A church is said to have been built at Winchester in the year 169; to have been destroyed in 266, restored in 293, and converted into " a temple of Dagon" (by whom we are to understand'Wodin) by the Saxons under Cerdie in 495. In 635, the polluted church was pulled down, and a new one commenced, under the superintendence of Birinus, the first apostle of Wessex; and king Kynegils granted the whole of the laud for the space of 7 m. round the city for the support of the episcopal seat and the re-estab lished monks. From the year 674, the succession of bishops of Winchester, of which the celebrated St. Swithin (see Swernix, Sr.) was one, continues unbroken. Of Birinus's cathedral, however, in which most of the Saxon kings of Wessex (see BEI-ration() were interred, and on the altar of which, according to tradition, king Canute hung up his crown after the well-known scene on the sea-shore, no portion remains, and a new cathedral—the present one—was built "from the foundations" by Bishop Walkelin and after its completion. and the removal into it of the precious relics of Birinius's cathedral, that old edifice was pulled down, William of Wykeham was bishop of Winchester from 1367 to 1404. and has more closely than any other bishop associated his name with his episcopal city and its cathedral. He greatly enlarged and beautified the building, and he began the remarkable transformation of the nave from Norman to perpendicular. The cathedral is 520 ft. long, longer than any other English cathedral, with the exception of those of Ely (560 ft.), and Canterbury (525 ft.). Its breadth at the transepts is 208 ft.. the length of its nave is 351 ft.. its height 86 ft., and a low central Norman tower lo0 ft. high. The exterior is somewhat disappointing, owing to its unusual want of decoration, and to the lowness of the tower; but the interior is magnificent, am: contains many objects of the highest. interest—as the tomb
of William Rufus; bronze figures of Charles 1, and James I.; mortuary chests which contained the ashes of a number of west Saxon kings and bishops, but which were rifled during the civil war; the golden shrine of St. Swithin, with some excellent specimens of sculpture, both ancient and recent; the tomb of Edmund, the son of king Alfred, and the tomb of !mak Walton. The various architectural styles to be noted in the dral are: Early Norman in the crypt and transepts; early English in the eastern aisles and chapels behind the presbytery; decorated in the piers and arches of the presbytery; and perpendicular in the nave, which, for beauty and grandeur, is only rivaled by York. After the cathedral, there are some churches of interest in the transition Norman and perpendicular styles; and there are many other buildings of a religious and educational kind. The industries of Winchester are unimportant. Pop. of municipal and parlia mentary borough, '71, 16,366, represented by two members.
Winchester, the Roman Yenta Belgaruni, was the site of a British city before the arrival of the Romans in Britain, Goer-Gwent (gwent = chatnpaign or down). It afterward became a Roman station, and, as such was a place of considerable importance, and eon tiined temples of Apollo rand Concord. When taken by the Saxons in 495, it is said to have contained at least one Christian church. The Saxons called the town Wintanceaster. As the capital of Wessex, Winchester became the capital of England, and even after the Norman conquest was long a chief royal In 1265, during the barons' war, Winchester was sacked, aud it never again recovered its commercial prosperity. From the time of Charles II., the town has gradually declined—its chief sources of life and movement being the cathedral and the college.