Learning and Outreach. Adult Education Schools Student Visits. Support Us. About us. Discover stunning examples of historic English church architecture dating back to the 11th century.
The Chantry Chapels The Cathedral is famous for its beautiful chantry chapels, where daily masses were said for the bishops who built them. The Venerable Chapel The Venerable Chapel in the South Transept has a superb 14th-century entrance screen, once highly coloured and rich with statuary, and a beautiful honey-coloured altar in Jerusalem limestone installed in Retrochoir In the early s, Bishop Godfrey de Lucy created a new retrochoir at the east end where pilgrims could congregate close to the shrine of the miracle-working St Swithun.
The Presbytery In the early s, Bishop Henry Woodcock created a new presbytery where the altar stands at the heart of the building to replace the original Norman Romanesque apse. The Nave The Nave was transformed at the expense of successive bishops in a magnificent example of architectural remodelling. Cathedral Close. Cathedral web site. Visitors Centre. Visitors comments. Bishops of Winchester. Diocese of Winchester. See of Winchester.
There has been a Cathedral in Winchester since about AD. Gothic architecture consisted of columns arches, Christian mytiosim, and large windows. There is evidence of how the Gothic style developed over time at Winchester. In the Presbytery these is evidence of early 14 th century decorated gothic — Pillars with bell capitals covered with foliage, vaulting with carved bosses and flower style decoration.
In the late 14 th to early 15 th century, architecture styles changed again and what came with it was what we call today perpendicular gothic. Examples of this at Winchester include Pillars with polygonal capitals, Tudor-style arches, and large windows with vertical mullions.
Winchester would take 30 years to complete and that does not include the alterations made later. In , the tower collapsed into the Cathedral.
For such elaborate and large buildings, medieval cathedrals such as Winchester were built simply using pulleys, ropes, and scaffolding. A dangerous job did not really pay much but would provide work for hundreds of people and their trades for many years.
Firstly a body of people were formed to create a chapter and that would decided on the finance of the venture and appoint an architect. The architect would then be responsible for employing a number of master tradesmen such as a stonecutter, sculptor, mason, carpenter, quarryman and so on.
A cathedral construction would also lead to a number of other skilled workers coming to the town or who may already be at the town such as blacksmiths to build the tools.
The starting point once the plan had been produced was the foundations. These needed to be done accurately and skilfully, as they were what would be supporting the rest of the structure. Winchesters foundations are around 20ft underground, for other cathedrals hey can be up to 25 foot. Winchester has seven chantry chapels, which is more than any other cathedral in England. They were all added between 14 th th centuries. A ladies chapel is present in most cathedrals and is usually the largest.
You will find it located to the east of the high alter and it honours the Virgin Mary. Winchesters Lady Chapel is lucky to have a rare survival of its wall paintings along with the Tudor stalls, the only ones to have survived pre-dissolution. Look up and what do you see? This can vary depending on where you are standing and what cathedral you are standing in. Above your head at Winchester the cathedrals roof has over one thousand carvings in wood and stone covering the entire joint between the stone ribs of its vaulted ceilings.
These are known as roof bosses and range from designs such as simple leaves to more elaborates angels, animals, heraldic badges, and emblems of Christ Passions. The ceiling supports by the gothic columns are breathtaking. I have to admit I have a love for cathedrals. It really makes you feel as you are looking towards the heavens. Most cathedrals will also have spires or towers with bells ringing out to the heaves after all that are their purpose.
Winchester has a small bell tower considering its size. This is believed to be a result of the collapse of the originally one. It is 50 feet wide, only rises 35 feet about the roof, and is feet tall. Dare you go down to the crypt? There is no reason to fear a crypt. Many people mistakenly believe a crypt is for the burying of bodies but in fact the word itself means hidden place and no bodies are buried there. Winchester houses the Shrine of St Swithum. Swithum was.
The shrine was located at the inner sanctum of the cathedral structure in between the quire and presberaty. Those tiles nearest the memorial are original 11 th century tiles and my favourite bit in the whole of the Cathedral. The shrine built especially in Winchester Cathedral is there something missing here? When the shrine was relocated into Winchester from Old Minster it was placed on the high alter, this limited access to the pilgrims flocking to see it as they were not allowed on the high alter.
To resolve this problem, Henry of Blois had a 3 meter tunnel built where the pilgrims could crawl through and get up close to the Saint. Evidence of the hole is still there today. The Shrine itself was destroyed during the dissolution and it is not sure where swithum bones ended up. Mortuary boxes — these boxes originally held the bones of the Anglo Saxon Kings who were buried at Old Minster and were transferred into the new cathedral.
When the cathedral was vandalised in the Civil War the boxes were thrown open and the bones thrown about. Although they were replaced back into the boxes, we cannot be certain that they are all in the right ones.
The great screen in the Cathedral once housed a large number of statues covered in vivid bright colours — it would have been an impressive sight to those entering the religious building. It was built from money left by Cardinal Beaufort, along with money for Swithums new shrine and his own chapel. Today all that remains is the whitewashed backdrop. The statues that are present are Victorian replacements; this was dues to the dissolution and the view against idolatry.
The Winchester Bible is the largest surviving 12 th century English bible. Still brightly coloured letters bounce off the page as they did when its single scribe wrote out its content, while artists illuminated the letters. It is a beautiful book and not to be missed. Winchester is still a working cathedral today with daily worship taking place. One can visit to pray, or just as a visitor admiring the cathedrals beauty like myself. There is so much more to see and experience at Winchester, not only its cathedral but the whole town is filled with history.
I urge you to go and visit when you can.
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