St Swithun upon Kingsgate is a Church of England church in

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 ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, England, built in the

Middle Ages 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

in the Early English style. Located above the medieval Kingsgate, one of the principal entrances to the city, the church is unusual in forming a part of the fabric of the old city walls. St Swithun's first appears in 13th century records, and under the fictional name of St Cuthbert's, is mentioned in

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 ...

's novel ''

The Warden ''The Warden'' is a novel by English author Anthony Trollope published by Longman in 1855. It is the first book in the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire'' series, followed by ''Barchester Towers''. Synopsis ''The Warden'' concerns Mr Septimus Hardi ...

''.

History

Medieval origins

The first mention of the church is recorded in 1264, when it was apparently burned by the citizens of Winchester during a dispute with the Priory.Official St Swithun's Church Leaflet Most likely the church served as a chapel for lay people who worked for the Abbey.Official St Swithun's ''Walk Around Guide'' In 1337 some woodwork was done on the church, costing a total of fifteen shillings, and in 1484 the windows underwent repair. St Swithun was an

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

saint, born in Winchester and in 852 becoming the 19th bishop of the city. He died in 862 when

King Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who ...

was still a young man. It is possible that St Swithun was tutor to the young king, and accompanied him on a pilgrimage to

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 ...

. According to legend, St Swithun has a special association with the English weather, a legend which dates from July 971 when the bones of the saint were moved from outside the old Saxon cathedral and brought inside the building, apparently causing a great thunderstorm: :"On St Swithun's Day, if then dost rain, :For forty days it will remain: :St Swithun's Day, if then be fair, :For forty days 'twill rain nae mair." St Swithun's Day is celebrated on 15 July.

Reformation

In 1538 the Shrine of St Swithun in

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 destroyed, and in 1539 the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

was dissolved. St Swithun upon Kingsgate became a parish church. The East wall niche, which today lies empty, most likely once held a statue of St Swithun, which was probably destroyed at this time. By the 17th century the church had fallen into disrepair, and had become home to one Robert Allen, the porter of Kings Gate, and his wife, "who did and doth keep swine at ye ende of the Chapell". The situation was improved around 1660 when the church was restored, its bells re-hung in 1677. It has remained a place of worship since that time.

19th century and literary fame

St Swithun's appears in

's novel ''The Warden'', in which Warden Harding is appointed Rector of St Cuthbert's (a thinly disguised St Swithun's), after he has resigned from Hiram's hospital (most likely based upon the

Hospital of St Cross The Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty is a medieval almshouse in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It has been described as "England's oldest and most perfect almshouse". Most of the buildings and grounds are open to the ...

). Writing in the 1850s, Trollope describes the church, in Chapter 21, as follows: :"The church is a singular little Gothic building, perched over a gateway, through which the Close is entered, and is approached by a flight of stone steps which leads down under the archway of the gate. It is no bigger than an ordinary room - perhaps twenty seven feet long by eighteen wide - but still a perfect church". St Swithun's differs slightly from this description; the stairway is of wood, and is positioned to the right of the King's Gate in St Swithun Street, and not in the nearby gateway to the Close, (usually known as the Prior's Gate).

Modern era

Today the King's Gate is maintained by the City of Winchester, while the duty of maintaining the church falls upon the parish of St Lawrence with St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate.Church leaflet" The east window has some fragments of medieval stained glass, most likely depicting the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ang ...

, which were brought in 1961 from St Peter's Church, Chesil."Walk Around Guide" Entry to the church is via a narrow staircase, dating from the 1500s, accessible from St Swithun Street next to the right-hand arch of the three arches of the King's Gate. In retirement, the late Lord Coggan, formerly the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

, regularly attended the Church where he sometimes accompanied services, playing the piano, surely the only Archbishop ever to have done so. His funeral took place at St Swithun's on 26 May 2000, and he is commemorated there by his initials carved on a bench-end.

Gallery

StSwithansGlass.jpg, East window Kingsgate-Winchester.jpg, Exterior view of St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate Church (entrance by staircase on right) WilliamHenryLaverty.jpg, Memorial to St Swithun's parishioner William Henry Laverty, killed in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

References

*Official St Swithun's Church Leaflet *Official St Swithun's ''Walk Around Guide'' * Pevsner, N. ''Hampshire: Winchester & the North'' (2010) (with Michael Bullen, John Crook and Rodney Hubbuck) ( Buildings of England series)

Notes

External links

Benefice of St Bartholomew and St Lawrence with St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate, Winchester
''Butler's Lives of the Saints'' Retrieved November 2011

entry on St. Swithin. Retrieved November 2011

on St Swithin's Day. Retrieved November 2011

Retrieved November 2011 *
BBC "Landward" feature on St. Swithin's Day
Retrieved November 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Winchester, St Swithun-upon-Kingsgate Church Grade I listed churches in Hampshire

History of Winchester Churches in Winchester