One of the things Winchester is most famous for is its huge cathedral.
It was begun in 1079 and consecrated in 1093, but the building was consistently altered up until the 16th century. Inside the cathedral is a stunning 12th century black marble font, carved with scenes from the life of St Nicholas. There are also magnificent 14th century carved stalls and a beautiful 15th century reredos, as well as other treasures such as the Winchester Bible in the Cathedral Library, which dates from the 12th century and is probably the finest illustrated book in England. In medieval times, pilgrims came to pray at the shrine of St Swithun in the cathedral. St Swithun is depicted on the altar screen with a pile of eggs at his feet, and the candlesticks on his shrine have a broken eggshell at each base. These are references to a miracle said to have been performed by the saint, when he mended a basket of eggs that had been dropped by a woman bringing them to market after she was bumped into by a short-sighted monk. St Swithun miraculously made the eggs whole again, much to the delight of the farmers wife.
In 1966 it was immortalised forever by John Smith and The New Sound who got to number 4 in the charts with ‘Winchester Cathedral’ and it became one of the catchiest songs of the swinging sixties!