Doctors

Opposite the Friarsgate multi storey car park is the St Clements Doctors practice, it's not beautiful but is useful. This area is due for redevelopment at some point.

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

Eagle

Within the choir of the cathedral is a wooden eagle lectern dating from the 17th century.

Westgate

I already have a post of the Westgate, but from the other side. This photo is looking down towards the High Street.

A close up shows that you can see almost all the High Street through the arch, the Horse & Rider Statue, The Town Clock, the green coloured roof of the Guildhall and St Giles Hill in the background. The Westgate is now a museum and due to recent cuts the council were planning to close it entirely, fortunately they have agreed to now open it on weekends.

Francis

In the Cathedral there are numerous memorials in the walls and floors to various people connected to Winchester. I am not into fishing myself but here is a memorial to angler Francis Francis who died in 1886. He was angling editor to The Field, and his most famous work was "A Book on Angling" published 1867. He also played an important part in introducing English trout to the rivers of Tasmania and New Zealand. He apparently used to regularly frequent the Royal Winchester Hotel with other fly fishers of the River Itchen.

A Sum of £67 2s 6d was raised in 1887 by his close angling friends and a memorial plaque was erected in the Cathedral where it remains in place to remind the fishing fraternity of his contribution to their sport.

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.

Chess

Within the cathedral there there are a number of carvings, monuments and memorials. This one of the chap with his chess board particularly caught my eye. My son was once chess champion of his school, the chess tournament went on so long that they eventually ran out of time and so decided the result of the game by rock-paper-scissors!