Winchester city walls are a series of defensive walls in central Winchester, originally built during the Roman settlement of southern Britain, in what was then the settlement of

Venta Belgarum Venta Belgarum, or Venta Bulgarum, was a town in the Roman province of Britannia Superior, the civitas capital of the local tribe, the Belgae, and which later became the city of Winchester. Etymology The name is Proto-Celtic in origin: ''Venta'' ...

. The area surrounding Winchester had been populated throughout the Iron Age, with Britonnic settlements existing at

Oram's Arbour Oram's Arbour was an enclosed settlement (oppidum) during the Iron Age, in what is now Winchester, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its nort ...

, St Catherine's Hill, and

Worthy Down Worthy Down Camp is a tri-service establishment near Winchester, in Hampshire, England. It forms part of the wider Winchester Garrison and houses the headquarters of the Defence College of Logistics, Policing and Administration (DCLPA), as well ...

; Venta Belgarum took its name from the Belgae tribes of the area. Earthwork defences were constructed around the end of the second century, being rebuilt in

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

during the latter part of the

third century The 3rd century was the period from 201 ( CCI) to 300 ( CCC) Anno Domini (AD) or Common Era (CE) in the Julian calendar.. In this century, the Roman Empire saw a crisis, starting with the assassination of the Roman Emperor Severus Alexander i ...

.. Under Saxon rule, Alfred the Great rebuilt Winchester and its defences as part of the burh system developed to protect against Norse incursions. Winchester was later chosen as the location of one of the first

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 ...

castles in England, with

Winchester Castle Winchester Castle is a medieval building in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1067. Only the Great Hall still stands; it houses a museum of the history of Winchester. History Early history Around AD 70 the Romans constructed a ...

being built alongside the walls in 1067. As well as the royal castle in the West of the city,

Wolvesey Castle Wolvesey Castle, also known as the "Old Bishop's Palace", is a ruined building in Winchester, Hampshire, England that was a bishop's palace, and was briefly fortified during the later years of Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester. Histo ...

, the palace of the Bishop of Winchester, was built in the East of the City alongside the River Itchen; during the Civil War known as The Anarchy, the forces of Queen Matilda, on behalf of King Stephen, besieged the forces of Empress Matilda, destroying much of the old city including the urban defences, in an event known as the

Rout of Winchester In the Rout of Winchester (14 September 1141) the army of imprisoned King Stephen of England, led by his wife, Queen Matilda of Boulogne, Stephen's brother Bishop Henry of Blois, and William of Ypres, faced the army of Stephen's cousin Empress M ...

.Charles W.C. Oman, ''Castles: An illustrated guide to 80 castles of England and Wales'', Beekman House, 1978 Printing, Whilst Winchester's city walls went through periods of decline, by the 14th century, the city had 6 gates, the West Gate, South Gate, King's Gate, East Gate, North Gate and Durn Gate. In 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 ...

, the city was seized on behalf of the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

Sir William Ogle, before being captured by Parliamentary forces led by

Sir William Waller Sir William Waller JP (c. 159719 September 1668) was an English soldier and politician, who commanded Parliamentarian armies during the First English Civil War, before relinquishing his commission under the 1645 Self-denying Ordinance. ...

; the city was subsequently recovered by the Royalist forces before being recaptured by Parliament after the

Battle of Cheriton The Battle of Cheriton of 29 March 1644 was an important Parliamentarian victory during the First English Civil War. Sir William Waller's "Army of the Southern Association" defeated a Royalist force jointly commanded by the Earl of Forth and ...

, after which much of the castle was demolished, apart from the Great Hall. During the 18th century, much of the walls and gates were demolished due to the relatively low height of the gates and their hazards to pedestrians, with the Eastgate demolished in 1768, and the Southgate demolished from 1771. The Northgate also collapsed in 1756. Today only the Kingsgate and Westgate survive, with other portions of the wall existing around the gates and

, as well as alongside the Itchen by the remains of Wolvesey Castle, with other sections having been demolished or repurposed. Sections of the wall remain as listed and protected areas.

References

{{reflist City walls in the United Kingdom Grade I listed walls Historic sites in the United Kingdom Winchester