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Page 12
In the hands of Bishop de Blois the palace became of great importance,
and withstood a siege by David, King of Scotland, and Robert, Earl of
Gloucester. De Blois was one of those who assisted at the coronation of
Henry II, and pulled down the tower when the bishop was absent from the
diocese without the royal permission, on a visit to Clugny. Although
shorn of much of its former strength, the palace remained a fortress
until the fortifications of Winchester were reduced to a heap of ruins
by Cromwell.
[Illustration: RUINS OF WOLVESEY CASTLE]
Beyond the City Bridge rises St. Giles's Hill, named after Giles, one
of those numerous hermit saints who played so prominent a part in
establishing the Christian faith in these islands. The hill is deeply
grooved by a railway cutting; on it was held for many centuries a kind
of open market or annual fair, which attracted the wealthy merchants of
France, Flanders, and Italy. The fair generally lasted a fortnight,
during which time all other local business was suspended, the shops
closed, and the mayor handed over the keys of the city to the bishop,
who claimed large fees from the stall holders. Thirty marks were paid
for repairs needed at the Church of St. Swithun, and similar sums were
demanded by the abbeys. Bishop Walkelin was granted the tolls of the
fair for three days by William Rufus, his kinsman; but in the time of
Henry III the privilege was extended to sixteen days. The stalls were
arranged in long rows, and named according to the goods sold thereon, or
after the nationality of the vendors. Thus one row would be named the
Street of Caen, another that of Limoges, while the Drapery and Spicery
stalls were held by the monks of St. Swithun, who proved themselves
energetic traders at the great annual fair, which lasted until modern
times, and was removed in due course from St. Giles's Hill into the
city. Dean Kitchin writes: "As the city grew stronger and the fair
weaker, it slid down St. Giles's Hill and entered the town, where its
noisy ghost still holds revel once a year".
At the present day St. Giles's Hill is a pleasant spot from which to
view the venerable city. Down the valley, by the Itchen, rises the
Hospital and Church of St. Cross, a picturesque and peaceful group of
buildings viewed from any position, but particularly so taken in
conjunction with the ancient city and the fertile valley threaded by
numberless small streams. On the left side of the valley is St.
Catherine's Hill, a bold and outstanding spur crowned with a small belt
of trees surrounded by a circular earthwork. At one time a chapel
dedicated to St. Catherine capped the hill, and slight traces of the
building may yet be seen. Here is the interesting maze, said to have
been made by a Winchester College boy who was obliged to remain behind
during the holidays, but probably of a different origin, some
antiquaries holding the opinion that it is of great antiquity, and in
some way connected with ecclesiastical penance.
Looking citywards, one can see the towers of many churches rising above
the gables and chimneys of the houses. Near at hand are St. Peter's,
Cheeshill, and St. John's, the former an interesting little building
with a mixture of styles, among which the Norman and Early English
predominate, the windows being of a later period. The bell turret is
situated at the south-east corner of the building, which, as a whole,
gives a singular impression, due to the fact that it is nearly as broad
as it is long. St. John's Church is the most interesting in the city,
containing as it does a fine rood screen, with the rood-loft stairs
still existing in a turret of fifteenth-century date. Other features of
interest are the fourteenth-century Decorated screens that enclose the
chancel on each side, and an arched recess at the east end of the north
wall, containing an altar-tomb with quatrefoil panels supporting shields
on which are the symbols of the Passion. The tomb itself bears neither
inscription nor date.
Here also are a set of carved bench ends, a Perpendicular pulpit, and an
octagonal font.
Unfortunately, most of the other churches of Winchester have been either
rebuilt or so altered as to retain very little of their original
architecture. The Church of St. Maurice, rebuilt in 1841, has saved a
Norman doorway, fragments of a fine Decorated screen which now serve for
altar rails, and an ancient chest.
Like most of our cathedral cities, Winchester is well supplied with
charitable institutions, although the best known of them all, the famous
Hospital of St. Cross, is situated a mile away from the city proper. The
Hospital of St. John, within Winchester, is one of the oldest
foundations of the kind in the country, and a portion of the vaulted
kitchen remaining in the building may not unreasonably be supposed to
have formed part of the almshouse thought to have been founded on the
spot in A.D. 935 by St. Brinstan. The chapel connected with the charity
dates from the time of the third Henry, and contains a piece of
fourteenth-century carving depicting the nimbed head of the Saviour,
which is now built into a wall. Considerable doubt exists as to the
original founder and early re-founders of this hospital, and little is
known concerning it until the time of Edward II, when John Devenish
re-founded it. At that period it seems to have been for the "sole relief
of sick and lame soldiers, poor pilgrims, and necessitated wayfaring
men, to have their lodging and diet there for one night, or longer, as
their inability to travel may require". Many influential citizens left
money or property to this charity. In 1400 Mark le Faire, Mayor of
Winchester, bequeathed to it several houses, including the "great inn
called the George", and the "house under the penthouse where Mr. Hodgson
died". Richard Devenish, in the time of Henry VI, left a sum of money to
provide for a more frequent performance of divine service in the chapel;
but in the reign of Henry VIII these and other funds were confiscated,
although the building itself was subsequently restored to the
Corporation.
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