St Cross Stores

I'm not sure when St Cross stores closed, but I think it must have been a while ago now, the sign still remains.

USS George H.W. Bush

If you look on a map then you know that this cannot be Winchester, but I feel I am allowed artistic licence to stretch our city's boundaries when something interesting is happening nearby and this is our nearest seaside and still Hampshire! Head south east from Winchester for about 20 miles and you will come to Stokes Bay, and right now anchored out there is the USS George H.W. Bush American Aircraft carrier, the world's most powerful warship. The ship carries in excess of 70 aircraft and 5,300 sailors and aircrew, it has 2 nuclear reactors and can operate for over 20 years without refueling if required. It is too large to drop anchor in Portsmouth harbour, hence sitting outside it in Stokes Bay.

The ship has just finished Saxon Warrior one of the biggest exercises in UK waters in recent history along with the Royal Navy, RAF and other NATO forces. Myself & my colleges were involved in the exercise and some of them had a visit onboard the ship yesterday.

The ship is also joined by American destroyer USS Truxtun and a Spanish frigate bringing the total number of sailors ashore to almost 6,000. Apparently in Portsmouth 1000s of extra pints of lager have been shipped into the city with pubs opening early and extra staff being drafted in!

Back Street St Cross

Pretty houses on Back Street in St Cross

Book Sale

Here in the arches of the Cathedral's Deanery undercroft is a constant second hand book sale. Always good for a rummage!

Allotments

I'm not sure if allotments are just a British thing or maybe they have them all round the world? An allotment is a small piece of land, often owned by the local council or another community group that people can lease for gardening, usually for growing food or flowers. These allotments are in the St Cross area of Winchester. They appear to be very popular and there are usually waiting lists to get one.

St Faith's Primary School

What might have been... my first attempt at moving to Winchester began in 2006 when my company was relocating to Hampshire. We found a house to buy in an area of Winchester called St Cross, and enrolled my son at the local primary school and this is it - St Faith's Primary School. It seemed like a lovely little school, with only around 140 pupils aged 4-11. Alas it was not to be, the house purchase fell through and due to it being a company relocation we had almost run out of time and could find nowhere else suitable (or within budget!) in Winchester, so we ended up moving elsewhere and my son never did go to school here! After 4 years of living 'elsewhere' we finally made it back to live in Winchester, but by then he was too old for this school and our new house was the Hyde area of Winchester and not St Cross!

S is for Science School

This is a view of the Science School of Winchester College.  The Department is housed in a neo-Queen Anne building which was built in 1904 and overlooks the playing fields and water meadows. Science wasn't always so well thought of at Winchester, back in 1863, Moberley, the headmaster of Winchester College at the time, said that teaching science was "except for those who have a taste...practically worthless!"

For more 'S' related posts see ABC Wednesday

This far and no further

This is Kingsgate, one of the 2 remaining city gates in Winchester. You cannot drive through this gate, as you can see by the concrete bollard that the car has parked in front of, however last week someone thought they'd give it a try...

(Photo - Hampshire Chronicle)

The driver was arrested and fortunately there was no damage to Kingsgate!

Pasty wars!

In the High Street near the Buttercross there are 2 pasty shops right next to eachother - Pasty Presto and West Cornwall Pasty Co. They both seem to do a good trade. West Cornwall do perhaps have the upper hand as they have outdoor seating!

North Walls

This is the North Walls Recreation Ground, it is my 'scenic route' that I take on the way back home from the supermarket. It has rugby and cricket pitches, tennis courts, kids playground, skatepark, canoe club, leisure centre, lots of green spaces and the River Itchen flows through it.

William Walker pub

The William Walker pub was previously known as the Old Market Inn, being that it is situated on the corner of Market Street where back in the 14th century there used to be a street market. The pub is now named after William Walker the diver who saved Winchester Cathedral from collapsing. You can see clearly from the building when it was built.

New banners

This month the Cathedral has 12 new silk banners adorning the nave. They have been hung to coincide with the Cathedral's exhibition to mark the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible which is running until 3rd October. The exhibition is also highlighting one of the Cathedral's own treasures The Winchester Bible.

Using silk chiffon, the banners are wonderfully delicate, allowing light to pass through and highlight some of the most beautiful aspects of the Winchester Bible, which is known for its intense colours.

Fish Sculpture

Within the Dean Garnier Garden at the Cathedral is this fish sculpture which was created by Charles Normandale and installed in 2006. It depicts fish, the age old symbol for Christ rising from a rock and ascending into heaven.

R is for Rotunda

Winchester has its own university, but there is also a campus of the University of Southampton here in Winchester - The Winchester School of Art. This building which is part of the School of Art, is called The Rotunda. It was built in 1964, originally as the library, but is now used as the graphic art studio. The building stands in a 'moat' which is a tributary of Winchester's river the Itchen.

For more 'R' related posts pop along to ABC Wednesday

Walk this way

On the outside of the cathedral next to the walkway that leads to the Cathedral Close is a Latin inscription carved into the stone. Here is a close up



There are 2 hands pointing in opposite directions, the top one pointing to the Cathedral entrance and the bottom hand to the passageway into the Close. The Latin words are curiously written in the form of a puzzle which you have to read up and down, but they roughly translate as:

"Walk that way if you want to pray, walk this way if you want to go through"

Until the 17th century there was no passageway here into the Close and people used the cathedral as a thoroughfare. During the mid 1600s the passageway known as the Slype was opened up with the Latin inscription as a polite reminder!

Above the eyeline

The building here in the High Street which now houses the shops Cath Kidston and JJB Sports was built in 1806. On this site originally stood The White Hart Inn, dating back to 1417. The innkeeper at the time commissioned the well known architect George Moneypenny to rebuild it. Moneypenny was particularly famous for his prisons, including Winchester goal in Jewry Street (now a pub!). The large window on the first floor also provided an assembly room and was used by the Duke of Wellington when campaigning to become an Member of Parliament gave a speech from the balcony. The White Hart Inn closed in 1857 and its ground floor was divided into 2 shops.

Furry thing

I saw this furry thing in the High Street today. Not exactly sure what it was all about as there was no-one else there with it and it didn't seem to be advertising anything anything at the time - maybe just out for a walk...!

City Church

There are many churches in Winchester, and eventually I'll try to photograph them all. This is the City Church in Jewry Street. I believe that it is a pentecostal type church, their website mentions 'speaking in tongues' as part of their beliefs, which is something that seems very alien to me, but I'm not here to judge! They also have a church rifle and pistol club, which is also quite unusual! The building the church is housed in is called Century House, it was originally a bank and was built around 1925.

High Street

This is the view from the top of the Westgate down the High Street to St Giles Hill in the distance.

Royal Air Force Concert

Not a great photo in itself but I thought I would post it anyway...last night I went along to the Royal Air Force Festival of English Music concert held at the cathedral. It was a great setting with wonderful music from composers such as Elgar, Holst and Vaughan Williams played by Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment. A great evening!

Hidden Houses

Set back from St Thomas Street are these interesting houses behind hedges. These hidden houses were built on the site of the church of St Petroc which fell into decay in the 14th century following the Black Death and was rebuilt in 1428 and re-dedicated to St Thomas the Martyr. This 2nd church was itself demolished in 1845. All that can be seen today of this church is the well-kept churchyard with old tombstones betraying its former use. I don't really believe in ghosts, but I'm not sure I'd want graves right outside my front door..!

Baron Seaton

At the entrance to Peninsula Square is this statue of Baron Seaton. I hadn't heard of him before, but a quick google lead me to discover what an amazing life he must have had...

He was born in Hampshire, and educated at Winchester College. He joined the military and served in Egypt (1801) and Sicily (1806), participated (1808–14) in the Peninsular War, and helped to defeat Napoleon at Waterloo. He was appointed lieutenant governor of Guernsey (1825) and lieutenant governor of Upper Canada (1828). In 1835 he was made commander in chief of Canadian forces, governor in chief of British North America in 1839, the year he was made a baron. After he left Canada he served as lord high commissioner of the Ionian Islands (1843–49) and commanded the forces in Ireland (1855–60). He was made a field marshal in 1860 and was appointed honorary colonel of the Rifle Brigade (95th) in February 1862 (the Peninsula Barracks here in Winchester becoming the home of the Rifle Brigade in 1858.) Quite a life he must have lead with so many experiences..

Abbey House

Abbey House is the Mayor's house in Winchester. There are just five cities in the country having official residences for their Mayors and Winchester is one of them. Abbey House was built around 1700 and stands on the site of a monastic establishment known as Nunnaminster and later as St. Mary's Abbey, which was founded around AD900 by Alfred's Queen Ealhswith. 

Abbey House was originally a private house, which changed hands several times.  In 1889, the City Council bought the property and gardens "for public purposes". Since that time, the grounds have been open to the public and the house made available to the incumbent Mayor.

Brasserie Blanc

This is one of my favourite restaurants in Winchester and always seems to be popular, particularly at lunchtimes. The 'Blanc' refers to celebrity chef Raymond Blanc - not sure if he actually owns these restaurants or whether they are just using his name these days. Brassiere Blanc is a bit of a chain now, but don't let that put you off, I have always had a good meal here. The menu changes quite regularly, trying to use seasonal produce and it has a very nice atmosphere inside.

Winchester Library

We have a great library here in Winchester in Jewry Street. It's actually called the "Winchester Discovery Centre" and as well as all the usual books it has 2 areas for exhibitions, a small auditorium, a cafe and many clubs and groups meeting here. This building, built in 1838, was originally the Corn Exchange where grain was bought and sold. In the early 1900s it went into decline and was used at various times as a dining hall, roller skating rink, sports hall, theatre and cinema. In 1936 the City Council, owners of the building since 1913, moved the Public Library here from the Guildhall extension, where it remains to the present day.

Hampshire Hog

Due to Hampshire's long association with pigs and boars, natives of the county have been given the nickname of Hampshire hogs since the 18th century. This particular Hog is outside of the Hampshire County Council offices which are situated here in Winchester.

Holy hole

Within the Cathedral is a small hole in the retrochoir leading into a tiny passage to nowhere. Its purpose is something of a mystery, however, it is believed to have been a recess through which pilgrims to St. Swithun's Shrine could crawl in order to get as close as possible to the great saint whose shrine for most of its lifetime was set above.

P is for Phone Box

You don't see so many of these old style phone boxes - doesn't everyone have a mobile phone now? This one is pre 1939 designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and was given listed building status in 1987. However its elevation to this great height has not stopped its current condition, a pane of glass missing and something sprayed on the other windows (which seems to be a bit of a theme in Winchester - vandals like their privacy!) An interesting link between the designer of these telephone boxes is that his grandfather Sir George Gilbert Scott was the man who restored The Buttercross in Winchester.

For more 'P' related posts see ABC Wednesday

Pilgrim's School

The Pilgrim's School is a boarding and day school for boys aged 4-13. It is home to two professional choirs, the Winchester Cathedral Choristers and the Quiristers of the Winchester College chapel choir. The School moved to the present site in 1931. The main building, redesigned by Sir Christopher Wren in the 17th Century, is on the site of a former Roman villa, and includes a medieval hall and barn.

As the main feeder to Winchester College, up to half of the boys in the top year move from Pilgrim's School to Winchester College each year. 

Memorial

Within the cathedral there a numerous memorials. This one is for Frederic Iremonger who was prebendary of the cathedral and died in 1820. A prebendary is a type of canon or cleric who has a role in the administration of the cathedral.

Post Box

May's theme photo at City Daily Photo is 'mailboxes' - I have already posted on the most interesting post box in Winchester not so long ago, so I thought I'd choose a different one. This a Wallbox style post box, it differs from a pillar box as it is not free standing. It bears the initials of the monarch at the time King George.

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