Saturday 29 September 2012

Winchester ;-)



I love Winchester and all that goes with it! ;-)

I was once so lucky to live near this beautiful, cathedral city

and so I know many of its nooks and crannies!

Winchester is a history lover's dream!


Mind you, it wasn't the plan to go to Winchester, on Monday....

actually the plan was to visit RHS Wisley.

And I was so looking forward to that! ;-(

However, the weather on the Hampshire/Surrey border was pretty vile

 and so guess what?  An executive decision was taken !

We did what we do best ...we jumped on a train! 

A quick walk to Fleet station and hey ho, we travelled south,

to better weather.

Winchester ... what a very good substitute ;-)






The very best places in Winchester are tucked away!

We make our way through the Cathedral close to 

the beautiful, 15th Century, Cheney Court, which was once the seat of the Bishop's

secular power in Winchester.

Adjoining this is St Swithun's gate - or Kingsgate -

one of two surviving, medieval gates in Winchester.

And situated above the gate, is the tiny church of St Swithun upon Kingsgate.







Standing in Kingsgate Street, just outside the city walls,

 is the very famous Wykeham Arms. Named after William of Wykeham,

the 14th Century Bishop of Winchester who founded the nearby college,

The Wykeham Arms contains many curios associated with college life.


And then, very close by, my favourite bookshop... ever!!

P and G Wells...a book lover's paradise...but especially for children's books!

When I taught in Surrey, I never bought my books from anywhere but Wells bookshop!!

And talking of books, just along from the bookshop, you'll see this :






I always think that Jane Austen is a bit like Marmite!! ;-)

You either love her writing... or hate it!

I happen to hate reading Austen but that's not to say that

 I haven't enjoyed the various film and tv adaptations of her work.

I bet she never dreamed that one day in the future, a certain

pupil, named Firth, of nearby Winchester college would be taking on the role

of a certain Mr Darcy in 'Pride and Prejudice'!





As already mentioned, Winchester College was founded by

William Wykeham, in 1392. He had buildings erected just outside the city walls

as an independent educational foundation to prepare poor boys for a life in the church.

Nowadays, the college is a leading public school.

I wonder what William Wykeham would make of that!

 




We pass by the entrance to Wolvesey Castle, the scene of

Phillip ll of Spain and Mary Tudor's wedding feast in 1554.

We've now reached the River Itchen, another of Hampshire's lovely rivers 

 which flows under the City Bridge and City Mill.

The only surviving part of the city's Roman wall

can be seen close by.






If anyone has to look after this city and watch over it morning,noon and night

then it might as well be King Alfred. He did, after all, make Winchester his capital.

His bronze statue is rather imposing and he's not a figure to be argued with,

that's for sure!

Three cheers for this soldier, statesman and scholar!

We love him.

Mr S always remarks about Alfred asking if anyone has seen the rest of his dustbin!





If I had to spend the rest of my life as a statue overlooking a city, then

Winchester would be one of my top choices! 

(Or Exeter ...or York!)





We're in the High Street now and it's not changed much since we were last

here. Apart from one thing, that is!!

Today, I'm not really bothered about the shops.

Today, I do something very rare and unique!

I go in here (which isn't the rare and unique bit!)




And I come out empty handed!! I didn't buy a thing!!

All that history must have gone to my head!!

But it's a lovely shop and sits very well in Winchester High Street.






Winchester...the city with so many assets; some natural, some not so natural .

All working together and all playing their part in this

stunning city's history.

There's more to tell...like The Great Hall and that famous round table;

the Buttercross; The Hospital of St Cross; The Discovery Centre in Jewry Street;

The City Museum and Westgate Museum; God Begot House...and oh so much more!


I do so miss you, Winchester!! I hope it won't be long til I return!

Oh and ...


Thank you for stepping in at a moment's notice!

A very fine substitute indeed!

;-)

3 comments:

  1. A very interesting and historic city. I once climbed the nearby hillfort of St. Catherine's and looked over Winchester, it was a stunning view. And for me, the statue of Alfred remains one of the most iconic of English monuments. Lovely blog!

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  2. Thank you! I always think that Winchester is small yet perfectly formed. And the walk beside the River Itchen, towards Shawford, is so peaceful. ;-)

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  3. Thank you for that guided tour. Winchester is just down the road from me and I love the place. The view from the roof of the Westgate museum is great and I love the scale model in the City Museum. xx

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Thank you for taking the time to comment! ;-)