Headed across to Winchester (another cathedral city) on the edge of the South Downs. Unbeknownst to us at the time, Winchester was once the capital of England. King Alfred the Great restored it after the Dark Ages and made it the ancient capital. The most exciting thing about this place though was that it is home to the legendary Arthurian Round Table.
William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle here in 1067 after the Battle of Hastings. All that remains standing is The Great Hall which is still in tact. We wandered around the ruins of The Castle Winchester and then entered the Great Hall. The hall was built by William´s great-great-great-grandson Henry III. This means that Richard the Lionheart probably walked around the same hall we were standing in. I didn´t even know that the Round Table actually existed but there it was hanging on one of the walls. The table weighs 1200kg and probably only served as a functional table for about 100 years. It apparently has been hanging since 1348 and was only painted during the reign of Henry VIII which is why it has the tudor rose in its centre. The names of 24 of the Knights of the Round Table are written around the edge.
We then headed over to the Winchester Cathedral (over 900 years old) and poked our head in. Jane Ausitn is buried under a paver in there. Lunch was next on the agenda at another old English pub with a resident ghost we did not see (seems to be a common occurence). I tried some Yorkshire Pudding which is a bit like fluffy damper for want of a better description. Following lunch we headed past one of the most photographed scenes in Winchester – Cheyney Court. This former bishop´s house did not disappoint. I wish I could have gone in. Jane Austin´s house (it was only her house for the last six weeks of her life before she ended up underneath the Cathedral floor) was just around the corner so we wandered over there for some more snaps. Finally we meandered through the ruins of Wolvesey Castle – a medieval bishop´s palace. This palace was the scene of Philip II of Spain and Mary tudor´s wedding feast in 1554. The scale of the ruins reflected the immence wealth the church had. These bishops really did live like kings. In fact the present day bishop must be doing all right as his house was next door and looked palacial as well. Our manse was the size of his garage.
So, that was how we spent our last full day in Great Britain. It was really enjoyable and the highlight of our time in England. We are glad we spent time exploring the countryside with Elissa and Bapi. We also thoroughly enjoyed staying at their house, eating vegetables, drinking good wine and having a nice room all to ourselves – things we are going to be doing without for a while. It will be sad to go.
William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle here in 1067 after the Battle of Hastings. All that remains standing is The Great Hall which is still in tact. We wandered around the ruins of The Castle Winchester and then entered the Great Hall. The hall was built by William´s great-great-great-grandson Henry III. This means that Richard the Lionheart probably walked around the same hall we were standing in. I didn´t even know that the Round Table actually existed but there it was hanging on one of the walls. The table weighs 1200kg and probably only served as a functional table for about 100 years. It apparently has been hanging since 1348 and was only painted during the reign of Henry VIII which is why it has the tudor rose in its centre. The names of 24 of the Knights of the Round Table are written around the edge.
We then headed over to the Winchester Cathedral (over 900 years old) and poked our head in. Jane Ausitn is buried under a paver in there. Lunch was next on the agenda at another old English pub with a resident ghost we did not see (seems to be a common occurence). I tried some Yorkshire Pudding which is a bit like fluffy damper for want of a better description. Following lunch we headed past one of the most photographed scenes in Winchester – Cheyney Court. This former bishop´s house did not disappoint. I wish I could have gone in. Jane Austin´s house (it was only her house for the last six weeks of her life before she ended up underneath the Cathedral floor) was just around the corner so we wandered over there for some more snaps. Finally we meandered through the ruins of Wolvesey Castle – a medieval bishop´s palace. This palace was the scene of Philip II of Spain and Mary tudor´s wedding feast in 1554. The scale of the ruins reflected the immence wealth the church had. These bishops really did live like kings. In fact the present day bishop must be doing all right as his house was next door and looked palacial as well. Our manse was the size of his garage.
So, that was how we spent our last full day in Great Britain. It was really enjoyable and the highlight of our time in England. We are glad we spent time exploring the countryside with Elissa and Bapi. We also thoroughly enjoyed staying at their house, eating vegetables, drinking good wine and having a nice room all to ourselves – things we are going to be doing without for a while. It will be sad to go.
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