There are cities that tuck their history away so you stumble across it or have to search it out. And others where it’s part of the daily backdrop to the lives and activities of its inhabitants. Winchester is very firmly in the latter category.

And quite some history it is, proudly preserved and invitingly accessible to anyone choosing to spend time exploring its riches. Our visit was in the middle of January, so many of the outdoor areas and attractions either weren’t at their fully blooming (literally) best, or even open. But we still spent a delightfully rewarding and enjoyable day discovering the compact city centre and its magnificent historic buildings.

England’s ancient capital

Whilst the first permanent Winchester residents appear to have arrived some time in the Iron Age (around 150BC), the town really grew to prominence when Alfred the Great was crowned King of Wessex and established it as his capital. During this time the town was rebuilt with its streets laid out in the grid pattern that survives to this day, and an intensive building programme saw the building of both the Benedictine abbey, New Minster, and Nunnaminster, later known as St Mary’s Abbey, which quickly became the most important centres of art and learning in England.

In 1066 following the Battle of Hastings, the town was surrendered to the invading Normans and shortly after that, William the Conqueror ordered the rebuilding of the Saxon royal palace and the construction of a new castle to the west of the town. The Normans were also responsible for demolishing the Old Minster Cathedral and starting the construction of the new, current cathedral on the same site in 1079.

Winchester’s rise and fall

Throughout the early Middle Ages Winchester’s importance as a significant cultural centre was reaffirmed time and again with many royal births, deaths and marriages taking place in the town, but its fortunes declined with the establishment of London as the country’s capital, the Black Death, which it’s estimated claimed the lives of half of the population, the decline of the wool industry, which was its major business, and Henry VIII’s dissolution of the town’s three monastic institutions, selling off their lands buildings and other possessions to the highest bidder.

During the English Civil War, Winchester changed hands several times. In one of the final acts of the conflict Oliver Cromwell’s men destroyed Winchester Castle, preventing it from falling into royalist hands ever again.

See? I told you it was quite a history.

In more recent times, Winchester became the birthplace of the modern game of cricket and the final home and resting place of author Jane Austen and the site of the longest continuously running school in the country (Winchester College, founded in 1382 and where our current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, was educated). And in the present day it’s the venue for the country’s largest farmers market and a lively street theatre scene which boasts the UK’s longest continually running festival of outdoor arts, called Hat Fair.

Oh, and then there’s the ancient hall that houses King Arthur’s round table and a tombstone that has played a part in saving the lives of millions of alcoholics.

There’s a lot to pack into just one day, but luckily most of the major sites, and sights, are within easy walking distance of each other. Here, then is a (much more succinct than the history bit you’ll be glad to know) suggestion of the ones you might want to put on your itinerary.

King Alfred’s statue

One of the most easily recognisable landmarks in Winchester is the striking statue of King Alfred the Great, built to mark the millennium of his death. It stands at the eastern end of The Broadway, close to the city’s medieval East Gate.

The Butter Cross

The 15th century Butter Cross in Winchester High Street

This 15th century, multi-pinnacled monument on the High Street is as eye-catching for its design as it is for the proximity of the old timber building that practically touches it (it really is as close as it looks!)

West Gate

Although there’s been a gate into the city on this spot since Roman times, the current building, which it’s impossible to miss, standing, as it does, at the far end of the High Street, has only been there a mere 600 years.

The Great Hall

Once part of Winchester Castle (see above for what happened to the rest of it) this 13th century medieval halls is one of the largest and finest surviving of its type (ailsed, if you’re wondering what that is) as well as home to the legendary King Arthur’s Round Table, which has hung there since 1348. The Table, which has the names of 24 of the knights written around the edge, with King Arthur on his throne at the top, has been dated to the 13th or early 14th century and was probably constructed inside the Hall.

The famous table sat round by King Arthur and his knights

And if you really want to get into the spirit of the hall, there’s a rail of costumes which visitors can try and take photographs in. Which we may or may not have done….

That’s a statue of Queen Victoria I’m posing in front of. She very definitely wasn’t amused.

Jane Austen’s house

It’s not far to 8 College Street, where Jane Austen moved at the age of 42 in order to be nearer the doctor who was treating her for Addisons disease, an illness caused by damage to the adrenal gland, which was the eventual cause of her death in 1817.

To see the famous novelist’s final resting place, you’ll have to go to Winchester’s largest and most iconic historic site

Winchester Cathedral

Europe’s longest medieval Cathedral has a history that (you’ll be relieved to know) is far too long to go in to here. I will just say that it’s worth doing a guided tour of this magnificent building for all the historical gems and stories you’ll discover (find all the information to plan your visit HERE). But if you don’t, make sure you look out for the most unusual commemorative sculpture you’ll ever see in a cathedral. It’s right at the far end, just outside one of the small chapels, and it’s a depiction of a deep sea diver called William Walker whose remarkable skill and dedication saved the building from certain collapse. (You can read the whole unbelievable story HERE).

Another often overlooked memorial with historical significance of a very different kind can be found in the grounds just in front of the entrance to the cathedral.

The grave of Thomas Thetcher

Quite how the grave of grenadier in the North Hants Militia, albeit one respected enough my his fellow soldiers that they had the stone erected in his memory, came to inspire the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and become something of a place of pilgrimage for recovering alcoholics is a story you can read in its extraordinary entirety HERE. Along with a full transcription of the fulsome details carved on Thomas’s headstone.

Peninsula Barracks

Until relatively recently, these spectacular buildings, just adjacent to the cathedral, couldn’t be seen by the public as they were the regimental home of the Royal Green Jackets. With a long and distinguished history as a military base (during the Napoleonic Wars it was home to 3,000 soldiers), the site was sold off by The Ministry of Defence and the Crown Estate and redeveloped in the mid 1990s and whilst still being the Regimental Headquarters of The Rifles, now has some of the most desirable homes in Winchester as well as a clutch of military museums.

When it’s time to eat

Inn the Park - a terrific restaurant set inside a historic mill

Winchester has become the home of a thriving food scene in recent times and there’s an abundance of excellent quality places to eat to choose from, whatever time of day you’re in search of a meal. We had a fabulously tasty lunch at the delightful Inn the Park, which is set in a historic mill overlooking Abbey Gardens

Other historic UK towns and cities you’ll enjoy discovering