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Winchester cathedral. Photo by Suicasmo. .

Top 10 Amazing Facts about the Winchester Cathedral

The Winchester Cathedral is located in the historic city of Winchester in England. It is also referred to as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity and is dedicated to several saints such as St. Within, St. Peter, and St. Paul.

 It is one of the largest in Europe. It is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and is the mother church for the Diocese of Winchester. With its incredible features and rich history, Winchester Cathedral is not only a major tourist attraction but also a preserve of English history. These are the top 10 amazing facts about Winchester Cathedral!

1. It is the longest medieval Cathedral in the world.

Inside Winchester Cathedral. Photo by Tim Firkins.

It has an overall length of 558 Ft, which is approximately 170 meters long.  It has only been surpassed by more recent churches such as St Peter鈥檚 Basilica in Rome, the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York, and the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro. It has a long, wide perpendicular nave, an early English retrochoir, Norman transepts, and a tower.

2. It was built about 450 years

Its construction began around 1079 and most of its features were in place by 1532. It has however had several reconstructions over the years. Expansions, rebuilding, and repairs were undertaken by various persons, mostly by its successive Bishops over the year.

Most notable is probably the work of Bishop Walkein, the first Norman Bishop of Winchester. He began the construction of a new Norman Cathedral south of the previously built old and new minsters.

The latter two would soon be demolished, leaving the Norman Cathedral to be altered and built further by succeeding Bishops. It still makes up the core of the present building.

3. It was once saved from sinking

In the early 20th century, the Cathedral was in a deplorable state. There were huge cracks on the walls, which were also caving in.  A leading architect; Thomas G Jackson, was contracted to analyze the condition.

 He determined that the building was almost sinking due to its weak foundations. He brought in an engineer; Francis Fox. The Normans had built the cathedral on a floating raft of beech trees. Some of the trees were rotten and had collapsed, making the cathedral begin to sink in.

A series of trenches were sunk into the gravel bed. However, digging under the foundations created another problem as the water beneath rose and flooded the trenches. The use of a steam pump to force the water out of the trenches made the building even weaker due to the pressure.

 In 1906, Fox requested William Walker, one of the most experienced divers at the time, for help. William had to dive underwater into the flooded trenches, level them, and lay bags of cement to block the water from resurfacing. This took him 6 years to accomplish,  saving the cathedral from sinking. William was later rewarded with the Member of the Victorian Order.

4. A variety of precious stones were used in its construction

These include quarry limestone from the Isle of Wight, which is an island in England, Caen stone from Normandy, Ashley, beer stone, Purbeck, marble, and Oolite. The oolite was a reuse from the demolished Old Minster. The nave and aisles of the Cathedral are vaulted with Beer stone.

5. The Cathedral has stained glass dating back to the 14^th century

The original west window was destroyed by Parliamentary troops during the English Civil war. It was rebuilt in 1660 using the shattered glass found around the church after the war. Photo byTony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK – Winchester Cathedral Stained Glass 2 Uploaded by tm.

The oldest stained-glass window is in the north transept and dates from 1330. Much of the Cathedral鈥檚 stained glass was destroyed when the Roundheads smashed the Great West Window and many other windows in its lower levels.

The Great West window was however restored with clear glass in the 20^th-century reconstruction. The cathedral has a rose widow too in the gable of the north transept.

6. Winchester Cathedral houses the monumental Winchester Bible

12th-century painters – Winchester Bible – WGA15734. Photo by Unknown Miniaturist, English (active 1160-1175 in Winchester) – Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork.

This is the largest surviving 12^th-century Bible in England. It was handwritten in Latin, on 468 sheets of calfskin parchment. The sheets are folded down at the centre doubling the number of pages. Some of the illustrations in the Bible contain gold leaf and paint.

 Although the physical book cannot be read by the public, it has been digitized for access. The Winchester Bible is part of the Kings and Scribes Exhibition display for public viewing.

7. It has numerous ancient mortuary chests

The remains of individuals buried on the site including Alfred the Great, King Canute, and his wife Queen Emma, King Egbert, and William Rufus were placed in chests.

Many are believed to have been transferred from the old minster, where they had been first buried, during its demolition. The chests were however disturbed during the English Civil War and they got mixed up.

8. The film, The Da Vinci Code, was filmed at Winchester Cathedral

In 2005, the set of Da Vinci Code used the north transept as the Vatican. The Cathedral later hosted discussions to debunk it. It has also been used severally as a film location for the popular Netflix series 鈥楾he Crown鈥�.

9. It houses the rare 12^th-century Tournai font

Pictured is the 12th Century Norman ‘Tournai’ font, one of only six to ten (the actual number is disputed) in the UK (mostly in Hampshire).  It was, presented to the cathedral by Bishop Henri de Blois, William the Conqueror’s grandson. Photo by Hugh Llewelyn from Keynsham, UK – Winchester Cathedral (Holy Trinity).

It is one out of the only less than 10 surviving ones of its kind in England. Its weight is about 1.5 tonnes and is made from black limestone from Belgium. The font was a gift to the cathedral by Henry of Blois.

10. Jane Austen, the famous 鈥�Pride and Prejudice鈥� author is buried at the Cathedral

The Jane Austen Memorial Window in Winchester Cathedral. A memorial window was unveiled in 1900.  Photo by Jim Linwood – https://www.flickr.com/photos/brighton/5713545038.

She died in Winchester on July 1817 and her funeral was held at the Cathedral. She was buried in the north aisle. Although there is no mention of her literary works on her tombstone, a brass tablet was later added describing her as 鈥渒nown to many by her writings鈥欌��. There is also a memorial window in her honour. Many tourists are drawn to the Cathedral for its association with Jane Austen.