View of Winchester from Twyford Down
Dominating this view is Winchester Cathedral which is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. Dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and Saint Swithun, it is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and centre of the Diocese of Winchester. The cathedral is a Grade I listed cathedral.
Construction of the cathedral began in 1079 under bishop Walkelin and, on April 8, 1093, in the presence of nearly all the bishops and abbots of England, the monks removed from the Saxon cathedral church of the Old Minster to the new one, "with great rejoicing and glory" to mark its completion. The earliest part of the present building is the crypt, which dates from that time. William II of England and his older brother, Richard of Normandy are both buried in the cathedral. The squat, square crossing tower was begun in 1202 to replace an earlier version which collapsed, partly because of the unstable ground on which the cathedral is built. It has an indisputably Norman look to it. Work continued on the cathedral during the 14th century. In 1394 the remodelling of the Norman nave commenced to the designs of master mason William Wynford, this continued into the 15th and 16th centuries, notably with the building of the retroquire to accommodate the many pilgrims to the shrine of Saint Swithun.
Nowadays the cathedral draws many tourists as a result of its association with Jane Austen, who died in the city and is buried in the cathedral's north aisle of the nave. The original 19th century marker gave reluctant praise for her writing ability. Interestingly her gravestone makes no mention of her as a novelist, for which she is now best known. Much later a more descriptive marker about Austen's talent was placed on a nearby wall.
The tower to the left of the cathedral is Winchester College Chapel. Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in this former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England. It is the oldest of the original nine English public schools defined by the Public Schools Act 1868 and is one of four remaining full boarding independent schools, meaning all pupils are boarders, in the United Kingdom (the others are Eton College, Harrow School and Radley College).
Situated on the south side of Chamber Court, the Chapel is part of the original College buildings and retains its original wooden fan-vaulted ceiling. Built to accommodate just over 100 people, it long ago became too small to accommodate the whole school (currently 690 boys). Additional seating installed in the re-ordering and extension carried out by the Victorian architect Butterfield allows the Chapel to seat 320 people. On Sundays half the houses worship in Chapel, while the other half worship (at the same time) in St Michael's Church (known as Michla), a redundant parish church central among the boarding houses, which the College took over in the last century. Weekly choral services are sung by the Choir in Chapel on Tuesdays and by the Quiristers on Thursday and Saturday evenings in Fromond's Chantry, which is in the middle of the Cloisters. Roman Catholic boys attend mass every Sunday morning in Michla.
The building at the far left with a clock tower and copper spire is The Castle, (not to be confused with Winchester Castle) headquarters of Hampshire County Council which governs the majority of the county of Hampshire. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district councils, and town and parish councils. The county council has 78 elected councillors.
Hampshire County Council is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council is responsible for public services such as education, transport, strategic planning, emergency services, social services, public safety and waste disposal.
The area of countryside beyond the city is known as Worthy Down which was the site of a racecourse then an airfield.
Twyford Down, where this view is seen from, is a small area of ancient chalk downland lying directly to the southeast of Winchester. The down's 144-metre (472 ft) summit, known as Deacon Hill, is towards the north-eastern edge of the area which is renowned for its dramatic rolling scenery, ecologically rich grassland and as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is situated at the western extremity of the South Downs National Park, having previously been designated as part of the East Hampshire AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
In 1994 a highly controversial road building project was—despite vigorous objection from many quarters—completed and a new 2-mile (3.2 km) stretch of the M3 motorway was created, running through a significant section of the down, which was excavated and removed to create a deep cutting.
View of Winchester from Twyford Down
Dominating this view is Winchester Cathedral which is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. Dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and Saint Swithun, it is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and centre of the Diocese of Winchester. The cathedral is a Grade I listed cathedral.
Construction of the cathedral began in 1079 under bishop Walkelin and, on April 8, 1093, in the presence of nearly all the bishops and abbots of England, the monks removed from the Saxon cathedral church of the Old Minster to the new one, "with great rejoicing and glory" to mark its completion. The earliest part of the present building is the crypt, which dates from that time. William II of England and his older brother, Richard of Normandy are both buried in the cathedral. The squat, square crossing tower was begun in 1202 to replace an earlier version which collapsed, partly because of the unstable ground on which the cathedral is built. It has an indisputably Norman look to it. Work continued on the cathedral during the 14th century. In 1394 the remodelling of the Norman nave commenced to the designs of master mason William Wynford, this continued into the 15th and 16th centuries, notably with the building of the retroquire to accommodate the many pilgrims to the shrine of Saint Swithun.
Nowadays the cathedral draws many tourists as a result of its association with Jane Austen, who died in the city and is buried in the cathedral's north aisle of the nave. The original 19th century marker gave reluctant praise for her writing ability. Interestingly her gravestone makes no mention of her as a novelist, for which she is now best known. Much later a more descriptive marker about Austen's talent was placed on a nearby wall.
The tower to the left of the cathedral is Winchester College Chapel. Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in this former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England. It is the oldest of the original nine English public schools defined by the Public Schools Act 1868 and is one of four remaining full boarding independent schools, meaning all pupils are boarders, in the United Kingdom (the others are Eton College, Harrow School and Radley College).
Situated on the south side of Chamber Court, the Chapel is part of the original College buildings and retains its original wooden fan-vaulted ceiling. Built to accommodate just over 100 people, it long ago became too small to accommodate the whole school (currently 690 boys). Additional seating installed in the re-ordering and extension carried out by the Victorian architect Butterfield allows the Chapel to seat 320 people. On Sundays half the houses worship in Chapel, while the other half worship (at the same time) in St Michael's Church (known as Michla), a redundant parish church central among the boarding houses, which the College took over in the last century. Weekly choral services are sung by the Choir in Chapel on Tuesdays and by the Quiristers on Thursday and Saturday evenings in Fromond's Chantry, which is in the middle of the Cloisters. Roman Catholic boys attend mass every Sunday morning in Michla.
The building at the far left with a clock tower and copper spire is The Castle, (not to be confused with Winchester Castle) headquarters of Hampshire County Council which governs the majority of the county of Hampshire. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district councils, and town and parish councils. The county council has 78 elected councillors.
Hampshire County Council is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council is responsible for public services such as education, transport, strategic planning, emergency services, social services, public safety and waste disposal.
The area of countryside beyond the city is known as Worthy Down which was the site of a racecourse then an airfield.
Twyford Down, where this view is seen from, is a small area of ancient chalk downland lying directly to the southeast of Winchester. The down's 144-metre (472 ft) summit, known as Deacon Hill, is towards the north-eastern edge of the area which is renowned for its dramatic rolling scenery, ecologically rich grassland and as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is situated at the western extremity of the South Downs National Park, having previously been designated as part of the East Hampshire AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).
In 1994 a highly controversial road building project was—despite vigorous objection from many quarters—completed and a new 2-mile (3.2 km) stretch of the M3 motorway was created, running through a significant section of the down, which was excavated and removed to create a deep cutting.