2015

SU4829 : Winchester Cathedral - William of Wykeham

taken 8 years ago, near to Winchester, Hampshire, England

Winchester Cathedral - William of Wykeham
Winchester Cathedral - William of Wykeham
There are several notable chantry chapels within Winchester Cathedral, all of which are considered architecturally important. The effigy seen here is of William of Wykeham bishop of Winchester from 1366 to 1404 (see below for more precise dates). William was particularly responsible for the remodelling of the nave in the Perpendicular style of the C14th, continuing the work of William Edington the previous bishop.
William was born towards the end of the reign of Edward II and lived through the 50 year reign of Edward III - which included the Black Death - and the 22 year reign of his grandson, Richard II, dying in the reign of the usurping Henry IV. He served both the middle monarchs as Chancellor of England, and despite his particularly close relationship to Richard, managed to remain on good terms with Henry despite the violent manner by which the latter had obtained the throne.
William of Wykeham's notable facts:
Born: Wickham (Wykeham), Hants some time between 1320 and 1324
Surveyor for works at Windsor Castle (for Edward III): 1356
Becoming Chief Keeper & Surveyor: 1359
Royal Secretary: 1361
Royal Councillor: 1363 becoming Lord Privy Seal in June of that year
Elected Bishop of Winchester: October 1366
Appointed Chancellor of England: 1367 and in the same year was consecrated as Bishop of Winchester at the old St Paul's Cathedral in London
Enthroned as Bishop of Winchester: July 1368
Founded New College, Oxford: 1379
Died (still as Bishop): 27th September 1404 at Bishop's Waltham, aged at least 80
Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Winchester

There has been a church on the site of the present cathedral in Winchester since at least 648AD when a stone minster was built for King Cenwalh of Wessex (d.672) and Saint Birinus (Bishop of Dorchester, d.649)
This originally modest church was extended over the next few centuries, and in 862 St Swithun (of rain fame) was buried outside its walls.
In 901 construction of a New Minster was begun immediately adjacent to the pre-existing building. This again was enlarged particularly in the 970s by Saints Ęthelwold and Alphege, becoming, so it is said, the largest church in Europe. About this time, St Swithun's relics were moved within this new minster into a new shrine. Many of England's early monarchs - and their predecessors the Kings of Wessex - were buried in these two early minsters, along with the bishops that served them.
Despite the size and magnificence of the Minster Church that now stood here, after the Norman conquest of 1066, it was decided to create a yet grander cathedral in the Romanesque style, and the building we see today was begun, with the Saxon minster being demolished in 1093.
The oldest parts of Winchester Cathedral as seen today date from 1079-1095 and were built for Bishop Walkelyn (or Walkelin) royal chaplain to William the Conqueror, to whom he was related. The bones of the kings and bishops were removed from the Saxon minster and placed in mortuary chests; these old bones are currently [2015] being closely examined by scientists of various disciplines to see what information they hold of these ancient royals and clergymen.
The mortuary chests are now housed in the Lady Chapel at the eastern end of the cathedral, though at present [2015] restoration work means that the Lady Chapel is mostly inaccessible.
The transepts and crypts are the main remaining structures from the original Norman construction along with a small part of the nave. The tower that dated from this time collapsed in 1107 causing great damage. It was later rebuilt and the cathedral was extended with a Retrochoir and Lady Chapel in the C13th.
In the C14th two consecutive bishops, William Edington (bishop from 1345 until his death in 1366) and William of Wykeham (bishop from 1366 until his death in 1404) completely remodelled the Norman nave with it receiving a Perpendicular recasing, and the interior gothic arches that we see today. William of Wynforde one the great master masons of the Perpendicular style was involved in this remodelling around 1389/90.
There are many important features within the cathedral, in particular a number of Chantry Chapels for some of the former bishops.
Arguably, however, the most famous "permanent resident" of this church is neither royal nor ecclesiastical - but the famous authoress, Jane Austen. There is no great monument to her, just a simple inscribed stone slab in the north aisle of the nave, and a brass plaque on an adjacent wall.

There is a charge to view the interior of the cathedral, but payment allows you access for a year - provided you keep hold of your ticket.

Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe

Construction of the cathedral began in 1079 under Bishop Walkelin and the building was formally consecrated on April 8 1093

The cathedral was originally founded in 642 on an immediately adjoining site to the north. This building became known as the Old Minster. It became part of a monastic settlement in 971 LinkExternal link

Cathedral website: LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Rob Farrow and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Historic sites and artefacts Religious sites City, Town centre Person: William of Wykeham Place: Winchester Cathedral Primary Subject: Tomb other tags: Chantry Chapel Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Winchester [1619] · Winchester Cathedral [576] · St [325] ·
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SU4829, 2471 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Rob Farrow   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Friday, 27 November, 2015   (more nearby)
Submitted
Wednesday, 6 January, 2016
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SU 4827 2924 [10m precision]
WGS84: 51:3.6286N 1:18.7555W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SU 4827 2924
View Direction
North-northeast (about 22 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Supplemental image
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