Winchester Cathedral

I’ve wanted to visit Winchester Cathedral for a while now due to the Jane Austen connection (she is buried here) but until I arrived I had no idea how large and full of interesting tombs, artefacts and museums it would prove to be.

The Cathedral opens at 9am and I got there just before 10am. I’d bought my ticket online in advance and as it wasn’t very busy I was able to walk straight in and saw that a tour, included as part of your entrance fee, was about to start and decided to join. Lasting for around an hour I was glad I did as the tour guide gave a very good overview of the whole building.

I won’t go through everything we saw on the tour, just pick out some of my personal highlights, starting with Jane Austen’s gravestone. Jane became ill at Chawton in 1816 and gradually deteriorated – no one can say for certain what her cause of death was though Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer, is the most often referenced. She was moved to a house in Winchester to seek treatment but died there on 18 July 1817 at the age of 41. As was tradition at the time, only the male members of her family attended the funeral.

The Epiphany Chapel, which is reserved for private prayer so be mindful if someone is in there, contains some lovely pre-Raphaelite stained glass based on deigns by Edward Burne-Jones. As there were people in the chapel during my visit I had to take these photos from outside the room.

Nearby in the Holy Sepulchre Chapel you’ll find these wall paintings dating from 1170 and said to be the finest in the country from that time period. They are in part so well preserved because a new painting was placed over the old one in the 13th century and only removed and placed on the west wall of the chapel in the 1960s.

Among the many beautifully carved statues around the cathedral make sure to take a close look at the Great Screen depicting the Company of Heaven around the Crucifixion. Installed between 1885 and 1891 if you look to the right you’ll find that Queen Victoria was added to one of the slots.

Further along from here is the quire, dating from around 1308 comprising of intricate wood carvings including a delightful falconer…

…and several dragons.

Other statues to look out for are those surrounding the chapel to Richard Fox, a bishop of Winchester who founded Corpus Christi College, Oxford. One of his personal motifs was the pelican, though it’s not the most accurate rendition!

Another unusual statue is that of William Walker. The Cathedral’s east end was built on soft ground and by the 1900s cracks were beginning to appear in the walls. Because of the high water table the foundations were flooded and so to fix the problem Walker, a deep sea diver, went down daily for the next 6 years (!) to dig out the rotting foundations and lay concrete down. This work saved the cathedral from destruction. Sadly he would die only a few years later in the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918.

Walker’s helmet is also on display in the Kings & Scribes exhibition space.

While admiring the statues and the ceilings…

…also pay attention to the flooring, primarily the ones here that look faded. These are the original medieval tiles from the 13th century. Our guide thought it was a shame that they aren’t more protected and sealed off, but I quite like the idea of walking across a floor that has been there for over 700 years. Modern replicas were added in 1969 and 1993-1996.

The permanent exhibition Kings & Scribes, large parts of which do not allow photography, includes the beautifully illustrated Winchester Bibles which date from the 12th century, the Morley Library which was created in 1684 and the replica skeleton of Queen Emma, wife of Æthelred the Unready and King Cnut. From up here you do get some great views of the cathedral.

Other things to look out for are temporary art exhibitions, many monuments including to St Swithun the patron saint of the cathedral, a display of silver artefacts, and an Antony Gormley statue in the crypt.

The Practicalities:

My ticket cost £13.90 online (it’s £14.90 if you buy in person on the day). The ticket gives you 12 months of access to the cathedral. As well as the general free tour which I did they hold tours on other interests throughout the year and there is also a tower tour available – check the website for details.

Directly in front of the cathedral to the left as you leave is a well stocked shop and just past that is a very nice cafe where I had an excellent lunch.

Opening times are Monday – Saturday 9-5, Sunday 12.30-3. Exhibitions are generally open from 10.30.

Well behaved dogs are allowed inside. There is a lift available for the exhibition spaces.