Guildhall

The Guildhall underwent a £3.2m refurb last year and Winchester City Council is now looking to try to boost business at the Guildhall and maybe re-coup some of the money by marketing it for more conferences and functions.

King Alfred

The back of our King Alfred statue with the tower of the Guildhall to the left and a lovely blue sky from yesterday morning.

Hat Fair

More from the Hat Fair which took place over the weekend. This is the Southampton University Folk Band playing outside the Guildhall.

*** I am away for a few days so have scheduled these posts - sorry if I don't respond to any comments straightaway - for my nearest location please see http://whatisbelgium.blogspot.com/ ***

How far?

On the wall of the Guildhall are the distances from Winchester to a number of cities. Many people commute by train from Winchester to London and for 1 and a half years I commuted myself before my job moved down this way - 135 miles round trip by car each day! I now work closer to Southampton which you can see is a civilised 12 miles away. Both Southampton and Portsmouth are port cities, Southampton being more for container ships and cruise liners whereas Portsmouth is the Navy (for now..) and a few ferries, both cities were damaged quite extensively during WW2 although there are a few old buildings still remaining. Salisbury in Wiltshire is another beautiful cathedral city, not too dissimilar from Winchester.

M is for Mayor

The Guildhall has recently been refurbished and had an open day to let members of the public see it all. Here is the Mayor's Parlour, an oak panelled room with photos of some of the Mayor's of Winchester. It's now hired out for meetings, weddings etc.

Winchester's current Mayor is Councillor Richard Izard. He is the 811th Mayor of Winchester, the Office of Mayor of Winchester being one of the oldest mayoralties in England, dating back to the period when the City was the national capital. By tradition, the Mayor of Winchester stands second only to the Lord Mayor of London in precedence of civic heads.

For more M Themed posts see abc wednesday

Guildhall Tavern

In 1894 a pub called The Guildhall Tavern was built in Colebrook Street just around the corner from the Guildhall. The building has a red brick and flint front which is seen in many buildings in and around Winchester. When the library moved to Jewry Street in 1936 the pub was enlarged into the vacated space and the entrance was moved to the Broadway where it still is today. In more recent years The Guildhall Tavern often had live bands, but it closed around 2008/9 and is now a Pitcher and Piano restaurant.

Geographical & Meteorological

Outside the Guildhall set into the wall is this assemblage of geographical data and meteorological instruments. Here we learn that Winchester is 127 feet above sea level, 5104N 119W and that real noon is 5 minutes and 16 seconds after than at Greenwich. There was a time when different parts of Britain had different time zones, but with the arrival of the railways this became too confusing for timetabling and led to a uniform 'railway time' across the country. By 1880 Greenwich Meantime was legally adopted throughout Britain. Yesterday we moved 1 hour forward to British Summer Time.

Nunnaminster

The Nunnaminster, later known as St Mary's Abbey, was founded by Queen Ealhswith, Alfred the Great's wife, in 903 as a Nunnery, and it became one of the foremost centres of learning and art in England. By the 16th century it was one of the largest religious houses in England with 102 people living there including 26 Nuns, officials, servants and children of lords and gentlemen who were there to be educated.

In November 1539 the Abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries and most of the monastic buildings were demolished. The site was cleared for the City's Guildhall in 1873. Archaeological excavations were carried out in the 1980s and here we can see stone coffins which were discovered.

US Army

In the Mayor's Parlour at the Guildhall is this bell which the plaque says was presented to the City Of Winchester by the men of the 9th infantry division United States army as a token of their appreciation for the most cordial hospitality extended to them during World War II.

The 9th Infantry Division was among the first U.S. combat units to engage in offensive ground operations during World War II. During the winter and into the spring of 1944 the 9th were stationed at Winchester's Peninsula Barracks preparing for the invasion. General Eisenhower and Churchill visited and addressed troops at the barracks before the invasion:

(Photo - Royal Green Jackets Museum)

On 3 June the Division began moving by motor and rail from Winchester to marshalling areas in the vicinity of Southampton and Weymouth, in preparation for the D Day landings in Normandy. They landed at Utah Beach on 10 June 1944.

Town Clock

This clock was presented to the city after a royal visit by Queen Anne in 1713. Yesterday's post focused on Queen Anne's statue next to it. The building the clock it is attached to was the Guildhall at the time, but it is now a bank and the current Guildhall can be seen here. The clock was taken down to be refurbished last year and was only but back up in December.

The Guildhall by night

Winchester Guildhall is built on the site of a nunnery founded by Ealswith, the wife of King Alfred the Great. The nunnery was eventually dissolved by Henry VIII and the land came into the city's hands to help pay for hosting the wedding of Mary Tudor and Philip of Spain in Winchester Cathedral in 1554.

The Victorian Gothic Guildhall as it is today was built in 1871 and opened in 1873. It houses Winchester's Tourist Information Centre is also used as a wedding and conference venue.