As this is our last day in Crowthorne for a couple of months, we decided to go to Winchester Cathedral (how many of you are singing the song now?) with Jean. Chris had to work and so Ron drove the Rover - our first real trek in it! Luckily, Chris has lent us his Tom-Tom so we had no difficulty finding our way and Ron was very pleased with the car.
The journey took us about forty minutes and we found Winchester to be a lovely town - some nice Tudor buildings (we're becoming used to these), with a magnificent statue of King Alfred (spelt Aelfred on the plaque)at the top of the main street.
We managed to park very close to the Cathedral itself, well within walking distance. The original Saxon church (Old Minster) was built by King Cenwalh in 648AD and Winchester became the capital of England around 828AD. In 1079 building started on the Norman Cathedral, which was consecrated in 1093. The nave was remodelled by Bishop William of Wykeham (who also founded Winchester College) but the transepts are still in the original Norman stone. The quire is the oldest of the great medieval quires in England to survive substantially unaltered and it was interesting to see the beautiful carvings, including lots of Green Men - pagan symbols actually but which can be found in many old churches and cathedrals.
Sadly, Oliver Cromwell's troops destroyed many of the beautiful stained glass windows during the Civil War and, prior to that, Henry VIII had removed many of the statues during the Reformation. The West Window has been rebuilt using pieces of shattered stained glass from around the Cathedral and the effect is very modern looking. The great screen is awesome and soars up behind the altar.
There has always been a problem with water under the Cathedral and it got so bad at the beginning of the last century that it was thought the building would collapse. However, a diver, William Walker, went down into the deep water under the Cathedral and, by himself over a period of 5 years, underpinned the foundations by emptying bags of cement which hardened and ensured the building stayed intact.
Jane Austen is buried in the Cathedral, although her memorial stone doesn't mention the fact that she was a famous authoress! The Cathedral is also home to a late 12th century illuminated Bible - a real treasure and I (Sandra) bought a lovely enamel brooch depicting the initial from the opening of The Song of Songs in this Bible. The Bible was worked on for at least 20 years by scribes and illustrators, using calf-skin, gold and pigments from such things as lapis lazuli and the colours seem as vibrant today as they must have been all those years ago! Izaak Walton (author of The Compleat Angler)and who was Steward of the Bishop of Winchester 1662-1684) is also commemorated in the Cathedral. Mary Tudor (Henry VIII's daughter by Katherine of Aragon) was married to Phillip of Spain in the Cathedral, in 1554 and the chair she is reputed to have sat on during the service, is on show.
Tomorrow we head up north to stay with my brother Allan and Dot, in St Helens (near Liverpool). As they don't have a computer, we may not be able to update the journal very often but will catch up when we can.
