Bells Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Winchester | Page 2

The Crypts 93 The Stained Glass 94
CHAPTER IV.
--History of the See 96
CHAPTER V.
--The Bishops of Winchester 101
CHAPTER VI.
--Other Institutions connected with the Cathedral 118

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE The Cathedral from the North-West FrontispieceThe Deanery 2 Old View of the North Side of the Cathedral 11 Monument to Bishop Ethelmar 15 The Cathedral from the Deanery Gardens 19 The West Front 21 North-West Bay--Exterior 25 East End--Exterior 29 Nave, showing Screen before Restoration 31 Transformation of the Nave 35 The Nave, looking East 37 The Nave, looking West 39 The Grill-work from S. Swithun's Shrine 41 The Norman Font 45 William of Wykeham's Chantry 47 The Choir, looking East 51 The Choir Stalls 53 The Altar and Reredos 57 The North Transept 59 View in North Transept 63 Door to Henry de Blois' Treasury 66 Bishop Wilberforce's Monument 67 South Aisle, from Transept 69 Back of Feretory, with Bishop Gardiner's Chantry 73 Bishop Fox's Chantry and Details 75, 76 South Aisle of Retro-choir 77 Cardinal Beaufort's Chantry 81 The Lady Chapel 85 Details of Lady Chapel 85 Bishop Langton's Chapel and Details 89, 90 Queen Mary's Chair 91 Mortuary Chest in Choir 95 Carving on Choir Stalls 111 Details of Font 117 Winchester College: "School" 119 Winchester College: The Outer Gateway 120 Winchester College: Chantry Chapel 121 Winchester College: Inscription and The Trusty Servant 122, 123 St Cross from the South 124 St Cross from the Quadrangle 125 St Cross: East End from Nave 126 County Hall with Round Table 127 The City Cross 129 Tombstone in Churchyard 131 The West Gate 132 PLANS OF THE CATHEDRAL AND CRYPTS 134, 135

[Illustration: THE DEANERY, WINCHESTER. S.B. Bolas & Co., Photo.]

WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL
CHAPTER I
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL
Unlike many of our cathedral cities, "Royal" Winchester has a secular history of the greatest importance, which not only is almost inextricably interwoven with the ecclesiastical annals down to a comparatively recent date, but should at times occupy the foremost position in the records of the place. To attempt, however, to trace the story of the city as well as that of the cathedral would be to recapitulate the most important facts of the history of England during those centuries when Winchester was its capital town. Its civic importance, indeed, was not dependent upon the cathedral alone, for before the introduction of Christianity into the island Winchester was undoubtedly the principal place in the south of England. The Roman occupation, though it seems a mere incident in its record, lasted over three centuries, about as long as from the reign of Henry VIII. to that of Queen Victoria. Richard Warner (1795) sums up the various names of Winchester when he speaks of "the metropolis of the British Belg?, called by Ptolemy and Antoninus Venta Belgarum; by the Welch or modern Britons, Caer Gwent; and by the old Saxons, Wintancester; by the Latin writers, Wintonia" ("Collections for the History of Hampshire").
Even, therefore, when we read the account of the legendary king of the Britons, Lucius, founding a great church at Winchester in A.D. 164, we do not touch the source of its fame, nor have we discovered the record of the first building devoted to religious worship on the site of the present cathedral. How far certain references to early pagan temples may be trusted does not here concern us; but at Christchurch Priory, some thirty-five miles to the south-west in the same diocese, bones "supposed to be those of sacrificial birds" have been exhumed on the site of its church. There was, however, a relapse into paganism after the first dedication of the Christian building, so that there can be no certainty about the date of such discoveries.
On the authority of Vigilantius' "De Basilica Petri" (i.e. at Wynton or Winchester), quoted by Rudborne in "Anglia Sacra," John of Exeter, and other writers, we have it that a great church was rebuilt from its foundations at Caergwent by Lucius after his conversion in A.D. 164; and that he erected also smaller buildings with an oratory, refectory, and dormitory for the temporary abode of the monks until the monastery itself should be completed. Quotations from another lost author, Moracius, provide us with the dimensions of this edifice, the length being variously given as 209 and 200 passus, the breadth as 80 and 130, while the tower was 92 passus in height. This church, it was said, was dedicated to S. Saviour in November 169, and endowed with property formerly held by the pagan priests. "The site of the monastery to the east of the church was 100 passus in length toward the old temple of Concord and 40 in breadth to the new temple of Apollo. The north position was 160 in length and 98 in breadth. To the west of the church it was 90 in length and 100 in