Winchester Castle

Push open the door and the first thing you notice is the cool air. It smells faintly of old stone. Above you, a timber roof rises into shadow. Tall pointed windows let in pale bars of light. And on the far wall hangs something round and painted, so large it seems to float there. Welcome to the Great Hall of Winchester Castle. It is almost everything that remains of a royal fortress that once dominated this hilltop.

The story begins very soon after 1066. William the Conqueror had just taken England, and he needed to hold it. Winchester mattered enormously. It had been the chief city of the old kingdom of Wessex, and royal power and treasure were tied to it. So in 1067, William ordered a castle built here, on high ground at the western edge of the town. It was one of the first Norman castles in England.

That first castle was probably earth and timber. Over the following century and more, it was rebuilt in stone and grew into a serious royal residence. Kings held court here. Royal treasure was kept in Winchester during this period. And in 1207, a future king was born inside these walls. He became Henry the Third, and he never forgot his birthplace. That personal bond explains the room you are standing in.

Henry the Third rebuilt the castle hall in the 1220s and 1230s. What he created is a medieval aisled hall — meaning the space is divided by rows of columns into a wide central area with narrower aisles on each side. Look at those columns now. They are made of Purbeck marble, a dark polished limestone from the Dorset coast. Medieval builders loved it for its deep colour and shine. Today this hall counts among the finest surviving examples of its kind in England.

Now turn to the table on the wall. This is the famous Round Table, linked for centuries to King Arthur and his knights. Here is the first surprise. It is not from Arthur's time, if Arthur existed at all. Scientists have studied the oak using tree-ring dating, which reads the growth rings of the timber, along with other tests. The results point to the late thirteenth century, around the reign of Edward the First. It is more than five metres across and enormously heavy.

Edward the First was deeply drawn to the legends of Arthur. Medieval kings often held grand feasts and tournaments with an Arthurian theme. Historians think the table may have been made for one such celebration. Notice that it once had legs. It was a real piece of furniture before it became a wall display. For a few hours, perhaps, English nobles sat around it and imagined themselves knights of legend.

The second surprise is in the paint. The colours you see were not added in Edward's time. They date from the reign of Henry the Eighth, in the early sixteenth century. Look at the seated king at the top. That figure is Arthur, but the face is widely thought to be modelled on a young Henry the Eighth. In the centre sits a large Tudor rose, the red and white emblem of Henry's family. The painting was done around the time the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles the Fifth, visited England.

So think about the message. Henry was showing a foreign emperor that the Tudors were heirs to Arthur himself. It was political advertising, painted onto ancient oak. Around the outer edge you can read the names of Arthur's knights, each seated in his own segment. Look for Sir Galahad, close to the king. Look for Sir Mordred too, the knight who in legend betrayed Arthur. The table holds twenty-four places in all.

This hall was not only a place for feasts. For hundreds of years it served as a court of law. In 1603, the explorer and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh was tried for treason here. The trial was moved from London because of plague. He was found guilty, though his execution came many years later. Then in 1685, Judge Jeffreys came to Winchester during the harsh trials that followed a failed rebellion. An elderly woman, Dame Alice Lisle, was condemned to death in this hall for sheltering fugitives.

So why is only the hall left? The answer lies in the English Civil War of the seventeenth century. Winchester supported the king, and the castle was held for the royalist side. After Parliament's forces took it, the order came to make it useless as a fortress. This deliberate destruction was called slighting. Walls and towers were pulled down. The Great Hall survived, largely because it was still useful as a public building.

Before you leave, look near the door for a large bronze statue of Queen Victoria. It was made by the sculptor Alfred Gilbert for her golden jubilee in 1887. Gilbert is best known for the figure on the fountain at Piccadilly Circus in London. Here he gave the queen a heavy, almost theatrical presence, crowded with fine detail. It is worth walking around it slowly. Small figures and ornaments sit in the folds of the design.

Then step outside into Queen Eleanor's Garden. It is a modern recreation of a medieval garden, named after two queens called Eleanor from the thirteenth century. Expect small, enclosed beds, a trellis tunnel, and herbs chosen for scent and use rather than show. It is quiet here, with the sounds of the town softened by walls. Elsewhere around the site, look for excavated stonework from the old castle, low fragments of what once stood much higher.

The hall sits at the top end of Winchester's High Street, close to the medieval Westgate. From here the old town slopes gently down towards the cathedral and the river. Walking downhill, you follow the same route kings, judges and prisoners once took. Shops now fill the street, but the shape of the medieval city is still easy to read in its lanes and gateways.

As you go, glance back once at the hall. From outside, it looks plain — flint, stone and a steep roof. Nothing hints at the painted table inside, or the trials, or the royal birth. That is the quiet charm of this place. A single surviving room holds eight centuries of English power, legend and justice. Carry that thought with you as the street carries you down the hill.