Portal:Hampshire/Selected article/10

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Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, said to be the second longest, and with the longest nave, in Europe. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun and is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and centre of the Diocese of Winchester.

The cathedral was originally founded in 642 on an immediately adjoining site to the north. This building was known as the Old Minster. It became part of a monastic settlement in 971. Saint Swithun was buried near the Old Minster and then in it, before being moved to the new Norman cathedral. Mortuary chests said to contain the remains of Saxon kings, first buried in the Old Minster, are also housed in the present cathedral. The Old Minster was demolished in 1093.

Construction of the cathedral began in 1079 under bishop Walkelin. The earliest part of the present building is the crypt, which dates from that time. William II of England (son of William I 'the Conqueror') was buried in the cathedral on 11 August 1100, after he was killed in a hunting accident in the nearby New Forest. The squat, square central tower was begun in 1202 to replace an earlier version which collapsed on top of him. It has an indisputably Norman look to it. Work continued on the cathedral during the 14th century, in 1394 the remodelling of the Norman nave commenced to the designs of master mason William Wynford, this continued into the 15th and 16th centuries, notably with the building of the retrochoir to accommodate the many pilgrims to the shrine of Saint Swithun. The Benedictine foundation, the Priory of Saint Swithun, was dissolved in 1539. The cloister and chapter house were demolished, but the cathedral continued.