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Reference was then made to the earlier buildings—Wolvesey 
Castle, St. Swithun’s Church, St. Mary’s Abbey, Hyde Abbey, 
where Alfred was buried. Then followed the story of the rela- 
tionship between a long succession of monarchs and Winchester. 
The city passed through conflicts in which were struggling, royal 
lordship, Church authority, feudal customs, civic jurisdiction, the 
power of the Guild-merchant, English and foreign influences. 
She suffered from fire and sword, from famine and pestilence. 
Westminster followed Winchester as the scene of the Coronation 
of Kings, and the place where they found sepulture. 
It was in the time of William the Conqueror, who made 
Winchester his headquarters, that the present Cathedral was 
built. In vastness of scale and stern power, it must have been 
one of the most impressive Cathedrals of England. 
With the reign of Edward I., Winchester ceased to be the 
favourite abode of royalty. She became outdistanced by London, 
and other cities rapidly rose into prominence. ‘The effects of the 
Civil War of the Seventeenth Century were noted. Wolvesey 
Castle was laid in ruins. Great damage was done to the 
Cathedral and the houses in the Close. Church lands were 
confiscated, and insults offered to those attached to the ancient 
faith. 
Upon the site of the Norman and Plantagenet Castle, and where 
Charles II. had begun to build a magnificent palace, there are 
now extensive barracks. Adjacent is the ancient Castle Hall, a 
hall which, in historic interest, is second only to that at West- 
minster. In that splendid chamber, Parliaments of England sat 
for nearly 400 years; great banquets were held; justices sat to 
administer the law. It was in 1265 that King Henry III. 
summoned there the ‘ first Parliament of England,” as it has 
been called, because representatives of cities and boroughs 
appeared for the first time in conjunction with knights of the 
shires. For 600 years the Sovereigns’ Commissions had been 
held in the place. 
The interesting features of the Westgate—now utilized as a 
museum—and the Guildhall were pointed out, and then attention 
was directed to the Cathedral, which was built 800 years ago. 
There had, indeed, been a Christian church there from the 
second century. Perhaps the special glory of the Cathedral 
consisted in its magnificent series of Chantries. Inseparable 
from the Cathedral was the name of William of Wykeham, once 
its Bishop. He was great, whether regarded as a churchman or 
as a statesman, as architect or as administration reformer. He 
was the founder of Winchester College, which for over 500 years 
had been carrying out the purpose of its noble founder; and also 
of New College, Oxford. 
