Wolvesey Castle, Winchester

Travelling back to Winchester from Chawton I did a quick search of things to do that would still be open late afternoon. The most obvious place seemed to be the English Heritage site Wolvesey Castle which could be accessed following a pleasant 10 minute walk along the River Itchen which is where I got off the bus.

The site is the ruins of the medieval palace where the Bishops of Winchester lived. You can see on the left as you walk down the path to the entrnace the house built in the 1680s which is still the private house of the current Bishop of Winchester.

There are information panels scattered about to give you an idea of each section’s purpose but otherwise you just wander about as you please. There is an audio tour available on the English Heritage website, but I only found about that after my visit.

Built around 1110, added to in 1135, fortified in 1311, badly damaged during the Civil War of 1646 it was finally abandoned in the 1680s.

The palace mainly owed its creation to Bishop Henry of Blois who became bishop of Winchester in 1129. He was a grandson of William the Conqueror and brother to King Stephen. By this time the Diocese of Winchester was one of the richest in the country so could afford to spend exorbintantly on property.

It was a nice place to wander, particularly in the sunshine, and there were only a couple of other people there during my visit. Although an English Heritage property it is free to visit for all so you can just walk straight in. It’s open 10-5pm 1st April to 30th September and 10-4pm 10th October to 31st March. Do note you are asked not to scramble over the stones but keep to the paths.