A visit to Romsey was lovely this morning and we had a tour of Romsey
Abbey which dates from c907. Walking
around, I saw this stone.
Just across the street was King John’s House confirmed as built in 1256
but named in 1927 when it was thought to be the hunting lodge that King John
built in c1206. This was once the major
building in a large medieval complex.
During WW2 Romsey was used as a remount camp housing up to 5,000 horses
at any one time before being shipped off to the front. As a community art project in 2011 visitors
were encouraged to make individual terracotta horses and these were so popular
that they have been put on display again this August as part of the 100th
anniversary of WW1 commemorations.
We then went back to Winchester and stopped at The Great Hall. This is one of the finest surviving medieval
halls which contains the legendary Round Table. Although legend has associated the table with
King Arthur and His Knights, it was actually built in the late 13th
or early 14th century.
One wall in the Great Hall has a mural done in the 19th
century that shows the names of Hampshire’s Members of Parliament from 1283 to
1868.
On this same wall are The Wedding Gates which are stainless steel gates
created as a gift from Hampshire to commemorate the marriage of Charles and
Diana in 1981. This wall was formerly
the outer wall of Winchester Castle and is 10 feet thick!
We had to go back to Winchester Cathedral so we could go inside. Amazing place – certainly one of the most
beautiful cathedrals we’ve ever seen as well as one of the largest in Britain.
Norm sitting in a church????
Sending love R/P
I remember Norm in a church before. He was at both my weddings. The first one was a church.
ReplyDeleteAh.
We know how that turned out.
Norm sitting in a church ?????