive, and splendid cruciform structure, chiefly in the Norman
style of architecture, with a low tower rising from the centre,
richly ornamented in its upper stages. The original building, as
erected by Bishop Walkelyn, in 1079, was one of the most splendid
and magnificent specimens of the Norman style in the kingdom: it
was subsequently enlarged by Bishop Edington, and a considerable
part was rebuilt by the celebrated William of Wykeham, who,
adopting the later style of English architecture, which prevailed
in his time, endeavoured to make the original style conform to
that model. By this means the character of the architecture has
been materially changed, though, from its extent and the loftiness
of its proportions, it retains, notwithstanding the discrepancy of
some parts, an air of stately grandeur, and displays many features
of great beauty. The principal parts of the original structure are
the transepts, in which the chief alteration is the insertion of
windows in the later style; and the tower, which preserves its
original character. The west front is an elegant composition, in
the later style of English architecture, comprising three highly
enriched porches of beautiful design. Some part of the eastern
portion is in the finest character of the early English style,
with occasional insertions of later date, particularly the
clerestory windows of the choir j and in other parts of the
building are various specimens of the early English at different
periods, all remarkable for the excellence of their details. In
some few instances are found small portions of the decorated,
merging into the later English, of which, in various parts of the
building, there are progressive series, from its commencement to
the period of its utmost perfection. The interior, from the
amplitude of its dimensions, and the loftiness of its elevation,
is strikingly impressive: the nave, which is three hundred and
fifty-one feet in length, is separated from the aisles by a long
range of massive circular columns, twelve feet in diameter, and of
proportionate height, which, in order to make them assimilate with
the pointed arches that have been introduced within the circular
Norman arches, have been cased with clustered pillars, and
embellished with appropriate ornaments. In some of the intervals
between the columns, which are two diameters in width, are various
chantry and sepulchral chapels; the roof is elaborately groined,
and richly ornamented with delicate tracery, embellished with the
armorial bearings and devices of John of Gaunt, Cardinal Beaufort,
and Bishops Waynfleet and Wykeham, which are continued along the
facia, under the arches of the triforium. The transepts, which
together are one hundred and eighty-six feet,' in- length, are in
the original Norman style of architecture: bthe central part is
divided' from the aisles by massive circular columns and arches,
rising in successive 'series with varied ornaments to the roof.-
In the/transepts are various chapels and altars of exquisite
design the west aisle of the south transept has been partitioned
off for a chapter-house, and at the extremity of the north
transept is a beautiful Catherine-wheel window; At the eastern
extremity of the nave, a flight-of-steps leads into the choir,
through a beautiful screen erected from a modern design within the
last few years: in niches on each side of the entrance are old
bronze statues of James I. and Charles I.
The choir, which includes the lower stage of the central tower, is
one hundred and thirty-six feet in length, and in the early
English style, with some insertions; the original roof of the
tower is concealed by an embellished ceiling, in the centre of
which is an emblematical representation of the Trinity, with an
inscription. The vaulting is supported by ribs springing from four
busts of James I. and Charles I., in alternate succession, dressed
in the costume of their times, above each of which is a motto,
and, among various other ornaments, are the initials and devices
of Charles I, and his queen, Henrietta Maria, with their profiles
in medallions. The roof of the choir, from the tower to the east
end, is richly groined, and embellished with a profusion of
armorial bearings, devices, and other ornaments exquisitely
carved, and richly painted and gilt; among them are the armorial
bearings of the houses of Tudor and Lancaster, and those of the
sees of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, over which
Bishop Fox, who superintended this, work, successively presided.
From the altar to the east window, the embellishments are
emblematical of Scripture history; and among them are the
instruments of the Crucifixion, and the faces of Pilate and his
wife, and of the high priest and others j the whole of which
embellishments have been judiciously renewed, during the recent
repairs of the edifice. The choir, which is in the early style of
English architecture, is lighted by a handsome range of clerestory
windows in the later style; the bishop's throne, prebendal stalls,
and pulpit, are excellent specimens of tabernacle-work of
appropriate character; the altar, in front of which is a beautiful
tesselated pavement, is embellished with a painting, by West, of
Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. Behind the altar, and
separating it from the Lady chapel, is a finely-carved stone
screen of beautiful design, elaborately enriched with canopied
niches and other, appropriate ornaments; the statues, which
formerly filled the niches now vacant, were destroyed, by
Cromwell's soldiers. On each side of the altar are partitions of
stone, separating the presbytery from the aisles, which are
divided into compartments, and richly ornamented with arches, and
with shields of armorial bearings and other devices: above the
several compartments are placed six mortuary chests, richly carved
and gilt, and surmounted by crowns, containing the bones of
several, of the Saxon kings and prelates, which were, collected
and deposited in them by Bishop Fox. The east window js of
excellent proportion and design, and is embellished with remains,
of ancient stainedglass of rich hue: the subjects are chiefly the
Apostles and Prophets, and some of the bishops of the see, with'
appropriate symbols and legends; many of,the figures were
mutilated by. the soldiery, when they defaced the cathedral, at
which Jtime-also the painted glass generally was destroyed; the
fragments that  remain bear ample testimony to their original
merit. In the south aisle of the choir is the sumptuous chapel, or
chantry, of Bishop Fox, which, for its richness, and minutely
elaborate ornaments, is perhaps unequalled, either in the
multiplicity of its parts, or in the fidelity of its details; in a
niche under one of the arches is a recumbent figure of the
founder, wrapped in a winding sheet, with the feet resting on a
scull; the roof is finely groined, and embellished with the royal
arms of the house of Tudor, richly emblazoned; and with the
armorial-bearings of the bishop, and the pelican, his favourite
device. In the north aisle of the choir is the sepulchral chapel
of Bishop Gardiner, an unsightly mixture of the later English and
Grecian styles of architecture, and in a greatly dilapidated
state. Behind the altar is a chapel, in which was kept the.
magnificent shrine of St. Swithin, the costly gift of King Edgar,
said to have been of silver, richly gilt, and profusely ornamented
with jewels. The Lady chapel, fifty-four feet in length, and on
each side of which is a smaller chapel, terminates the eastern
extremity of the cathedral: it was built by Bishop de Lucy, and
enlarged and beautified by Priors Hunton and Silkstede, whose
initials and devices are worked into the groinings of the roof;
the portrait of the latter, with his insignia- of office, are
still visible over the piscina, and on the walls are traces of
paintings in fresco, representing subjects of scriptural, profane,
and legendary history, now in a very imperfect state. The,
marriage of Queen Mary with Philip of Spain was solemnized in this
chapel.
The magnificent chantry of Cardinal Beaufort, of Purbeck marble,
is a highly-finished structure in the later style of English
architecture, and abounds with architectural beauty of the highest
order, and with embellishments of the richest character; the roof,
which is delicately groined, and enriched with fan tracery of
elegant design, is supported on slender clustered columns of
graceful proportion. It contains the tomb of thefounder, on which
is his effigy in a recumbent posture, in his robes as cardinal;
around the cornice was an inscription in brass, which has been
torn away by violence; and at the upper end of the chantryj
enclosing the altar, are some beautiful canopied niches, crowned
with crocketed pinnacles, from which the staT tues were taken by
the parliamentarian soldiers. Bishop Waynfleet's chantry is in the
same style, and of equal beauty with that of Cardinal Beaufort's,
and, from the attention paid to it by the trustees of his
foundation at Magdalene College, is kept in good repair; it
contains the tomb of the bishop, on which is his effigy in his
pontificals, in the attitude of prayer. There are various other
chapels in this spacious and extensive pile, among which are, that
of Bishop Langton, containing some fine carvings in oak, his tomb
stripped of all its ornaments; and that of Bishop Orleton, of.
whom no memorial is preserved in the chapel; the roof is vaulted,
and profusely ornamented with the figures of angels: on the north
side is the tomb of Bishop Mews, a distinguished adherent to the
cause of Charles I., who, after having served as officer in the
royal army, entered into holy orders, and was promoted to the see
of Winchester;< in this chapel is also a monument to the memory of
Richard Weston, Earl of Portland, and lord high treasurer in the
reign of Charles I. Underneath the high altar, and formerly
accessible by a stone staircase leading from that part of the
cathedral called the " Holy Hole", as being the depository of the
remains of saints, are vestiges of the ancient Norman crypt, built
by Ethelwold; the walls, pillars, and groining are in their
original state, and remarkable for the boldness and simplicity of
their style; a new crypt, in the later style, has been built
underneath the eastern end of the Lady chapel. Among the
monuments, in addition to those in the sepulchral chapels, is the
tomb of William Rufus, in the centre of the choir, of grey marble,
raised about two feet above the surface of the pavement; his bones
had been removed into one of the mortuary chests prior to the
parliamentary war, during which the tomb was re-opened, and among
the remaining ashes were found a large gold ring, a small silver
chalice, and some pieces of cloth embroidered with gold; there are
also the tombs of Hardicanute; Earl Beorn, son of Ertrith, sister
of Canute; Richard, second son of William the Conqueror; Bishops
Peter de Rupibus, Henry de Blois, Hoadly, Willis, and other
distinguished prelates; Sir John Clobery, who assisted General
Monk in planning the restoration of Charles II.; Sir Isaac
Townsend, knight of the garter; the Earl of Banbury; Dr. Joseph
Warton; Izaak Walton, and numerous other illustrious and
distinguished persons. The ancient font, of black marble,
supported on pillars of the same material, is of square form, and
has the faces rudely sculptured with designs emblematical of the
diffusion of the Holy Spirit, and with subjects from the legendary
history of St. Nicholas; it is supposed to be of the time of
Bishop Walkelyn. The whole length of this magnificent cathedral is
five hundred and forty-five feet, from east to west, and the
breadth along the transepts one hundred and eighty-six; the mean
breadth of the nave is eighty-seven, and that of the choir forty;
the height of the tower is one hundred and forty feet, and its
sides are fifty feet broad. The great cloisters, which enclosed a
quadrangular area one hundred and eighty feet in length, and one
hundred and seventy-four in breadth, were destroyed in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth. On the east side of the quadrangle is a dark
passage, ninety &et in length, which led to the infirmary and
other offices belonging to the ancient monastery; and to the south
of it is a doorway, that formerly led to the chapter-house, the
site of which, ninety feet square, is now occupied by the Dean's
garden, in the walls of which are some of the pillars and arches
still remaining. The refectory, forty-one feet in length, twenty-
three broad, and forty feet high, is now divided into two stories;
under it two kitchens, the roofs of which are vaulted in the
Norman- style, and supported on a single central column, are still
remaining. The Prior's hall and some other apartments now form the
deanery, and other remains of the conventual buildings may be
traced in the gardens of the prebendal houses, which occupy what
is termed the Cathedral Close, an extra-parochial district.
Winchester comprises the parishes of St. Bartholomew, which is
partly in the Soke liberty; St. Lawrence, the mother church; St.
Mary Kalendar; St. Maurice; St. Peter Colebrook; and St. Thomas,
within the city: and the parishes of St. Faith, St. John, St.
Michael, St. Peter Cheesehill, St. Martin Winnal, and St. Swithin,
within the liberty of the Soke, all in the archdeaconry and
diocese of Winchester. The living of St. Bartholomew's is a
discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at £10, endowed
with A 600 private benefaction, and £600 royal bounty, and in the
patronage of the Crown: the church, in Hyde-street, which is well
adapted to the accommodation of all the parishioners, is not
entitled to particular architectural notice. The living of St.
Lawrences is a discharged rectory, rated in the king's books at
£6. 5., endowed with £ 500 private benefaction, and £ 600 royal
bounty, and in the patronage of the Crown; the church, situated in
the square, is an ancient structure with a lofty square tower, and
consists only of one large aisle, into which, on taking possession
of his see, the bishop makes a solemn entry. The living of St.
Mary Kalendar's is a rectory, united to that of St. Maurice, rated
in the king's books at £7: the church has been destroyed. The
living of St. Maurice's is a rectory, to which those of St. Mary
Kalendar, St. Peter Colebrook, St. George and St. Mary Wood, are
united, rated in the king's books at £6. 7. 6., endowed with £200
parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Bishop: the
church, in High-street, which was formerly the chapel of an
ancient priory, is a venerable edifice with a low massive tower,
and consists of a nave and two aisles, one of which is very
spacious. The living of St. Peter's Colebrook is a rectory, united
to that of St. Maurice, rated in the king's books at £3. 4. 2.,
and endowed with £200 royal bounty: the church has been destroyed,
as also have those of St. George and St. Mary Wood, but the
livings are still rated in the king's books, the former at £3. 5.
8., and the latter at £ 2, The living of St. Thomas' is a
discharged rectory, with that of St. Clement, rated in the king's
books at £ 13.17.8., endowed with £300 private benefaction, £200
royal bounty, and £200 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage
of the Bishop; the church is1 an ancient structure in the Norman
style of architecture, with a low tower; the interior consists of
a nave and one aisle, separated by massive circular columns; the
church of St. Clement's has been demolished. The living of St.
Faith's is a sinecure rectory, annexed to the mastership of St.
Cross. The hospital of St. Cross is extra-parochial, in the chapel
of which the parishioners attend divine service, the church of St.
Faith having been demolished for more than two centuries. The
living of St. John's is a discharged rectory, with that of St.
Peter's Southgate united, endowed with £300 private benefaction,
£400 royal bounty, and £800 parliamentary grant, and in the
patronage of the Crown: the church is an ancient structure in the
Norman style of architecture, with a massive tower and turret: the
interior consists of a nave and two aisles, separated by massive
circular columns: the church of St. Peter's Southgate has been
destroyed. The living-of St. Michael's is a discharged rectory,
rated in the king's books at £5. 17. 11., endowed with £1000
private benefaction, and £800 royal bounty, and in the patronage
of the Bishop: the church, which, with the exception of the
ancient tower, has been rebuilt, is a handsome edifice in the
later style of English architecture, and consists of a spacious
nave and chancel. The living of St. Peter's Cheesehill is a
discharged rectory, rated in the king's books at £14. 9. &.,
endowed with £600 private "benefaction £400 royal bounty,- and
£600 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Crown: the
church is a neat plain structure with a tower. The living of St.
Swithiris is a discharged rectory, rated in the king's books at
£6. 6/10., endowed with £200 private benefaction, £800 royal
bounty, and £200 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the
Crown: the church is over a postern called King's Gate, which is
ascended by a staircase of stone, and formerly used as the church
for the servants employed in the great priory of St. Swithin. The
living of St. Martin's Winnal is a rectory, rated in the king's
books at £5, and in the peculiar jurisdiction and patronage of the
Rector; the church was rebuilt in 1786, and consists of one aisle
and a small tower. There are places of worship for Baptists,
Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, and Roman Catholics; that
belonging to the last,;which is dedicated to St. Peter, is an
elegant edifice in the later style of English architecture,
erected in 1792, in St. Peter-street, from a design by Mr. Carter:
the exte rior is richly ornamented with canopies supported on
corbels of antique heads of sovereigns and bishops, which crown
the lofty windows of elegant tracery, and a frieze embellished
with devices illustrative of the "history of Winchester,
surmounted by a parapet pierced in qnatrefoils, and enriched with
crocketed pinnacles rising from panelled buttresses, and
terminating with crosses richly gilt: the interior is splendidly
decorated j the windows of ground glass are painted in quatrefoil,
and embellished with paintings of the principal saints and kings
connected with the city, and on the north side, in which there are
no windows, are corresponding panels painted in chiaro oscuro,
with subjects from Scripture history: the altar-piece is
ornamented with a good painting of the Transfiguration, by Mr.
Cave, sen., from the original by Raphael. At the entrance of the
walk leading to the chapel is an ancient Norman portal, which was
removed from the church of St. Mary Magdalene's hospital. Nearly
opposite is the convent, a large and handsome brick edifice,
called the Bishop's House, consisting of Benedictine nuns removed
from Brussels. Winchester college holds a pre-eminent rank among
the public literary institutions of the kingdom, and from a very
early period has been distinguished as a seat of preparatory
instruction. A grammar school had been established prior to the
commencement of the twelfth century, on the site of which, in
1387, Bishop Wykeham, who received his early education in it,
erected the present magnificent college, which he amply endowed
for a warden, ten Secular priests, who are perpetual fellows,
three priests' chaplains, three clerks, sixteen choristers, a
first and second master, and seventy scholars, intending it as a
preparatory seminary for his foundation of New College, Oxford,
which he had completed the year before. For the government of the
college, the bishop drew up a code of statutes, which, from their
judicious adaptation to the purposes of the institution, were
adopted by Henry VI., for the regulation of the establishments
founded by that monarch at Eton and Cambridge. Under the influence
of those salutary regulations, the college continued to flourish
till the time of the dissolution, when its revenue amounted to
£639, 8. 7.; but its reputation was held in such estimation, that
it obtained a special exemption from the operation of that
general, measure. The buildings, which were completedin IS&Voccupy
two spacious quadrangles, the entrance into the outermost of which
is through a noble turreted gateway, under a finelypointed arch,
surmounted by a canopy resting on the bust of a king on the one
side, and of a bishop on the other, probably representing the
founder and his royal patron. In the groining underneath the tower
are the arms of the founder, and on. the face of it, over the
entrance, is a canopied niche, in which is a crowned statue of the
Virgin, holding in its right hand a sceptre, and on the left arm a
figure of the infant. Jesus. On the opposite side of this
quadrangle is a gateway leading into the second court, above which
is a tower ornamented in front with three beautiful niches,
enriched with canopies and crocketed pinnacles; in the central
niche is a statue of the Virgin, with a book in the left hand, the
right raised towards a figure of the angel Gabriel, which occupies
the niche on that side, and in the niche on the left hand is the
statue of the founder, in his episcopal robes, crowned with a
mitre. The buildings surrounding the inner quadrangle are
principally in the later style of English architecture, of which
they exhibit an elegant specimen: the grand hall and the chapel
occupy the south side; the former is sixty-three feet in length,
thirty-three wide, and ot; proportionate height, and lighted by a
handsome range of well-proportioned windows enriched with elegant
tracery; the roof, which is of timber, is finely arched, and the
heams, which are handsomely ornamented, are supported by ribs
springing from corbels decorated with coloured busts of kings and
bishops; this noble room is ascended by a flight of steps at the
south-west angle of the quadrangle, and at the western extremity,
under an enriched canopy, is a figure of St. Michael piercing the
dragon. In the centre of this side is the stately tower of the
chapel, surmounted with turrets, and crowned with pinnacles, the
work of a later period than the building by Wykeham, and said to
have been erected by the Warden Thurbern, The entrance into the
chapel is by a vestibule, the ceiling of which;is elaborately
enriched, and in which are placed the ancient stall, removed from
the chapel, in 1681, by Dr. Nicholas, and some ancient brasses.
The interior is beautifully arranged; the roof is finely groined;
the windows, which are enriched with elegant tracery, ornamented
with paintings of kings, saints, prelates, and nuns; and in the
great east window is a representation of the Genealogy of Christ,
the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection the altar is embellished
with a painting of the Salutation, by De Moine, presented to the
College by the late head-master, Dr. Burton. Between the stairs
leading to the hall and the entrance to the chapel is a passage
conducting to the school and play-ground. The school-room, a plain
brick building erected in 1687, at an expense of £2600, is ninety
feet in length, and thirty- six feet in breadth; over the entrance
is a statue of Bishop Wykeham, finely executed in bronze, and
presented to the College by Mr. C. G. Gibber, which haw been
injudiciously painted and gilt, and at the other extremity of the
school-room are the statutes for the government of the students,
written in Latin. To the south of the chapel are the cloisters,
enclosing a quadrangular area one hundred and thirty-two feet
square, and apparently of the date of the fifteenth century; they
contain many ancient brasses, and in the centre of the enclosed
area is a chantry chapel, erected by Mr. John Fromond, a liberal
benefactor to the foundations of Bishop Wykeham. This building,
the ceiling of which is strongly vaulted, is now appropriated as
the college library, and contains a select and valuable collection
of works, and a small museum of natural curiosities. The other
sides of the quadrangle are composed of the houses and apartments
of the warden, fellows, the head and second masters, and other
members of the establishment; and contiguous to the college is a
spacious quadrangular building, for the residence of gentlemen
commoners not on the foundation, of whom the number is very
considerable: the college, chapel, and school, were completely
repaired in 1795. An anntial visitation is held, in July, by the
warden and two of the fellows of New College, Oxford> at which
there is an examination of the candidates for the vacant
fellowships in that college, which, by the will of the founder,
are to be supplied from this establishment, and of which there
are, on an average, three in the year. At that time also is held,
by the same persons, with the addition of the warden, subwarden,
and headmaster, an election of boys for admission on the
foundation of Winchester college: the qualification for candidates
by the statutes is, that they must be "pauperes et indigentes
scholares;" boys are not eligible till above eight years of age.
There are several scholarships and exhibitions for such as fail in
obtaining fellowships in New College; and there is also a
superannuated fund belonging to the establishment, founded by Dr.
Cobdea, Archdeacon of London, in 1784. The bishop of the diocese
is visitor of the college; and one of the fellows is annually
elected to the office of subwarden, and another to that of bursar.
In this noble institution, which maintains undiminished the
distinguished reputation it has enjoyed from its foundation, many
eminent prelates and literary characters have received their early
education; among these were, Sir Thomas Brown, Sir Thomas Wooton,
Sir Thomas Ryves; the poets Otway, Philips, Young, Somerville,
Pit, Collins, Warton, and Hayley; and others distinguished for
their genius and literary acquirements.
Christ's hospital was founded, in 1586, by Peter Symonds, Esq.,
who endowed it with lands producing more than £420 per annum, for
the support of six unmarried men above fifty years of age, who
reside in the hospital, and are supplied with clothing and food;
and for the clothing, maintenance, and education of four poor
boys, from seven till fourteen years of age. There are two
exhibitions, of £10 per annum each, tenable for four years, to
Oxford and Cambridge, and with such as do not obtain them an
apprentice fee of £ 30 is given, on their leaving the hospital:
the corporation, as trustees, appoint the schoolmaster, and elect
the inmates and scholars. A charity school for clothing,
instructing, and apprenticing fifty boys, and a similar
establishment for thirty girls, are supported by subscription:
there is a National school in Colebrook- street, for the education
of children of both sexes; and there are Sunday schools in
connexion with the established church and the several dissenting
congregations. The hospital of St. Cross, about a mile south of
the city, and beautifully situated on the bank of the river
Itchen, was founded in 1132, by Bishop Henry de Blois, brother of
King Stephen, who endowed it for the residence and maintenance of
a master, steward, four chaplains, thirteen clerks, seven
choristers, and thirteen poor brethren, and for the daily
entertainment of one hundred of the most indigent men of the city,
who dined together in a common hall, called the "hundred mennes
hall." Bishop Wykeham, on his appointment to the see of
Winchester, in 1366, finding that the revenue of the hospital was
misapplied, succeeded, after a tedious litigation, in re-
establishing the institution according to the intention of the
founder, and placed it on so secure a basis, that Henry de
Beaufort, wishing to found some permanent charity, preferred an
augmentation of the original endowment to the foundation of a new
institution, and added two priests, increased the number of poor
men to thirty-five, appointed three sisters to attend upon them
when ill, and greatly enlarged the buildings. At the suppression
of monasteries its revenue was valued at £ 184. 4. "2.; it was
exempted from dissolution, but suffered materially during the war
in the reign of Charles I.; the present establishment consists of
a master, a chaplain, a steward, and thirteen brethren. The
buildings occupied two quadrangular areas, but the south side of
the inner quadrangle has been taken down. The entrance gateway,
erected by Cardinal Beaufort, is a good specimen of the later
style of English architecture, surmounted by a lofty tower, the
front of which is ornamented with three handsome niches, one of
them containing the figure of the Cardinal in a kneeling posture,
and on the cornice above the arch are busts of John of Gaunt,
Henry IV. and V., and of his predecessor, Bishop Wykeham, with
other devices; and in the spandrils, on each side of the arch, are
the arms of the founder. In the inner court is the church, or
chapel, of St. Cross, in which the parishioners of St. Faith's
attend divine service: it is an ancient and interesting cruciform
structure, comprising a series of styles, passing, by gradual and
almost imperceptible transitions, from the Norman to the early and
decorated styles of English architecture. The low tower rising
from the centre is in the Norman style: the nave is separated from
the aisles by a range of pillars, of which some are of the massive
circular character, and others clustered in the style of the early
English, with pointed arches, which, towards the west end, merge
into the de- corated style: most of the arches of the chancel are
pointed, and the windows generally towards the east end are
Norman, with circular arches and zigzag ornaments; the groining of
the roof towards the east is replete with ornaments of the Norman
style; and that of the western part, which appears to have been
the work of Cardinal Beaufort, is embellished with shields of the
armorial bearings of the Cardinal, Bishop Wykeham, and of the
College: the whole building, from the variety of its styles, and
the facility with which they glide into each other, forms an
interesting display of the progressive advances of ancient
architecture. The west front is an elegant composition in the
early English style, with appropriate embellishments; and the west
window, of five lights, is richly ornamented with painted glass,
representing the figures of various saints, and emblazoned with
armorial devices; over the stalls in the choir are sculptured
figures of the most conspicuous subjects of scripture history.
Among the funeral monuments are, an ancient brass in memory of
John de Campden, the friend of Wykeham, and a modern mural tablet
to Wolfran Cornwall, Esq., Speaker of the House of Commons. The
living is a perpetual curacy, united to the rectory of St.
Faith's, endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £200 royal
bounty, and in the patronage of the Bishop of Winchester. The
remaining buildings of the' hospital comprise the apartments of
the brethren, each of whom has three chambers for his own use,
with a separate garden; the refectory; and the master's
apartments, which are spacious and commodious. On the east side of
the quadrangle, extending from the. north transept of the church,
is the ancient ambulatory, an open portico one hundred and thirty-
five feet long, above which are the infirmary and the nuns'
chambers, so called from their having been appropriated to the use
of the three sisters placed on the foundation, by Cardinal
Beaufort, to attend the brethren when unwell.
The county hospital, or infirmary, in Parchmentstreet, the first
institution of the kind established in the kingdom, was founded in
1736, and is supported by subscription; it has afforded ample
relief to numerous patients in the city and county, and is under
excellent regulations, being conducted with a liberality which
extends relief to every object of distress. .The buildings,
ascended by a fine flight of steps, comprise a centre and two
wings, one having been recently added, at the northern end, and
are in every respect well adapted to the purposes of the
institution. St. John's hospital, now caHed St. John's House, in
High-street, is  a. very ancient establishment, said to have been
founded in the year 933, by St. Brinstan,'Bishop of Winchester,
and to have become the property of the Knights' Templars, upon the
suppression of which order it was refounded, by permission of
Edward II., for sick and lame soldiers, pilgrims, and necessitous
wayfaring men, who had their lodging and other necessaries' for
one night, or longer, in proportion to their wants. It was placed
un- der the superintendence  of the corporation, who, at a very
early period, appear to have used it as a public hall for the
transaction of their business; after the dissolution, the site and
remains having been given to that body, they have converted the
great hall into a public room, in which meetings of the
corporation, and public assemblies and concerts, are held. The
hall, which is sixty-two feet long, thirty-eight broad, and
twentyeight high, is elegantly fitted up, chiefly by a donation of
£ 800 from the late Colonel Bridges; it is embellished with a
portrait of that gentleman, and a full-length portrait of Charles
II., in-his robes of state, painted:by Sir Peter Lely, and
presented to the corporation by that monarch: in an adjoining
room, called the councilchamber, are the city tables, recording a
brief chronological account of its principal historical events.
The ancient chapel of this hospital is now used as a. schoolroom,
in which twenty-four boys are instructed by a master, who is paid
£22 annually by the. trustees of Mr. William Over, who, in 1701,
bequeathed an estate for that purpose. In an inner, court of the
northern part of the hospital are the almshouses, founded in 1558,
by Ralph Lamb, Esq., who endowed them for the sup- port of six
poor widows of the city, each of whom receives a weekly
allowance, a supply of coal, and a gown every alternate year, with
some other sums, which are periodically divided among them; the
funds of this hospital have been greatly augmented by the recent
successful issue of a suit in Chancery directed to their
investigation. Near the cathedral are almshouses, founded in 1672,
by Bishop Morley, for the residence and support of ten clergymen's
widows. There are various tundsfor charitable uses at the disposal
of the corporation, among which is Sir Thomas White's charity, for
loans without interest to young tradesmen} also divers sums for
distribution among the poor, and numerous other charitable
bequests.
Among the ancient monastic institutions, in addition to those
already described, was Hyde abbey, originally the new minster
founded by Alfred the Great, adjoining the site of the present
cathedral, which, by way of distinction, was thence called the Old
Minster. The foundation, after the death of Alfred, was completed
by his son, Edward the Confessor, and placed under the
superintendence of St.Grimbald, who established a fraternity of
canons regular, who were afterwards expelled by Bishop Ethelwold,
and replaced by monks of the order of St. Benedict. Alwyn, the
eighth abbot in succession from St. Grimbald, was uncle of Harold,
and, with twelve of his monks, assisted that monarch at the battle
of Hastings, in which he was slain with his brethren. In
resentment of this, William the Conqueror treated the New Minster
with the utmost rigour, seized upon its revenue,' and would not
allow a new abbot to be appointed. About three years after, he,
however, permitted an abbot to be chosen, and restored some of the
abbey lands, giving others in exchange for the remainder. The
nuisances which had arisen, from the stagnation of a stream of
water brought, in its immediate vicinity, to supply the fosse
which had been dug round the castle erected by the Conqueror, and
from its contiguity to the  Old Minster, induced the fraternity to
build a new abbey at a greater distance, and the present edifice
was erected on a spot near the north wall of the city, called Hyde
meadow, from which it took its name. Into this the remains of
Alfred, his queen Alswitha, his sons Ethelred and Edward the
Elder, Elfleda, Ethelhida, and King Edwy, were removed and re-in-
terred. In the contest between Stephen and Matilda, the abbey was
burnt to the ground by the fire balls thrown from Wolvesey castle,
but was rebuilt, with greater magnificence, in the reign of Henry
II., and the abbot was invested with the privilege of a seat in
parliament. It continued to flourish till the dissolution, at
which time its revenue was £865.1. 6.: it was soon after
demolished, and very small portions of the monastic buildings are
at present remaining, among which are, the tower of St.
Bartholomew's church, some of the offices, and part of a large
barn, with one gateway containing a regal head in the groining of
the arch. On. the site of the abbey a new bridewell has been
erected, in digging the foundations of which many stone coffins,
chalices, patins, rings, busts, capitals of the ancient columns,
and other fragments of sculpture, were found. Of these, the most
interesting is a stone inscribed "Alfred Rex, 881," in Saxon
characters, which is now in the possession of H. Howard, Esq., of
.Cprby Castle in the county of Cumberland. The abbey "of St. Mary
was founded by Alswitha, wife of Alfred, and, after the king's
death, was the place of her retirement. Edburga, daughter of
Edward the Elder became abbess of this convent, which, in the
reign of Edgar, was amply endowed by Bishop Ethelwold, who
prescribed for the observance of the nuns the more severe rules of
the order of St. Benedict. Many Saxon ladies of royal and noble
lineage were sisters in this establishment, in which Matilda, wife
of Henry I., received her education. The original buildings were
destroyed in the war during the reign of Stephen, and restored in
the following reign by Henry II., who was a liberal benefactor. At
the time of the dissolution, its revenue was £179. 7. 2.; it
remained for a few years after that period, when its abbess and
eight of the nuns received a small pension, and the rest of the
inmates were dispossessed; the only visible remains are in a large
modern mansion, which has been partly built with the materials of
the abbey. In the meadow of St. Stephen, near the Bishop's palace
of Wolvesey, was a college, founded in 1300, by Bishop Pontoys,
which he dedicated to St. Elizabeth, a daughter of the King of
Hungary, and endowed for a provost, six chaplains, priests, six
clerks, and six choristers; its revenue at the dissolution was £
112. 17. 4. A monastery, dedicated to St. James, was founded in
the abbey churchyard by John, or Roger, Inkpenne, who, in 1318,
endowed it for a warden and several priests. In the church of St.
Maurice was the fraternity of St. Peter, and in that of St. Mary
Kaiendar, a college, the revenue of which was granted to the
corporation, in the reign of Philip and Mary. The hospital of St.
Mary Magdalene was founded in the reign of Edward I., and endowed
for nine poor brothers and sisters the patronage was in the Bishop
of Winchester, but the founder is unknown; it continued till the
dissolution, at which time its revenue was £42.16. There were also
convents of Augustine, Carmelite, Dominican, and Franciscan
friars, the sites of which were, after the dissolution, granted to
the college. Among the illustrious and eminent natives of this
city were, Henry III.; Eleanor, youngest daughter of Edward I.,
who died in her infancy; and Prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry
VIII., who died at Ludlow, and was buried in the cathedral church
of Worcester. Winchester gives the title of marquis to the
distinguished family of Paulet.