Winchester
Winchester Cathedral
n 1070 Stigand, the Saxon bishop, was replaced by Walkelin a Norman. The existing building was demolished to make way for a new Cathedral. The importance of area on which the Cathedral is built went back a long way. In 635 Cynegils, the king of West Saxon was baptised as part of Christianity coming to Saxon England. In 899, Alfred the Great was buried in the Old Minster (one of the earlier buildings) and then moved to the New Minster that was built to the north of it. The Saxon church remained standing until the Norman Cathedral was completed by Easter of 1093. Much of the Cathedral built by Walkelin has been altered over the years. The central tower collapsed in 1107, blamed on the fact that William Rufus had been buried beneath it seven years earlier, and it was completely rebuilt. The legend of St. Swithun could be based on the fact that as his body was moved from the site in the Old Minster to a more splendid position, a violent storm occurred. Whether it did rain for 40 days is not known. Winchester is the longest cathedral in Europe with a length of 556 feet. The main work on the cathedral was performed by two bishops, William of Wykeham (1367-1404) and Henry Beaufort, Cardinal-Bishop of Winchester (1405-47). William Wynford was the main architect under Wykeham.
Timeline
At the bidding of St. Dunstan and as part of the reform of monastic like in England, Benedictine monks moved from the Abbey of Abingdon to Winchester. Work began on a new Saxon church on the site.
Edward the Confessor was crowned at Winchester on Easter day.
Queen Emma died at Winchester. [1]
Construction of a wooden castle was begun at Winchester.
William the Conqueror placed Lanfranc in the position of Archbishop of Canterbury a move designed to strengthen his hold on the English throne. Thomas of Bayeux, a pupil of William's brother Odo, was put in the position of Archbishop of York after the death of Ealred who died on September 11th, 1069. Archbishop Stigand was imprisoned in Winchester.
Lanfranc held a Church council at Winchester where the reorganisation of Bishops and Bishoprics was confirmed. Canterbury was also confirmed as the head of the English Church rather than York.
Construction work began on the crypt and transepts of Winchester Cathedral. This continued until 1093. [2]
William Rufus was buried under the tower of Winchester Cathedral. The tower fell down either in 1101 or 1107. The cause was blamed on the wickedness of the King's bones but was probably due to poor construction or uncertain foundations.
Construction work began on the tower of Winchester Cathedral and building continued until 1120. [2]
The castle was destroyed during the civil war.
After King Stephen had been captured at Lincoln, Matilda was elected as Queen of England at Winchester. Her new position as ruler of England was not to last for long
Matilda's forces were besieging a royalist held castle at Wolvesey near Winchester and were attacked and defeated by a royalist relief army. King Stephen who was being held captive at the time was exchanged for Robert, earl of Gloucester one of Matilda's supporters who was captured in the defeat.
Although the English Channel was stormy, Henry needed to get to England as it had been without a King since the end of October. His ship landed somewhere near Southampton and he went straight to Winchester where he received the Royal treasures and the homage of the English barons. [3]
The Crown Wearing. Richard took part in a precession to Winchester Cathedral. The king wore a golden crown and was followed by notables from the Church and State. The previous Crown Wearing was in 1158. [4]
Construction work began on the retrochoir, the area to the east of the presbytery, and the Lady Chapel of Winchester Cathedral. Work continued until 1235. [2]
When King John agreed to meet Stephen Langton at Winchester he was absolved from excommunication. [5]
Simon's son was sent to London to raise money and troops. He diverted back through Winchester which was loyal to the king and then moved through Oxford and Northampton. Edward (I) moved from Worcester to Bridgnorth destroying bridges and means of allowing Simon who was on the Welsh side of the Avon from crossing back. The people of Bristol, friendly to Simon's cause sent ships to Newport to help Simon cross, but they were intercepted and destroyed by Edward. [6]
The Statute of Staples. A law that fixed 15 towns as staple towns. A staple town was a town that was restricted in what it could sell to foreign merchants. The towns were Bristol, Canterbury, Carmarthen, Chichester, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Exeter, Lincoln, London, Newcastle, Norwich, Waterford, Winchester and York.
Work began on the West Front of Winchester Cathedral. Extra work was carried out on the North and South aisles [2]
William of Wykeham founded Winchester College so that prayers could be said for his soul for all time. It also provided training for boys that were to enter his other college, New College Oxford. [7]
Work began on converting the Norman front and nave of Winchester Cathedral to the Perpendicular style by the Bishop of Winchester, William of Wykeham.
Work was carried out on the Lady Chapel of Winchester Cathedral. [2]
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