The black marble font is an interesting relic of eleventh-century skill.
The sides are composed of scenes taken from the life of St. Nicholas.
The Cathedral, situated in an open space near the centre of the city
towards the south-east, is a marvellous combination of beauty and
dignity, surpassed, if at all, by few. It is the central feature of
Winchester, and will always command the greatest admiration. One of
England's great public schools is that founded by William of Wykeham and
built between 1387 and 1393. The foundation originally consisted of a
warden, ten fellows, three chaplains, seventy scholars, and sixteen
choristers. The prelate had previously established a school here in
1373. Thus the oldest of England's great schools was called "Seinte
Marie College of Wynchester," the charter of which was dated October
1382. The ancient statutes were revived in 1855, and were still further
influenced by the Public Schools Act of 1868. The establishment has a
fine chapel, hall, cloister, and other necessary buildings, all in
excellent preservation. Another interesting structure is that afforded
by the hospital of St. Cross, founded in 1136 by Henry de Blois, Bishop
of Winchester. It lies about a mile out of town. Its general plan can
be readily seen by a glance at Mr. Collins' drawing. Henry de Blois
intended it to provide board and lodging for thirteen poor men, and a
daily dinner for one hundred others. It was mostly rebuilt by Cardinal
Beaufort between 1405 and 1447. The whole has undergone much
restoration, which was not entirely happy, though it has certainly kept
the buildings in a good state of preservation. On the precincts is also
the very stately cruciform chapel, dating roughly from the year 1180.
The city of Winchester was at one time proverbial for its splendour,
which was owing to the many kings that preferred to reside within its
walls than elsewhere.
Mainly owing to its central position on the high roads in the south of
England, Winchester was from early times a town of great importance.
This Hampshire city is first ascribed to the Celtic Britons, who settled
here in 392 B. c., having emigrated from the coasts of Armorica in Gaul.
They remained in undisturbed possession till within a century prior to
the Christian era, when they were expelled by the Belgae, who advanced
from their settlements on the southern coasts into the interior. Soon
after it had become the capital of the Belgae, the settlement passed into
Roman occupation. The Coer Gwent (White City) of the Britons became
the Venta Belgarum of the Romans. The Roman word Venta eventually became
transformed to "Winte," "Winte-ceaster," from which was derived
Winchester. Under Cedric, about 520 A.D., it became the capital of the
West Saxons, and of England in 827 by Egbert. He had obtained the
sovereignty of all the other kingdoms of the Octarchy, and was crowned
sole monarch in the Cathedral of Winchester. On this occasion the
monarch published an edict commanding all his subjects throughout his
dominions to be called English. The union of the kingdoms gave that
importance to Winchester which it had never had previously, and the fact
of being not only the capital of Wessex, but the metropolis of England,
caused it to leap into great prominence. This state, however, suffered a
severe check when London, in the reign of William the Conqueror, began
to rival it, and was brought almost to the verge of ruin through the
dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. However, at different
periods, Winchester received much unwelcome discomfiture. It was seized
by the Danes in 871; whilst in 1013 it was ravaged by Sweyn on his path
of vengeance. In 1100 the body of William Rufus was solemnly interred in
the Cathedral. During the parliamentary war the city was taken and
retaken by Cromwell, and the castle dismantled. Here it was that Charles
I. commissioned Wren to build a palace in 1683, which was only begun.
Previous to this the plague of 1666 greatly reduced the number of
inhabitants, and it was possibly to help the city recover itself that
Charles thought of building a palace.
[Illustration: WINCHESTER