The Great Hall and the Round Table are one of the biggest tourist attractions for visitors to Winchester.
After the Norman Conquest of 1066, William the Conqueror retained Winchester as his capital and built a castle and a royal palace there. His great survey of England known as the Domesday Book was compiled in Winchester in 1086. In the 13th century Winchester’s castle was rebuilt by King Henry III. Oliver Cromwell’s forces destroyed the castle during the Civil War, leaving only the Great Hall, considered by many to be the best medieval hall in the country after Westminster Hall. A famous feature of the Great Hall is the Round Table, traditionally associated with the legendary King Arthur and his knights, which hangs on the west wall. Supposedly made by the wizard Merlin, the Round Table has hung in Winchester’s Great Hall for some 600 years. In fact, it was made in the late 13th century and restored in Tudor times, when the face of the young Henry VIII was added to the portrait of King Arthur.
I remember doing a summer project in my 2nd year at school about the Round Table – its wonderful to live in a town steeped in history!