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Venta Belgarum
- Winchester developed from the Roman town of Venta Belgarum, which in turn developed from an Iron Age oppidum.
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Modern day visitors to Winchester in the county of Hampshire can’t help but soak in the history as they wander through the ancient streets of this small city. Few however may realise that some of Winchester’s first settlers arrived there more than 2,000 years ago.
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Prehistory. The area around Winchester has been inhabited since prehistoric times, with three Iron Age hillforts, Oram's Arbour, St. Catherine's Hill, and Worthy Down all nearby. In the Late Iron Age, a more urban settlement type developed, known as an oppidum, although the archaeology of this phase remains obscure.
- Roman Winchester
- Saxon Winchester
- Winchester in The Middle Ages
- Winchester 1500-1800
- Winchester in The 19th Century
- Winchester in The 20th Century
- Winchester in The 21st Century
Winchester began as a Roman town. It was built around 70 AD. The Romans called the new town Venta Belgarum which means the capital of the Belgares (who were the local Celtic tribe before the Roman conquest). Roman Winchester was made a civitas or regional capital. Roman Winchester was built with its streets laid out in a grid pattern. In the middle...
The last Roman soldier left Britain in 407. Town life then broke down. Winchester seems to have been abandoned. When the Saxons arrived in the 6th century a small number of them may have lived in wooden huts within the walls and farmed the land outside. However, Winchester ceased to be a town. The Saxons called a Roman settlement a caester and they...
William the Conqueror rebuilt the Royal Palace in Winchester. The new palace was twice the size of the old Saxon palace. William also built a castle in the west of Winchester. Sixty houses were demolished to make way for it. At first, it was made of wood but in the early 12th century it was rebuilt in stone. After 1079 the Normans demolished the Ol...
By the 16th century, Winchester had dwindled to being a not very important town. In 1518 the number of annual fairs was increased to 3 to try and stimulate trade but with little success. In 1538 Henry VIII closed St Mary’s Abbey (Nunnaminster), Hyde Abbey, and St Swithun’s Priory. He also closed the friaries in Winchester. All the land owned by the...
Jane Austen died in Winchester in 1817. A Corn Exchange, where grain was bought and sold opened in 1838 (this building is now the library). Winchester prison was built in 1846-49. In 1857 a Market Hall was built where fruit and vegetables were sold. The first museum opened in 1847. A new guildhall opened in 1873. An art school and public library we...
In 1901 a statue of King Alfred was erected to commemorate the 1,000th anniversary of his death. (Historians now believe Alfred died in 899). In 1908 a riot occurred in Winchester. A Russian gun, captured in the Crimean War stood on Broadway. The mayor decided to remove the railings around it, which gave rise to a rumor that the gun was going to be...
In the 21st century, Winchester continued to thrive. Winchester Discovery Centre opened in 2008. It was renamed The Arc in 2022. In 2023 the population of Winchester was 48,000.
Nestled at the edge of the South Downs, Winchester holds an unrivalled position in the history of England. Ancient capital of Alfred the Great’s Anglo-Saxon kingdom, witness to The Anarchy, powerhouse of medieval monarchs, resting place of Jane Austen and immortalised as Wintoncester in Hardy’s Wessex, the city and its heritage are unique.
The legend of St Swithun originates in Winchester: according to the story, the saint’s remains were moved, against his dying wishes, from their resting place in a simple tomb in the grounds of the cathedral to a splendid shrine in the inner sanctum, where upon it proceeded to rain for 40 days as a sign of his displeasure.
Jul 24, 2023 · Alfred the Great made Winchester England’s first capital in 871, and the Hampshire city long remained at the centre of the action. Narrow streets of medieval and Georgian buildings hint at its...
Winchester Hampshire. Click on the map for other historical maps of this place. In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Winchester like this: Winchester, parl. and mun. bor. and city, Hants, on river Itchin, 12 miles NE. of Southampton and 06 SW. of London by rail, 1032 ac., pop. 17,780; 4 Banks, 3 newspapers.
