What's On At Winchester Cathedral

Kings & Scribes: The Birth of A Nation

Kings & Scribes: The Birth of a Nation will reopen on Saturday 1 August. Opening times:

Mon – Sat: 11.00am – 3.00pm

Sun: 12.30pm – 2.30pm

Kings and Scribes: The Birth of a Nation unlock Winchester Cathedral's captivating stories and reveal some of the nation's greatest treasures.

Explore a spectacular three-level exhibition space in the South Transept which takes you on a journey through over 1,000 years of history, whilst offering awe-inspiring views of the Cathedral.

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Wednesday Tour – 2 September

Cathedral Women
Famous, reforming, talented, artistic, professional, all at the top of their fields – our latest selection introduces more cathedral personalities.

Tours are free upon admission to the Cathedral but tickets must be booked through the Box Office. Available soon.

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This Royal House of Saxon Kings and Saints

The Anglo Saxon Minster and its role in the birth of the English nation, the personalities who inhabited it and the traces which are still visible today.  Part of this tour is outside on slightly uneven ground, suitable clothing and footwear should be worn.

Tours are free upon admission to the Cathedral but tickets must be booked through the Box Office. Available soon.

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Wednesday Tours – 9 September

10.30am     Green Men

The term “Green Men” was only brought into use in 1939, but their existence goes back many years and actually predates Christianity. They are a carver’s device, rarely found in glass or in illuminated manuscripts and they were particularly popular in the 14th century. There are over 70 examples in the Cathedral although some are difficult to spot, and on the tour we shall look at several different types of Green Men, including one for which Winchester is rightly famous.

1.30pm       Dynamic Deans
Winchester Cathedral Deans – innovators, game changers, courageous, financial wizards, inspirational, driven: Dynamic Men. Unsung heroes throughout the ages.

The tour focuses on some whose works and state-of-the-art changes had a major impact on our cathedral, and on their relations with Winchester people; not always smooth!

Tours are free upon admission to the Cathedral but tickets must be booked through the Box Office. Available soon.

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Hidden Places…Higher Spaces

Hidden Places… Higher Spaces… From the Crypt to the Nave ... Our Cathedral's Wartime Legacy

On this tour we will visit three areas of the Cathedral and show you how our Cathedral was at the heart of every conflict in its history. We will learn what was happening there when wars took place, how we reacted, and how we remember our dead.

We will visit the ancient Crypt, the longest medieval nave in Europe and go up into the roof space with its 18 miles of wooden beams. What secrets do they hold? What wartime stories can they tell?  What legacy have they left to us?

You will go away refreshed, invigorated and with new enthusiasm for a city whose Cathedral embodies the best of times, the worst of times ...a beacon to mankind.

Please note this tour includes steep steps up into the roof space.

Tours are free upon admission to the Cathedral but tickets must be booked through the Box Office. Available soon.

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Wednesday Tour – 30 September

1.30pm       Heroes and Villains
Who fled the cathedral in a dung-cart? Who refused lodgings to Charles II’s “trollop”? Who owned the hoof of a griffin? Find out about the great, the good and the occasionally ghastly men whose fascinating stories are told in this tour.

Tours are free upon admission to the Cathedral but tickets must be booked through the Box Office. Available soon.

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Saturday Tours – 3 October

Choose from:

From Vision to Reality: the Architecture and building of the Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral contains fine examples of all the main styles of ecclesiastical architecture which will all be seen and explained in some detail. In addition, the tour will describe the construction methods used in medieval times and how Bishop Walkelin achieved the amazing feat of completing most of the original building in just 14 years.

or

Wood Glorious Wood
This tour explores the exceptional riches of the Cathedral's woodwork, ancient and modern.  It considers the indispensable role of wood in the construction and preservation of the building and we discover wood furnishings and decoration as far back as the 12th century.  The highlight of the tour is a look in some detail at one of the Cathedral's greatest treasures, the 14th century quire stalls, described as "the most beautiful in Northern Europe".

Tours are free upon admission to the Cathedral but tickets must be booked through the Box Office. Available soon.

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Aled Jones

Join Aled Jones for a special concert at Winchester Cathedral as he embarks on a UK-wide tour, performing at many of the nation’s best-loved cathedrals.

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Hidden Places…Higher Spaces

Hidden Places… Higher Spaces… From the Crypt to the Nave ... Our Cathedral's Wartime Legacy

On this tour we will visit three areas of the Cathedral and show you how our Cathedral was at the heart of every conflict in its history. We will learn what was happening there when wars took place, how we reacted, and how we remember our dead.

We will visit the ancient Crypt, the longest medieval nave in Europe and go up into the roof space with its 18 miles of wooden beams. What secrets do they hold? What wartime stories can they tell?  What legacy have they left to us?

You will go away refreshed, invigorated and with new enthusiasm for a city whose Cathedral embodies the best of times, the worst of times ...a beacon to mankind.

Please note this tour includes steep steps up into the roof space.

Tours are free upon admission to the Cathedral but tickets must be booked through the Box Office. Available soon.

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Wednesday Tour – 21 October

1.30pm       Art in the Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral is rich in art objects, including works by well-known artists, Peter Eugene Ball, Cecil Collins, Eric Gill, Antony Gormley and Justin Knowles, as well as local artists Sophie Hacker, Tim Harrisson, Alice Kettle, Tracey Sheppard - and many more. This Tour enables visitors to enjoy a close-up interaction with several of these works, within the context of this very special, time-honoured place.

Tours are free upon admission to the Cathedral but tickets must be booked through the Box Office. Available soon.

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Wednesday Tour – 28 October

1.30pm       Jane Austen: Her lIfe and times
Jane Austen died in Winchester in 1817, in rented rooms in College Street. She was buried in the north aisle of the Cathedral, probably arranged by her brother Henry who had been ordained shortly before her death. This tour offers visitors an intimate and often amusing insight into her life and connections with the Cathedral.

Tours are free upon admission to the Cathedral but tickets must be booked through the Box Office. Available soon.

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