Becky & Dave's Travel Adventures: 08/17/21

We took the train for a day-trip to Winchester. We arrived at the Winchester train terminal around 10:00 AM and in just a few minutes we were in the heart of the historic district on the pedestrian-only streets on our way to the famous cathedral.

View of High Street, looking East

In typical English fashion, it wasn't supposed to rain, but turned out to be a bit drizzly when we arrived. The moisture didn't last, and the seasons changed as the day went along.

The very old timber frame buildings always catch my eye. This one had a nice Italian cafe on the ground floor. Just down a narrow alleyway behind this cafe, was a very old pub that made some claim of being one of the oldest, and was said to date back to 1006. It seems there are many very old pubs in UK. Each has some claim to oldest something or other. Who knows if the claims are accurate, but it's fun to see the old places anyway.

We finally made it to the Cathedral just as the rain was starting to end. We signed up for a guided tour, which we would recommend for anyone. Our guide was so well informed about the history and especially the architecture. He had an engineering background, so his insight on the building techniques and repairs were fascinating (for me)! Click any image to view full-screen.

The West (main) entrance to the Winchester Cathedral

Main sanctuary as you enter

Massive stained glass windows of the West entrance

If you look closely, you might notice that the stained glass design seems a bit random. This is because in 1642 all the windows were smashed by Cromwell's forces in a move, not unlike today where the progressive thing to do is to rid the country of statues, monuments and decoration that are a reminder of a past they no longer agreed with. Almost twenty years later, they gathered up all the original broken glass and reinstalled it, in this more politically-correct version.

The more modest windows at the East end.

Intricate wood carvings

Some of the most fascinating things on display in the Cathedral are the bibles. The prize is the original edition of the Winchester Bible that was produced from 1160 to 1180. This Latin bible was carefully transcribed from the first Latin translation by Jerome of Stridon that was commissioned in 386 by Pope Damasus I. The scribes were so faithful in their transcription, that they included all the original Prologues (translator's notes) written by Jerome (but are not actually part of The Bible). This four-volume set was printed on 936 pages of calf-skin vellum that measure about 16" by 22" each. The illustrations are some of the most vivid and amazing illustrations, but many were left incomplete. Sadly no pictures are permitted in that area, but I have included a public domain image from Wikipedia.

By Unknown Miniaturist, English (active 1160-1175 in Winchester) - Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15498256

Another amazing part of the collection is one of the first copies of the King James Bible first printed in 1611. The records show that there were two printed versions of 1611, the first known as the He Bible because it was missing the one letter in Ruth 3:15 and read: "He went into the city." The second printing of 1611 corrected this error and says "She went into the city" and was thus called the She Bible. This document was on display (behind glass) and opened to this page of the Book of Ruth.