The Wykeham Arms

The Wykeham Arms is probably the most well known pub in Winchester. It's a 18th century coaching inn, situated between the Cathedral and the College and is named after William of Wykeham, the 14th century Bishop who founded the Winchester College. It is popular with both locals and tourists alike and has a very strong affinity with the College having some of its old desks complete with inkwells as tables. The pub serves food and offers Bed & Breakfast. I like the place, but it can get very crowded at times, which I guess is sign of its popularity.

Winchester Royal Hotel

The Winchester Royal Hotel in St Peter's Street was built in the reign of King Charles II and is the oldest surviving hotel in the city.

St Peter's Street has been the centre of Roman Catholic life in Winchester for many years. Lady West's House, as the Royal Hotel was known in the mid sixteenth century, was a refuge for hunted priests and Mass was said there in a secret chapel. Lady West's name appeared on a list of Recusants, these were people who refused to attend services in the established Church. They incurred huge fines or imprisonment. To be a recusant was risky enough but to provide a meeting place for Catholics and to shelter priests were very dangerous acts at the time. 5 priests who had been at Lady West’s were executed, and are known as the Winchester Martyrs, they appear in stained glass windows in St Peter's Church.

In 1794 the building was sold to the Catholic London District and became a convent for refugee English Benedictine nuns and in 1858 it was converted into a hotel.

St John's Croft

I saw this house on a walk up to St Giles Hill and thought it looked lovely, so I came back to see if I could find any information on it. The house is called St John's Croft and is actually a Bed and Breakfast establishment. It's a Grade II listed Queen Anne town house built around 1770.

There is some controversy around this house when an adjacent meadow belonging to the property was sold off for development of 14 houses. Local residents waged a campaign against this over-development and the saga rolled on from 2007 until November 2010. The local resident's group eventually realised that it was inevitable houses would be built there, but managed to get the number reduced to just six. The building of the new houses hasn't started yet so if you hurry you might be able to catch a glimpse of the last meadow in Winchester before it is lost forever. Or if you fancy putting a bid in for one of the new houses click here!

Hotel du Vin

I'm sure a number of people will be seeing the New Year in here at The Hotel Du Vin

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Happy New Year to all those reading! Thanks to everyone who has left kind comments since I started this blog. I hope 2011 is a great year for all.

Mercure Hotel

The Mercure Wessex Hotel in Winchester is not the most architecturally pleasing building....

but what it lacks in beauty it makes up for in the great views of the Cathedral that it offers to its guests