Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...
. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''
National Heritage List for England
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...
''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winchester Cathedral, is the cathedral of the city of
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, England, and is among the largest of its kind in
Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...
mother church
Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...
for the ancient
Diocese of Winchester
The Diocese of Winchester forms part of the Province of Canterbury of the Church of England. Founded in 676, it is one of the older dioceses in England. It once covered Wessex, many times its present size which is today most of the historic enl ...
. It is run by a dean and chapter, under the
Dean of Winchester
The Dean of Winchester is the head of the Chapter of Winchester Cathedral in the city of Winchester, England, in the Diocese of Winchester. Appointment is by the Crown. The first incumbent was the last Prior, William Kingsmill, Catherine Ogl ...
.
The cathedral as it stands today was built from 1079 to 1532 and is dedicated to numerous saints, most notably Swithun of Winchester. It has a very long and very wide nave in the Perpendicular Gothic style, an Early English
retrochoir
In church architecture, a retroquire (also spelled retrochoir), or back-choir, is the space behind the high altar in a church or cathedral, which sometimes separates it from the end chapel. It may contain seats for the church choir.
An example o ...
, and Norman transepts and tower. With an overall length of , it is the longest medieval cathedral in the world, and only surpassed by the more recent churches of
St Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a Church (building), church built in the Renaissance architecture, Renaissanc ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Basilica of Our Lady of Peace
The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace (french: link=no, Basilique Notre-Dame de la Paix) is a Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Guinness World Records ...
in
Yamoussoukro
Yamoussoukro (; , locally ) is the ''de jure'' capital of Ivory Coast and an autonomous district. As of the 2014 census, Yamoussoukro is the fifth most populous city in Ivory Coast with a population of 212,670. Located north-west of Abidjan, th ...
,
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the ...
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and the
Basilica of Our Lady
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
in
Aparecida
Aparecida is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. It is located in the fertile valley of the River Paraíba do Sul on the southern (right) bank. It is part of the Metropolitan Region o ...
. With an area of , it is also the sixth-largest cathedral by area in the UK, surpassed only by Liverpool, St Paul's,
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
.
A major tourist attraction, the cathedral attracted 365,000 visitors in 2019, an increase of 12,000 from 2018.
History
Earlier buildings
Though churches were recorded in Winchester as early as 164, the first Christian church can be traced back to c. 648, when
King Cenwalh of Wessex
Cenwalh, also Cenwealh or Coenwalh, was King of Wessex from c. 642 to c. 645 and from c. 648 until his death, according to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', in c. 672.
Penda and Anna
Bede states that Cenwalh was the son of the King Cynegils of Wes ...
built a small, cross-shaped building just north of the present building. This building, known as the
Old Minster
The Old Minster was the Anglo-Saxon cathedral for the diocese of Wessex and then Winchester from 660 to 1093. It stood on a site immediately north of and partially beneath its successor, Winchester Cathedral.
Some sources say that the minster w ...
, became the cathedral for the new Diocese of Winchester in 662, a vast area stretching from the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
to the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, the bishopric having been transferred from
Dorchester on Thames
Dorchester on Thames (or Dorchester-on-Thames) is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about northwest of Wallingford and southeast of Oxford. The town is a few hundred yards from the confluence of the River Thames and River Thame. A c ...
,
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
by Bishop Wine. The design of this early church cannot be confirmed, for no trace other than ground plan exists today, but Wolstan mentions a gateway tower situated some distance from the west end. Wine died in c. 672, but one of his later successors, Swithun, would become one of the most famous Bishops of Winchester.
Whether Swithun himself did any expansion of the Old Minster is unknown, but it is recorded in ''
Acta Sanctorum
''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. The project w ...
'' that from 963 to 984, Bishop
Æthelwold Æthelwold was a common Anglo Saxon name. It may refer to: Royalty and nobility
*King Æthelwold of Deira, King of Deira, d. 655
*King Æthelwold of East Anglia, King of East Anglia, d. 664
*King Æthelwold Moll of Northumbria, King of Northumbria ...
greatly expanded the church, the works being finished by the following Bishop, Alphege. The church was rededicated in 993, and consisted of a central tower, north and south aisles, transepts, crypt and an apse, and was briefly the largest church in Europe. Also on the same site was the New Minster, in direct competition with the neighbouring Old Minster. The New Minster was begun by Alfred the Great but completed in 901 by his son
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin ...
. These two monasteries existed side by side, the monks becoming virtually intertwined with one another. Swithun's body, which according to his wishes had been buried in the graveyard outside the church, was brought inside and housed in a magnificent shrine.
Norman cathedral
When
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
invaded England in 1066, he began to install his own Norman bishops in place of the Anglo-Saxon bishops. William installed his friend and relative
Walkelin
Walkelin (died 1098) was the first Norman bishop of Winchester.
Life
Walkelin was of noble birth and related to William the Conqueror, whom he served as a royal chaplain. Walkelin began the construction of a huge new Norman cathedral, on a site just to the south of the Old and New Minsters, the site of the present building. The new cathedral was consecrated with the completion of the east end in 1093, and the many tombs of Saxon kings moved from the Old Minster into the new cathedral. The following day, demolition of the New and Old Minsters began, and quickly progressed, leaving virtually no remains. The outline of the Old Minster can still be seen today to the north of the present nave.
Work quickly progressed to the transepts and central tower, and these were certainly complete by 1100 when
William Rufus
William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...
was buried underneath the crossing tower. Work to the nave was probably interrupted in 1107 when the central tower fell, but was restarted following reconstruction of the tower, and completed before the death of
William Giffard
William Giffard (died 23 January 1129),Franklin "Giffard, William" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' was the Lord Chancellor of England of William II and Henry I, from 1093 to 1101,Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 8 ...
, who was Bishop of Winchester from 1100 to his death in 1129. The standard of much of this building work was very high, and as such much of it survives in the present building, most notably in the transepts which have an appearance almost as Walkelin left them. This building was monumental in size, more than 500 feet (152 m) in length, and it still makes up the core of the present building.
Gothic expansions
The first alteration to Walkelin's cathedral was in 1202 when Bishop
Godfrey de Luci
Godfrey de Luci (also Godfrey de Lucy) was a medieval Bishop of Winchester.
Life
Godfrey de Luci was the second son of Richard de Luci and his wife Rohese.
started construction of a new Early English
retrochoir
In church architecture, a retroquire (also spelled retrochoir), or back-choir, is the space behind the high altar in a church or cathedral, which sometimes separates it from the end chapel. It may contain seats for the church choir.
An example o ...
. Luci died in 1204, but the work continued under successive bishops, eventually resulting in the demolition of the Norman
apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
.
The next expansions and rebuilding would not be until the mid 14th century, when in 1346, Bishop
Edington Eddington or Edington may refer to:
People
*Eddington Varmah, Liberian politician
*Eddington (surname), people with the surname
Places
Australia
* Eddington, Victoria
United Kingdom
* Eddington, Berkshire
* Eddington, Cambridge
* Ed ...
demolished the Norman west front and began building a new Perpendicular Gothic facade, featuring a huge west window, which still stands today. Edington also began renovation of the nave, but this was mostly carried out by his successors, most notably
William of Wykeham
William of Wykeham (; 1320 or 1324 – 27 September 1404) was Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. He founded New College, Oxford, and New College School in 1379, and founded Winchester College in 1382. He was also the clerk of wor ...
and his master mason,
William Wynford
William Wynford or William of Wynford (flourished 1360–1405) was one of the most successful English master masons of the 14th century, using the new Perpendicular Gothic style.
Life and career
He is first mentioned in 1360 when at work at Winds ...
, who remodelled the massive Norman nave into a soaring Perpendicular Gothic masterpiece. This they achieved by encasing the Norman stone in new
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
, recutting the piers with Gothic mouldings and pointed arches, and reorganising the three-tier nave into two tiers, by extending the arcade upwards into what was the
triforium
A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be locat ...
and extending the clerestory downwards to meet it. The wooden ceiling was replaced with a decorative stone vault. Following Wykeham's death in 1404, this remodelling work continued under successive bishops, completed in c. 1420.
Wykeham's successor,
Henry Beaufort
Cardinal Henry Beaufort (c. 1375 – 11 April 1447), Bishop of Winchester, was an English prelate and statesman who held the offices of Bishop of Lincoln (1398) then Bishop of Winchester (1404) and was from 1426 a Cardinal of the Church of Ro ...
(1405–1447) carried out fewer alterations, adding only a
chantry
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or
# a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...
on the south side of the retrochoir, although work on the nave continued. From 1450 to 1528, under the leadership of Bishops
William Waynflete
William Waynflete (11 August 1486), born William Patten, was Provost of Eton College (1442–1447), Bishop of Winchester (1447–1486) and Lord Chancellor of England (1456–1460). He founded Magdalen College, Oxford and three subsidiary scho ...
,
Peter Courtenay
Peter Courtenay ( – 23 September 1492) was Bishop of Exeter (1478–87) and Bishop of Winchester (1487-92), and also had a successful political career during the tumultuous years of the Wars of the Roses.
Origins
Courtenay was the third so ...
,
Thomas Langton
Thomas Langton (died 27 January 1501) was chaplain to King Edward IV, before becoming successively Bishop of St David's, Bishop of Salisbury, Bishop of Winchester, and Archbishop-elect of Canterbury.
Early life
Langton was born in Appleby-i ...
and
Richard Foxe
Richard Foxe (sometimes Richard Fox) ( 1448 – 5 October 1528) was an English churchman, the founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was successively Bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, and became also Lo ...
, major rebuilding and expansion was carried out on the Norman choir and Early English retrochoir. This work included the building of further chantry chapels in the retrochoir, the replacement of the Norman east end with a Perpendicular Gothic presbytery, and the extension of Luci's retrochoir into a
Lady Chapel
A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as ...
. Unlike the rebuilding of the nave some 100 years earlier, the Gothic presbytery was vaulted in wood and painted to look like stone, as at
York Minster
The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...
. With its progressive extensions, the east end is now about 110 feet (34 m) beyond that of Walkelin's building.
Dissolution of the Monasteries
King Henry VIII seized control of the Catholic Church in England and declared himself head of the new
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
. The
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
Thomas Wriothesley
Sir Thomas Wriothesley ( ; died 24 November 1534) was a long serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He was the son of Garter King of Arms, John Writhe, and he succeeded his father in this office.
Personal life
Wriothesley wa ...
came to dismantle the shrines and altar; the shrine of St Swithun was destroyed. The next year a new chapter was formed, and the last prior, William Basyng, was appointed dean. The monastic buildings, including the cloister and chapter house, were later demolished, mostly during the 1560–1580 tenure of the reformist bishop Robert Horne.
17th – 19th centuries
The 17th century saw important changes to the interior, including the erection of a
choir screen
The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...
by
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings.
As the most notable archit ...
in 1638–39, the insertion of a wooden fan vault underneath the crossing tower (previously the tower was open to the church) and the destruction of much medieval glass and imagery by Parliamentarian soldiers in December 1642, including the near-complete destruction of the massive Great West Window by
Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
and his forces. The window was put back together by the townspeople as a mosaic following the Restoration of the Monarchy, but it has never regained its original appearance, the damage was too great.
In the 18th century, many visitors commented on the neglect of the cathedral and the town;
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
described the latter in about 1724 as "a place of no trade… no manufacture, no navigation".
Major restoration followed in the early 19th century under the direction of architect William Garbett and then John Nash.
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
was buried in the north nave aisle in 1817, and many visitors continue to come today to see her final resting place.
20th century restoration
At the turn of the 20th century, Winchester Cathedral was in grave danger of collapse, and by the summer of 1905, the Dean, William Furneaux, was facing the imminent ruin of the building. Huge cracks had appeared in the walls, some of them large enough for a small child to crawl into, the walls were bulging and leaning, and stone fell from the walls. Furneaux brought in a leading architect of the age, Thomas G. Jackson. Jackson's prognosis was grim, and his survey showed the entire building was listing to the south-east, and sinking into the soft ground, most likely due to problems with the foundations. On his instructions, large sections of the building were shored up with timber. Initial estimates for the cost of the repair were £20,000 in 1905.
Jackson, acknowledging he was out of his depth, brought in engineer
Francis Fox
Francis Fox (born December 2, 1939) is a former member of the Senate of Canada, Canadian Cabinet minister, and Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, and thus was a senior aide to Prime Minister Paul Martin. He also worked as ...
, whose company had completed projects like the
Mersey Tunnel
The Mersey Tunnels connect the city of Liverpool with Wirral, under the River Mersey. There are three tunnels: the Mersey Railway Tunnel (opened 1886), and two road tunnels, the Queensway Tunnel (opened 1934) and the Kingsway Tunnel (opened 1 ...
. Jackson and Fox sunk a trench to the foundations of the east end and discovered the Normans had constructed the entire cathedral on a 'floating raft', consisting of a 15-inch-thick layer of
beech trees
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...
, laid diagonally one on top of the other. Some of these beech trees were solid, but others had rotted and collapsed, and as they did so, the cathedral shifted and sank into the soft ground, which was not strong enough to support the enormous weight of the building, causing the cracks, bulges and leaning walls. Fox removed a layer of topsoil, and ten feet of
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
, at which point they arrived at the raft. Below this was a solid layer of
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
, about 8 feet thick, and below this at a depth of 16 to 24 feet below the Cathedral floor, they encountered a solid layer of gravel, which they intended to utilise as the new base for the foundations.
Jackson and Fox proposed sinking a series of trenches, around 50 in number, around the eastern end, down to the gravel bed and build up to the raft with concrete and brick. However, the upper walls were so weak, that digging under the foundations without supporting the walls could bring the structure down. As such, Fox began grouting the walls using the ' Greathead Grouting Machine', to fill in the cracks. When grouting was completed, a new problem occurred. When the peat was dug through to reach the gravel bed, water rushed up to a height of fourteen feet. The peat acted as a seal, and when it was broken, water from the nearby River Itchen flooded the trenches. This caused a problem, as it was extremely difficult to lay twelve feet worth of bricks and concrete underwater. As a result, Jackson ordered a powerful steam pump. to forcefully pump the water out of the trenches. However, this caused a rift between Fox and Jackson, as Fox believed the power of the steam pump could further destabilise the foundations and cause the collapse of the building. Pumping nevertheless began.
In the spring of 1906, there were signs Fox was right – the Cathedral was still moving and sinking, and this time, more rapidly than before. It was realised for the first time that there was a serious risk to lives. Fox made a site visit in March 1906 and was concerned, because the water being pumped out was no longer clear, it was cloudy, now containing
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...
. Fox ordered pumping stopped. The pump had disturbed a layer of chalk silt between the peat and gravel bed, which further destabilised the building. Jackson was against stopping pumping, as he could not see an alternative. Fox, however, summoned diver William Walker from London, who arrived in Winchester on 5 April 1906.
Walker, who was arguably the most experienced diver in the country at the time, had an extremely challenging job. His task was to descend into the flooded trenches in a primitive and immensely heavy diving suit and level the trenches, by removing the peat topsoil and then laying bags of cement to plug the water coming up from below. Walker's suit weighed 200 lbs dry, and the trenches were extremely cramped and pitch-black; Walker had to feel around with his hands. Additional challenges were that the water was full of bodies and graves, which made the water septic. Walker worked 6 to 7 hour shifts almost every day for six years to achieve this, diving under the majority of the cathedral building. When he had completed his work in 1911, the pump could be used safely to remove the water without disturbing the foundations. In 1911,
flying buttresses
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
were added along the length of the south nave to complete the work.
A special service was held on St Swithun's Day in 1912, attended by the King and Queen to give thanks for the hard work of Jackson, Fox and Walker. Walker was later rewarded with the MVO and is credited with saving the cathedral from collapse. The total cost of the work was £113,000, equivalent in 2017 to nearly £9 million. Walker laid more than 25,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks, and 900,000 bricks.
21st century
In February 2000, a three-year project was completed to clean and conserve the nave and west front, which were last cleaned in 1897. For those three years, the nave had been covered with scaffolding both internally and externally. Following the removal of the scaffolding in early 2000, it was the first time the cathedral interior had been free of scaffolding since 1990.
During August 2006, a near-catastrophic fire was narrowly averted, when a flying chinese lantern got caught on the roof and began setting fire to it. Fortunately, no lasting damage took place and the fire was quickly extinguished. A spokesman for Hampshire Fire & Rescue said that had it not been spotted, the fire could have been similar in scale to the 1984 fire at York Minster, which almost completely destroyed the south transept.
In March 2011, a new single-story extension in the corner of the north presbytery aisle was completed. Called the Fleury building after it was officially opened by the Abbot of Fleury from L'Abbaye de St-Benôit-sur-Loire in France, it was the first new extension on the cathedral building since the lady chapel was extended in the mid 16th century. The new building housed toilet facilities, storage and a new boiler, replacing a remote facility in the Wessex Hotel a short distance away. The new extension cost £820,000, which was raised by the Friends of Winchester Cathedral.
2012–2019 restoration
During September 2012, fundraising begins for a planned £19 million programme of repair and expansion. This project aimed to repair and conserve the ancient stained-glass windows of the presbytery clerestory, restore the wooden vault of the presbytery, replace the lead roof of the east end, rewire the building with a new sound system, and open a new exhibition on the Winchester Bible in the south transept triforium.
During the end of 2012, a high-level internal access scaffold was erected in the presbytery to enable close inspection of the vault and clerestory windows. The vault was subject to a detailed construction and paint analyses. The results of the inspection and analysis revealed severe corrosion in the windows, many of which had holes in and collapsed glass, and the failure of the lead roof above, which was causing degrading to the 16th century wooden vault of the presbytery. A trial removal of the 1950s paint revealed the surviving 16th century paint underneath on the nearly 200 roof bosses. In July 2013, a £10.5 million grant from the
Heritage Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
allowed the restoration work to begin.
In 2014, a birdcage or suspended scaffold was installed below the vault in the presbytery, where it was expected to stay for four years. This scaffold allowed close contact with the vaults and clerestory windows to be repaired. The scaffold weighed 5 tonnes. Also in 2014, the south transept was removed of all of its items including 7,000 books from the library, to allow it to be restored and made ready for the new exhibition, Kings and Scribes, which was planned to open in the triforium at the end of the restoration project. The south transept was then filled with scaffolding and sealed off at the tower arch from the rest of the cathedral, which was expected to remain for nearly three years.
In January 2015, a massive scaffolding frame began to be assembled in the Outer Close, which would be raised to cover the entire presbytery roof. In March 2015, a 300 tonne crane lifted the 27 tonne scaffolding frame to a height of 80 feet (25 m) above the cathedral floor onto the roof. This scaffolding frame, which was moulded to the shape of the roof, was then covered with a waterproof layer to allow the lead underneath to be removed. Over the next few weeks, 54 tonnes of lead were removed from the roof, dating back as far as the early 19th century, and sent to
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
to be recast. This stage of work was completed in May 2016 with the removal of the external scaffolding and the completion of the lead replacement.
As part of the works to restore the south transept ahead of its use as an exhibition space, a statue was discovered on its gable end in 2017. The original statue, made of
Caen stone
Caen stone (french: Pierre de Caen) is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about ...
, was in a very poor state of repair. Caen stone was too soft as an external stone, especially on the exposed roof ridge on the south transept, where it is exposed to the prevailing wind. The head had sheared off at the neck and several cracks were found elsewhere in the statue. The plinth supporting the statue was also in very poor condition. Examination of the statue revealed it dated back to c. 1330 to 1352. Thanks to a grant from The Radcliffe Trust, the statue was replaced with a newly carved life-sized figure of a medieval ecclesiastic clad in an alb, made of Portland stone. By February 2017, the cathedral were only £200,000 short of their fundraising goal, which had increased to £20.5 million. Also in February, a pit was created in the south transept floor to allow future insertion of a lift, thus allowing the exhibition on the south transept triforium to be accessible to all. Eight piles were inserted to a depth of below the floor to support the new lift.
In June 2017, the lift shaft and outer frame was installed, comprising 4 tonnes of steel rising from the floor. To enable this, the 12th century
groin vault
A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Lau ...
of the south transept aisle was opened up in a world first. The lift shaft is entirely free standing, it does not exert any pressure on the vault or walls. By November, the final clerestory window had been reinserted. They had been removed beginning 2015 for restoration and were sent to
Wells, Somerset
Wells () is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, located on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, south-east of Weston-super-Mare, south-west of Bath and south of Bristol. Although the population recorde ...
for restoration. The Great East Window was also restored in this time but was so fragile, the conservation works were completed ''in-situ''. Just as these window repairs were completed, conservation on eight windows in the north transept began, including the oldest stained-glass window in the cathedral, dating from 1330. A new oak mezzanine floor was installed in the triforium to prevent visitors from walking on the uneven floor. The glass lift was installed in the frame during this time, comprising 18 panels, the largest weighing some 550 kilograms.
Starting in January 2018, the birdcage installed in 2014 was slowly removed due to the completion of the vault and window repairs, allowing the vault and windows to be viewed for the first time in nearly four years. The stone reredos, dating from 1450-1476, called the Great Screen, was cleaned for the first time since 1890.
The entire project came to a close on 21 May 2019, with the opening of the Kings and Scribes exhibition in the south transept, the removal of all internal and external scaffolding, and the reopening of the south transept, which had been closed off for five years, some two and a half years longer than originally expected.
Architecture
Winchester Cathedral is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Northern Europe and the longest in overall length. The building shows the development of the architectural building styles from the dramatic Norman work of the transepts, right through to the late Perpendicular Gothic work in the east end. The present building was begun in 1079 and was completed in 1532. It has a cruciform plan, with a long nave, transepts, central crossing tower, choir, presbytery and lady chapel. A variety of stone was used to build the Cathedral, including Quarr limestone from the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
Caen stone
Caen stone (french: Pierre de Caen) is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in north-western France near the city of Caen. The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about ...
from
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
,
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
,
Beer stone
Beer Quarry Caves is a man-made limestone underground complex located about a mile west of the village of Beer, Devon, and the main source in England for beer stone. The tunnels resulted from 2,000 years of quarrying beer stone, which was part ...
and Purbeck Marble. The Cathedral is 558 feet (170 m) long, and the vaulting has a height of 78 feet (24 metres). The central tower is 150 feet (46 m) high.
The north and south transepts are the oldest unaltered sections of the present cathedral, constructed under the auspices of Bishop Walkelin from 1079 to 1098. They are massive in construction, some 209 feet (64 m) in length across the crossing and the walls are 75 feet (23 m) high. The transepts are divided into three sections of nearly equal height, featuring an arcade at ground level, triforium and clerestory. Both transepts have east and west aisles, each of which contains a small chapel. The windows in the transepts are mostly Norman, except for the clerestory and south gable of the south transept, which has had Decorated Gothic windows inserted, including a small rose window. The south transept aisle vault was pierced in the 2012-2020 restoration (see above) to allow installation of a lift up to the triforium.
The central tower, which rises only one story above the steeply pitched roof of the nave, was rebuilt in the Norman style following its collapse in 1107. There are indications it was originally intended to be higher, the interior of the belfry stage is highly decorative, featuring dog-tooth carvings, which additionally indicates it was intended to be a lantern stage, potentially with a belfry stage above. Whether a further stage was planned or not is unknown, but a wooden fan vault was installed in 1635 to allow the installation of bells above, thus closing the upper stages of the tower off to the cathedral below. Underneath the tower is the choir, separated from the nave by a large and intricate wooden screen dating from the 1870s, by George Gilbert Scott. Behind the screen are the choir stalls and
misericords
A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object) is a small wooden structure formed on the underside of a folding seat in a church which, when the seat is folded up, is intended to act as a shelf to support a person in a par ...
, some of which date back to 1308, and are made out of carved oak.
The nave, originally built between c.1100 and c.1129, was remodelled into the Perpendicular Gothic style from 1346 to 1420, keeping much of the original Norman work by encasing it in new stone, and remastering the elevations, merging the previous three-tier structure as in the transepts into two. It is amongst the widest Gothic naves in the country and the longest nave of its kind in Europe. The nave has a spectacular stone vault, complete with hundreds of bosses. The nave aisles are also vaulted in stone and are rather narrow by comparison to the central nave, which gives both an impression of width and height. The nave, including the aisles, is 82 feet (25 metres) wide.
The east end of the cathedral was built in two stages. The older section is the retrochoir between the high altar and the lady chapel, which was constructed between 1202 and c. 1220 in the Early English Gothic style. This too has a stone vault, with numerous highly decorative chantry chapels of the various bishops of the age. It was said to have been used as a model for Salisbury Cathedral, whose construction began just as the retrochoir at Winchester was nearing completion. When this work was completed at Winchester, the original Norman apse was demolished. There are two great arches in the western wall of the retrochoir, which allow the view of the rear of the reredos to be seen. The retrochoir is unusual in that the central bays are only slightly higher than the aisles that surround them. The aisles are lit with large lancet windows.
The newer section of the east end is the presbytery east of the crossing and was built in the Perpendicular Gothic style from 1458 to 1520, It consists of four bays, with north and south aisles. Like the remodelled nave, this features two stages, rather than the three seen in the north and south transepts, the difference being the windows in the presbytery are larger than their counterparts in the nave. Unlike the nave, however, the presbytery is vaulted in wood, painted to look like stone. The vault has some of the most highly decorative and colourful roof bosses in the cathedral. The Lady Chapel was also greatly extended in this time during the time of Bishop Courtenay (1486-1492), given new bays to the east, with a large seven-light window. The vaulting of the western bay, which dates back to the time of the retrochoir, was also redone during Courtenay's time, which now features extremely intricate lierne star vaults. The southeast chapel of the retrochoir, adjoining the lady chapel, was also remodelled at this time, mostly by Courtenay's successor Thomas Langton, who gave it a pseudo fan vault and painted the vaulting blue. Unlike the rest of the cathedral, the coloured vault survives.
Underneath the cathedral is the crypt, an extensive Norman survivor, which extends underneath much of the eastern end of the building. The crypt has numerous sections and aisles. The crypt has a stone vault throughout and dates from the late 11th century, similar in date to the transepts. There is a prominent statue in the crypt by Antony Gormley of a life-sized man, which has stood in the crypt since the 1980s. The crypt often floods in winter due to the high water table.
File:Plan of Winchester Cathedral by Philip Walsingham Sergeant.png, Plan of the Cathedral
File:Winchester Cathedral November 2020 39.jpg, Norman central tower and north transept
File:Winchester Cathedral West Facade sunset.jpg, Bishop Edington's west facade
File:Winchester Cathedral Choir, Hampshire, UK - Diliff.jpg, Choir stalls and screen
File:Orgel der Kathedrale von Winchester.jpg, Choir stalls canopy, organ, tower arch and fan vault
File:Winchester Cathedral (Holy Trinity) (47137660351).jpg, Detail on Lady Chapel
File:Winchester Cathedral November 2020 15.jpg, Arches cut into the retrochoir
File:Winchester Cathedral reredos post restoration.jpg, Reredos and Great Screen - 1450 to 1476
Stained glass
Much of Winchester's stained glass was lost during the time of
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
as Lord Protector when the enormous Great West Window was smashed by
Roundheads
Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...
, as were many other windows in the lower levels of the building. The glass from the Great West Window was put back together with clear glass as a mosaic following the restoration.
As such, most of the surviving stained glass is in the upper levels of the cathedral, such as in the Great East Window, which was restored as part of the 2012-2020 restoration. The great east window dates from 1620s, and contains the work of
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
craftsmen, whose work can also be seen in
King's College Chapel
King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College, Cambridge, King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan ...
in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. Much of the glass in the presbytery clerestory dates from 1404 to 1426, and was made by Thomas of Oxford. There is also a rose window in the gable of the north transept. The oldest stained-glass window in the cathedral is in the north transept, dating from 1330.
File:Winchester Cathedral Mosaic Stained Glass, Hampshire, UK - Diliff.jpg, The Great West Window, now a mosaic
File:Winchester Cathedral Stained Glass 4 (5699670578).jpg, Stained glass in one of the clerestory windows of the nave
File:Winchester Cathedral - Lady Chapel Window.jpg, Lady chapel window
File:Rose Window in Winchester Cathedral by John Francis Campbell.jpg, An engraving of the North Transept rose window
Vaults
Much of the cathedral building is vaulted, some using stone and other parts, wood. The oldest vaulted part of the building is the 11th century crypt, which is vaulted in stone throughout. The nave and aisles are vaulted using Beer stone. The aisles of the presbytery, the lady chapel and the retrochoir are also vaulted in stone. The vaulting underneath the central tower and spanning the presbytery is vaulted in wood, painted to look like stone. Many of the chantry chapels have fan vaults. The highest vault in the cathedral is 78 feet (24 metres) above ground level. The transepts are not vaulted except for in the aisles, instead, they have 19th century wooden ceilings.
File:Anthony Gormley Sculpture at Winchester Cathedral - panoramio.jpg, Norman vault in the crypt
File:Winchester Cathedral retrochoir-1.jpg, Early English vault in the aisles of the presbytery
File:Winchester Cathedral November 2020 17.jpg, Blue pseudo fan vault of the SE chapel of the retrochoir
File:Winchester Cathedral prebystery vault.jpg, Late perpendicular Gothic vault of the presbytery
File:Winchester Cathedral November 2020 33.jpg, Vaulting in the nave, early Perpendicular
File:Winchester Cathedral chantry chapel fan vault.jpg, Fan vault in one of the chantry chapels of the retrochoir
File:Winchester Cathedral (Holy Trinity) (33238516478).jpg, Wooden fan vault underneath the tower, 1635.
Monuments and treasures
The Cathedral has numerous monuments and treasures. These include the 12th century
Tournai font
Tournai fonts are a type of baptismal font made from blue black limestone during the 12th and early 13th centuries in and around the Belgian town of Tournai by local masons. There are seven complete examples in England and a disputed number in ...
, the Morley Library, the Kings and Scribes exhibition and the
Winchester Bible
The Winchester Bible is a Romanesque illuminated manuscript produced in Winchester between 1150 and 1175 for Winchester Cathedral. With folios measuring 583 x 396 mm., it is the largest surviving 12th-century English Bible. The bible belongs ...
. The font is a rare survivor from a collection known as the Tournai fonts and dates back to c. 1150. It is one of only ten fonts of its kind in England. The font weighs 1.5 tonnes and is made from
Carboniferous limestone
Carboniferous Limestone is a collective term for the succession of limestones occurring widely throughout Great Britain and Ireland that were deposited during the Dinantian epoch (geology), Epoch of the Carboniferous period (geology), Period. T ...
from
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. It features unique carvings of the healings of
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...
. The font was gifted to the cathedral by Henry of Blois.
The Morley Library, housed in the triforium of the south transept, houses a collection of rare books, all of which were given to the cathedral by
George Morley
George Morley, 27 February 1598 to 29 October 1684, was a senior member of the Church of England from London, who served as Bishop of Worcester from 1660 to 1662, and of Winchester from 1662 to 1684.
Early life
Morley was born in London, Eng ...
, Bishop of Winchester from 1662 to 1684. The books still rest on their original 17th century carved shelves.
The Kings and Scribes exhibition is the culmination of a £20.5 million restoration of the transepts and east end, and displays hundreds of ancient artefacts, including skulls, weaponry and building stone, all displayed alongside 21st century technology. Also in the exhibition is the famous Winchester Bible, which is considered to be the largest and best-preserved 12th century bible in England. The text, in the Latin of St Jerome, was handwritten on 468 sheets of calf-skin parchment, each measuring 23 by 15.75 inches (583 x 396 mm). These sheets were folded down the centre, making 936 pages in all. The illustrations in the bible sometimes used lapis lazuli which was both rare and extremely expensive, coming from
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. Other illustrations contain gold leaf or paint. The Bible is on display for the public to view as part of the Kings and Scribes exhibition and is kept in a climate-controlled room on the ground floor of the south transept. The physical book cannot be read by the public, but it has been replicated digitally, and visitors can use large screens to read the digitised bible.
The cathedral also has a very large number of ancient mortuary chests, including those of Alfred the Great,
King Canute
Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norw ...
William Rufus
William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...
and King Egbert. The remains of these individuals were originally interred in
Old Minster
The Old Minster was the Anglo-Saxon cathedral for the diocese of Wessex and then Winchester from 660 to 1093. It stood on a site immediately north of and partially beneath its successor, Winchester Cathedral.
Some sources say that the minster w ...
, chief burial place of the Wessex ruling dynasty, but they are believed to have been transferred to Winchester’s Norman cathedral after the minster was demolished in 1093 to make way for the new construction. Their bones were placed in chests, but these were heavily disturbed during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, and the remains are today commingled, with several individuals found within each chest, and some individuals spread over multiple boxes.
File:Tournai marble font in Winchester Cathedral.jpg, The Tournai marble font.
File:Winchester Cathedral Morley Library.jpg, Morley Library
File:WinchesterCathedral Chest1.JPG, Mortuary chest of an unidentified King Edmund.
File:Jane Austin Memorial (5699253668).jpg, Monument to
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
File:WinchesterBible2Kings(frontpiece).GIF, One of the pages of the Winchester Bible
File:William Walker bust winchester.jpg, Bust of William Walker, who saved the Cathedral by diving underneath it
File:Wincath1-11S7-9724wiki.jpg, Site of the shrine of Swithun, destroyed in the Dissolution.
Chantry Chapels
The cathedral building contains a large number of chantry chapels, often dedicated to the various Bishops of Winchester. These chantry chapels, which can be found mostly in the retrochoir but also the nave, are intricately designed. Famous chantry chapels include those of William Wykeham, William Wayneflete, Richard Fox and Henry Beaufort.
File:Winchester Cathedral (Holy Trinity) (46223984685).jpg, Bishop Fox's chantry chapel
File:Winchester Cathedral (Holy Trinity) (46223988085).jpg, Bishop Gardiner's chantry chapel
File:Winchester Cathedral (Holy Trinity) (46223985465).jpg, Henry Beaufort's chantry chapel
File:Winchester Cathedral (Holy Trinity) (46414538304).jpg, Chantry chapel of Bishop Wayneflete
Music
Organ
The earliest recorded organ at Winchester Cathedral was in the 10th century; it had 400 pipes and could be heard throughout the city. This first organ required two men to play it, and 70 men to blow it. The present organ has its core dating back to 1851, when a very large instrument was built by
Henry Willis and Sons
Henry Willis & Sons is a British firm of pipe organ builders founded in 1845. Although most of their installations have been in the UK, examples can be found in other countries.
Five generations of the Willis family served as principals of th ...
for the
Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...
, held at
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...
, London. The then Cathedral organist, Samuel Wesley, visited the exhibition and was impressed by its size and tone. He recommended to the Dean & Chapter that they purchase the instrument for Winchester. The purchase was completed for £2,500, and the instrument was installed at Winchester three years later, in 1854, after being reduced in size slightly. The instrument, as installed, had four manuals and 49 stops.
It was modified in 1897 and 1905, and completely rebuilt by
Harrison & Harrison
Harrison & Harrison Ltd is a British company that makes and restores pipe organs, based in Durham and established in Rochdale in 1861. It is well known for its work on instruments such as King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and the ...
in 1937 and again in 1986–88. Organists at Winchester have included
Christopher Gibbons
Christopher Gibbons ( bapt. 22 August 1615 – 20 October 1676) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque period. He was the second son, and first surviving child of the composer Orlando Gibbons.
Life and career Background
Chri ...
whose patronage aided the revival of church music after the Interregnum,
Samuel Sebastian Wesley
Samuel Sebastian Wesley (14 August 1810 – 19 April 1876) was an English organist and composer. Wesley married Mary Anne Merewether and had 6 children. He is often referred to as S.S. Wesley to avoid confusion with his father Samuel Wesley.
Bio ...
, the composer of sacred musicand
Martin Neary
Martin Gerard James Neary LVO is an English organist and choral conductor.
Neary was born in London, and read theology and music at Cambridge University. He was Organist and Director of Music at Winchester Cathedral from 1972 to 1988, and Org ...
, who arranged the music for the
funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales
The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, started on Saturday 6 September 1997 at 9:08am in London, when the tenor bell of Westminster Abbey started tolling to signal the departure of the cortège from Kensington Palace. The coffin was carried ...
at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
.
The organ in its present form contains more than 5,500 pipes and 79 stops. The main organ case is underneath the tower arch adjoining the north transept.
Choir
The cathedral has several choirs. Its main choir is internationally recognised and currently consists of 22 boy choristers between the ages of 8 and 13, in addition to 12 adult male tenors, known as
Lay Clerks
A lay clerk, also known as a lay vicar, song man or a vicar choral, is a professional adult singer in an Anglican cathedral and often Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the UK, or (occasionally) collegiate choir in Britain and Ireland. The vicars chora ...
. This choir sings six services per week during term time, and all the boys are educated at The Pilgrim School, located in the Cathedral Close.
The Cathedral Girls' Choir was founded in 1999 and is made up of 20 girls between the ages of 12 to 17, who are educated across Hampshire. The girls' choir sing a weekly Sunday service with the Lay Clerks during term time and unite with the boys for the major festivals of Christmas and Easter.
The Cathedral
Chamber Choir A chamber choir is a small or medium-sized choir of roughly 8 to 40 singers (occasionally called 'chamber singers'), typically singing classical or religious music in a concert setting. (This is distinct from e.g. a church choir, which sings in rel ...
is formed of 30 professional adult singers from across Hampshire, and provide choral music for school holidays when the boy and girl choirs are on break, except for Easter and Christmas. The choir regularly performs at concerts.
Additionally, there is a volunteer choir formed of members of the congregation, known as the Cathedral Nave Choir, formed of 40 adults. The Nave Choir sing one service per month. There are also two further youth choirs, one called the Junior Choir, and the other called the Youth Choir. The Junior Choir is a mixed choir of boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 13. There is no audition process for the Junior Choir, unlike all the other choirs. The Youth Choir is similar to the Junior Choir, but is for boys and girls over the age of 14, and requires an audition process.
Bells
Bells have rung out from the Cathedral since Saxon times. It is recorded that King Cnut gave two bells to the Old Minster where he was buried in 1035, though neither of these bells survive. By the middle of the 17th century, following conversion of the tower from a lantern into a tower suitable for bells, seven bells were installed in a very large oak frame made by John Williams.
This frame was strengthened and extended several times, and by 1883, there were eight bells installed, the largest bell weighing some 32 long cwt (1,626 kg). Four of these bells were cast by Richard Phelps in 1734, which were the third, fifth, seventh and tenor bells. The second bell was cast by Theodore Ecclestone in 1742, with treble cast by Robert Wells in 1772 and the fourth and sixth cast by James Wells in 1814.
In 1891, the tenor bell cracked and was recast by Mears & Stainbank of the
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...
in 1892 to a slightly lighter weight of 30 long cwt (1,524 kg). At the same time, the bells were augmented to ten with two new trebles, also by Mears & Stainbank, hung in a new extension frame. The existing bells were also rehung at the same time.
In 1921, the bells were augmented to twelve with the addition of two new treble bells, cast by
Gillett & Johnston
Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a be ...
of
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
, to give Hampshire and the Diocese of Winchester its first ring of twelve bells. The new bells were dedicated to the fallen of Winchester in the First World War. This peal of twelve was not to last long, however, as the bells were taken down in 1936 and sent to
John Taylor & Co
John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...
of
Loughborough
Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...
,
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
, for complete recasting.
The bells were intended to be recast for the coronation of Edward VIII, and the inscription on the tenor bell makes note of this. However, by the time the metal had cooled, the bells tuned and rehung in Winchester, Edward had abdicated, and his brother
George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
became king. As a result, the inscription 'Edwardi Octavi' was crossed out, and 'Georgi Sexti' was etched in by hand. The new Taylor bells were a heavier peal of twelve, with the tenor bell weighing some 35 and a half long hundredweight (1,806 kg). The heaviest eight bells were rehung back in the original 1734 oak frame, with the four treble bells hung in a new metal extension. All twelve bells received new fittings, including cast iron headstocks and
ball bearings
A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races.
The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...
. The new bells were an immediate success, considered far superior to the ring they replaced, being described in
The Ringing World
The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR) is an organisation founded in 1891 which represents ringers of church bells in the English style.
It acts as a co-ordinating body for education, publicity and codifying change ringing rules, a ...
as "a truly magnificent peal".
In 1967, a redundant bell from St Lawrence's Church in Winchester was transferred to the Cathedral and hung in a new cast iron metal frame as a semitone bell, called a flat sixth. This extra bell enabled a lighter peal of eight to be rung when the natural sixth was substituted for the 'new' flat sixth, thus avoiding using the heaviest bells. This bell weighs 6 and a half long cwt (340 kg) and was cast by Anthony Bond in 1621, thus making it the oldest bell in the cathedral tower. This bell celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2021.
By 1991, restoration was required again, though this time it was the tower that required attention. It was found in a survey that the great wooden frame, which was not attached to any of the tower walls as modern frames are, was moving and shifting on the belfry floor during the ringing, and that was damaging both the tower and the floor. Additionally, the floor beams were rotting, and the louvre boards were damaged. Ringing was suspended indefinitely. The resulting restoration involved lowering all 13 bells (the ring of twelve plus the ex-St Laurence bell) to the ringing chamber where they were hung on a special scaffold. With the frame clear of bells, it was hoisted up clear of the belfry floor, suspended from massive steel girders dug into the tower walls. The floor was repaired with new beams replacing some very severely rotted ones, and the newly strengthened bell frame lowered back onto it and the bells rehung. At the same time, it was decided to augment the bells to the world's first
diatonic
Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize Scale (music), scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, Interval (music), intervals, Chord (music), chords, Musical note, notes, musical sty ...
ring of fourteen, with two new treble bells cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1992, and a third extra bell to become a sharp fourth, to be used in much the same way as the ex-St Laurence bell - to provide a lighter peal of ten without using the three tenor bells. A new frame was provided for the lightest seven bells, constructed of
iroko
Iroko (also known as in Igbo language, '' in the Urhobo language of Southern Nigeria, and as odum in the Kwa languages of Ghana) is a large hardwood tree from the west coast of tropical Africa that can live up to 500 years. This is the common n ...
, replacing the metal frame provided in the 1937 recast.
No major work has been carried out on the bells since 1992. They remain the only diatonic peal of fourteen change ringing bells in the world. The eight largest bells continue to be hung in John William's 1734 oak frame, which is one of the largest surviving frames of its kind.
In 2021, new timber shafted clappers were supplied for the two largest bells by the original founders, John Taylor & Co, which has increased the resonance of the two heaviest bells in the cathedral.
Cultural connections
Nowadays the cathedral draws many tourists as a result of its association with
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
, who died in Winchester on 18 July 1817. Her funeral was held in the cathedral, and she was buried in the north aisle. The inscription on her tombstone makes no mention of her novels, but a later brass tablet, paid for from the proceeds of her first biography, describes her as "known to many by her writings". There is also a memorial window in her honour by C E Kempe.
Having spent three years in the city as a child, the novelist
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
borrowed features of the cathedral and the city for his '' Chronicles of Barsetshire''. In 2005, the building was used as a film set for ''
The Da Vinci Code
''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel ''Angels & Demons''. ''The Da Vinci Code'' follows symbologist Robert Lang ...
'', with the north transept used as the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
. Following this, the cathedral hosted discussions and displays to debunk the book.
Winchester Cathedral is possibly the only cathedral to have had popular songs written about it. "
Winchester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...
" was a UK top ten hit and a US number one song for
The New Vaudeville Band
The New Vaudeville Band was a group created by songwriter Geoff Stephens in 1966 to record his novelty composition "Winchester Cathedral", a song inspired by the dance bands of the 1920s and a Rudy Vallee megaphone-style vocal. To his surprise, ...
in 1966. The cathedral was also the subject of the
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...
song "Cathedral" from their 1977 album ''
CSN ''CSN'' may refer to:
Companies
* CSN Stores, former name of Wayfair, American e-commerce company
* CSN International (Christian Satellite Network), religious radio broadcaster based on radio station KAWZ in Twin Falls, Idaho
* ''Centrala Studies ...
''. Liverpool-based band
Clinic
A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...
released an album titled ''
Winchester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...
'' in 2004.
In 1992, the British
rosarian
Some rose growers are known for their particular contributions to the field. These include:
A
* David C.H. Austin (1926–2018), British breeder of English-style roses including the 'Wife of Bath'
B
* René Barbier (1870–1931), of '' Bar ...
sport
Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
of his rose cultivar "Mary Rose" (1983) as "Winchester Cathedral".
When he was posted to England during the First World War, Bill Wilson, the co-founder of
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...
, visited the Cathedral and had an initial experience of the presence of God.
The Cathedral is the starting point of the 34-mile-long St Swithun's Way, a
Long-distance footpath
A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-cou ...
which was opened in 2002 to commemorate the
Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II
The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as ...
.
The Cathedral and surrounding area have been used multiple times as a filming location for ''The Crown'', a popular
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
historical drama series based on the monarchy during the time of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. The interior has been used as a substitute for both
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
(for the funeral of
Lord Louis Mountbatten
Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of Germa ...
Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market
Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market is a Christmas market held each year in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral, in the city of Winchester in the English county of Hampshire. Typically the market operates from the middle of November until a fe ...
.
Public access
In common with many other Anglican cathedrals in the United Kingdom, an admission fee has been charged for visitors to enter the cathedral since March 2006. Visitors may request an annual pass for the same price as a single admission.
Dean and chapter
As of 2 January 2021:
*
Dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
— Catherine Ogle (since 11 February 2017 installation)
* Vice-Dean, Canon Chancellor and Pastor — Roland Riem (Vice-Dean since 2012; Canon Pastor since end of June 2005; Chancellor since before 2011)
* Canon Missioner - Dr Tess Kuin Lawton (since 2021)
* Canon Precentor and Sacrist — Andy Trenier (since 15 September 2019)
Disposal of the dead
Burials
*
Saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
Birinus
Birinus (also ''Berin'', ''Birin''; – 3 December 649 or 650) was the first Bishop of Dorchester and was known as the " Apostle to the West Saxons" for his conversion of the Kingdom of Wessex to Christianity. He is venerated as a saint ...
—his relics were eventually
translated
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
here
*
Walkelin
Walkelin (died 1098) was the first Norman bishop of Winchester.
Life
Walkelin was of noble birth and related to William the Conqueror, whom he served as a royal chaplain.Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
of
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction.
The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...
(1126–1129) and Bishop of Winchester (1129–1171)
* Richard of Ilchester, Bishop of Winchester (1173–1188) and
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Godfrey de Luci
Godfrey de Luci (also Godfrey de Lucy) was a medieval Bishop of Winchester.
Life
Godfrey de Luci was the second son of Richard de Luci and his wife Rohese.
, Bishop of Winchester (1189–1204)
*
Peter des Roches
Peter des Roches (died 9 June 1238) ( Latinised as ''Peter de Rupibus'' ("Peter from the rocks")) was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III. He was not an Englishman, but rather a native of the Tourain ...
, Bishop of Winchester (1205–1238) and Chief Justiciar of England (1213–c.1215)
*
Henry Beaufort
Cardinal Henry Beaufort (c. 1375 – 11 April 1447), Bishop of Winchester, was an English prelate and statesman who held the offices of Bishop of Lincoln (1398) then Bishop of Winchester (1404) and was from 1426 a Cardinal of the Church of Ro ...
(1375–1447), Cardinal and Bishop of Winchester (legitimised son of John of Gaunt and Lord Chancellor of England under
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
Queen Anne's Bounty
Queen Anne's Bounty was a scheme established in 1704 to augment the incomes of the poorer clergy of the Church of England, and by extension the organisation ("The Governors of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the Augmentation of the Maintenance of the ...
official, legal compiler and author, died at
Turnham Green
Turnham Green is a public park on Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London, and the neighbourhood and conservation area around it; historically, it was one of the four medieval villages in the Chiswick area, the others being Old Chiswick, Little S ...
, Middlesex, on 20 August 1730—his will, bearing date 7 July 1730, was proved at London, 8 September 1730, by his widow, Dorothea Ecton, noting that he desired to be buried in Winchester Cathedral
*
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
(1817)
Displaced in mortuary chests
*
Cynegils
Cynegils () was King of Wessex from c. 611 to c. 642. Cynegils is traditionally considered to have been King of Wessex, but the familiar kingdoms of the so-called Heptarchy had not yet formed from the patchwork of smaller kingdoms in his life ...
, King of Wessex (611–643)
*
Cenwalh
Cenwalh, also Cenwealh or Coenwalh, was King of Wessex from c. 642 to c. 645 and from c. 648 until his death, according to the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', in c. 672.
Penda and Anna
Bede states that Cenwalh was the son of the King Cynegils bapt ...
, King of Wessex (643–672)
*
Egbert of Wessex
Ecgberht (770/775 – 839), also spelled Egbert, Ecgbert, Ecgbriht, Ecgbeorht, and Ecbert, was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. His father was King Ealhmund of Kent. In the 780s, Ecgberht was forced into exile to Charlema ...
, King of Wessex (802–839)
* Ethelwulf, King of Wessex (839–856)
*
Eadred
Eadred (c. 923 – 23 November 955) was King of the English from 26 May 946 until his death. He was the younger son of Edward the Elder and his third wife Eadgifu, and a grandson of Alfred the Great. His elder brother, Edmund, was killed try ...
, King of England (946–955)
*
Eadwig
Eadwig (also Edwy or Eadwig All-Fair, 1 October 959) was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were young ...
, King of England and later Wessex (955–959)
* Cnut or Canute, King of England (1016–1035) and also of Denmark and Norway
*
Emma of Normandy
Emma of Normandy (referred to as Ælfgifu in royal documents; c. 984 – 6 March 1052) was a Norman-born noblewoman who became the English, Danish, and Norwegian queen through her marriages to the Anglo-Saxon king Æthelred the Unready and the ...
, wife of Cnut and also Ethelred II of England
* William II 'Rufus', King of England (1087–1100)—not in the traditional tomb associated with him, which may in fact be that of his nephew Henry of Blois, brother of
King Stephen of England
Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 unti ...
Also
* Harthacnut, King of England (1040–1042) and also of Denmark
*
Stigand
Stigand (died 1072) was an Anglo-Saxon churchman in pre-Norman Conquest England who became Archbishop of Canterbury. His birth date is unknown, but by 1020 he was serving as a royal chaplain and advisor. He was named Bishop of Elmham in 10 ...
, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1072)
One of the mortuary chests also refers to a king 'Edmund', of which nothing else is known. It is possible that this could be
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside (30 November 1016; , ; sometimes also known as Edmund II) was King of the English from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marred by ...
, King of England (1016) but he is buried at
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction.
The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...
by most accounts, including the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...
''.For further information, see http://www.churchmonumentssociety.org/Mortuary_Chests.html
Originally buried at Winchester
*
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin ...
, King of England (899–924)—later moved to
Hyde Abbey
Hyde Abbey was a medieval Benedictine monastery just outside the walls of Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was dissolved and demolished in 1538 following various acts passed under King Henry VIII to dissolve monasteries and abbeys (see Dis ...
* Alfred the Great, King of Wessex (875–899)—moved from Old Minster and later to Hyde Abbey
See also
*
Wedding of Mary I of England and Philip II of Spain
Mary I of England (1516-1558) and Philip II of Spain (1527-1598) married at Winchester Cathedral on Wednesday 25 July 1554.
Surrey and Hampshire
The English Parliament made provision for the marriage by the Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary ...
*
Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England
The medieval cathedrals of England, which date from between approximately 1040 and 1540, are a group of twenty-six buildings that constitute a major aspect of the country's artistic heritage and are among the most significant material symbols of ...
*
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...
*
Gothic cathedrals and churches
Gothic cathedrals and churches are religious buildings created in Europe between the mid-12th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The cathedrals are notable particularly for their great height and their extensive use of stained glass t ...
*
List of Gothic Cathedrals in Europe This is a list of gothic cathedrals in Europe that are active Christians, Christian cathedrals (the seats of bishops), but also includes former cathedrals and churches built in the style of cathedrals, that are significant for their Gothic architect ...
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
* Willis, Robert (1846; 1980) ''The Architectural History of Winchester Cathedral''; by R. Willis
ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
''The Normans as Cathedral Builders''; by Christopher N. L. Brooke. Winchester: Friends of Winchester Cathedral (First work is facsimile reprint of article from ''Proceedings at the Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1845'', published 1846.)
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...