Forget Stratford-upon-Avon, go and visit Winchester

Every year, many more tourists visit Stratford-upon-Avon than Winchester. Why this should be so can only be down to marketing. Winchester has much more to offer the visitor.

There is no denying the charms of Stratford-upon-Avon. It is a beautiful city, nestled in the countryside of central England. However, England is blessed with many beautiful old towns and cities. The main reason the busloads of tourists descend on the city is because of the life and work of one man; William Shakespeare. And, there is no doubt about his importance in history and the great gifts of his writings. But apart from the country house of his birth and the country house of his wife, Ann Hathaway, there is very little left for the visitor to see other than the RSC Theatre: the vast majority of visitors never go inside, let alone see a Shakespeare Plays.

In the south of England lies another beautiful town; one that has much more history for the visitor to explore. The city is Winchester. It is actually a city, but its size and the compactness of its center give it the feeling of just being a country town.

Winchester Cathedral is without a doubt the most beautiful in England. Its environment is sublime, surrounded by parks. The current plan for the cathedral was laid out in 1079 AD by Walkelin, the first Norman bishop. The cathedral has witnessed the coronations, marriages and burials of many English kings and queens. The cathedral saw the coronations of Edward the Confessor (1043), Matilda of Flanders as Queen Consort (1068), Henry the Young King and his Queen Margaret (1172) and the second coronation of Richard I of England (1194), as well as such as the marriages of Edward the Confessor and Edith (1045), King Henry IV and Juana de Navarra (1403) and finally Queen María I and King Felipe II of Spain (1554). King William II (son of William the Conqueror) is buried in the cathedral.

Winchester has had many famous residents, but surely the most famous of all was that of King Alfred the Great. It was this Anglo-Saxon king who resisted and ultimately defeated the Vikings and saved the south from their pagan rule. He made Winchester his capital of England. He married, lived and died in the city. He too was much more than a military genius; he was a codifier of the law, a promoter of education and a supporter of the arts. He himself was a scholar and translated Latin books into the Anglo-Saxon language. He is the only English king to have been given the epitaph, “the Great”.

Winchester had many other famous residents and visitors. Saint Swithin was Bishop of Winchester and was tutor to King Alfred the Great. Most of us have heard of the legend “that if it rains on Saint Swithin’s Day (July 15), then it will rain for forty days.” Legend has it that as he lay on his deathbed, he asked to be buried in the open, where he would be trampled and rained on. For nine years, his wishes were fulfilled, but then the Winchester monks tried to move his remains to a splendid sanctuary inside the cathedral on July 15, 971. According to legend, there was a strong storm during the ceremony or on its anniversary. . .
Keats and Trollope were just two of the many writers who visited Winchester and based their works on the places and people they met while there. But perhaps the most famous writer to have lived (and died) in Winchester is Jane Austen. She was buried inside the cathedral. Today there is a black plaque on the wall of the house in which she died; the house is a private residence.

Winchester has a rich history. Today, many Roman artifacts from Roman times are unearthed; Winchester is an important Roman city. Its past is clearly visible to the visitor today in its buildings. Within a five-minute walk you can see beautifully preserved buildings, from Anglo-Saxon to Medieval, Georgian and Victorian. But Winchester is not a museum piece. The old buildings are still lived in and traded. The city is a vibrant place that many people have discovered and some are lucky enough to call home.