Field Trip: Winchester - 6/30

Today was my class's first field trip day. We went to Winchester - and had a great time. Once we arrived, we had the opportunity to take a guided tour of Winchester College. Now, this school isn't a college in the sense that Americans think about colleges. It is actually a boys college prep school. Think of it as middle school and high school all rolled into one. The neatest thing about this school is that it has been in constant operation for about 600 years! That's almost four hundred years longer than the U.S. has existed. Founded by William Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester (one of the richest men of his day) to educate 70 poor boys to replace the clergy lost to the plague, it has changed over the centuries into a school for 70 elite scholars (still all boys) and about 600 tuition paying students. It was originally called St. Mary's College, which is why there is this statue over the door to the main gate of the school.

Many of the buildings on the school campus date from the middle ages when it wa founded. However, as the school has grown, there have been many additions. These range all the way to the present with state of the art, modern architecture art and science buildings. It has come a long way from being a single classroom school. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the buildings, but here are a couple of the exterior shots of the college.

After we toured Winchester college, we had lunch. Most of the students accompanied me to the Royal Oak Pub. It is a pub in a building that has some structural elements that date back to 1092. There has been a pub on the site since the 12th or 13th century. That makes the claim that it is England's oldest pub fairly believable. Here is a picture of the oldest part, the basement, where the ceilings are only about 6' 6" high.

After lunch, we all went on a tour of the reknowned Winchester Cathedral. This is a wonderful place. However, I think I will let the pictures (with captions) tell the story of our visit.

The main front of Winchester Cathedral

The flying buttresses that support the massive walls of Winchester Cathedral

The medieval font in Winchester Cathedral - with a scene of St. Nicklaus

The Norman style arches in the north transcept of Winchester Cathedral. Most of the cathedral's Norman architecture has been converted over the centuries to Gothic, but this has been retained to display the original style.

Medieval frescoes in one of the chapels in Winchester Cathedral.

The modern shrine to St. Swithun, a former Bishop of Winchester who died in 862. The original shrine was demolished during the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII day and during the interregnum in 17th century.

This is just a sampling of the sites in the cathedral. Regrettably, my pictures of the wonderful Gothic arches and the ceilings did not turn out clear enough to post here.

We also had a chance to tour the library of the cathedral. This was particularly nice since we got to see the Winchester Bible - an impressive hand-scribed and illustrated (i.e. decorated with colored drawings and pictures drawn of many bible stories) version of the Latin Bible that was used in the cathedral in the middle ages. There was also an exhibit of several early editions of the King James Authorized bible, including one used by Charles I (James's son) when he was tried and executed by Parliament in the middle of the 17th century. This year is the 400th anniversary of the King James Authorized Bible's first use. No pictures were allowed to be taken.

After our tour of the cathedral, we visited the statue of King Alfred the Great.

Alfred ruled during the Anglo-Saxon period of English history. He is the only English monarch to earn the moniker of "the Great." He essentially saved what became the unified England from being overrun and destroyed by Viking invaders. He was also the first king to promote the use of the common English language for books to teach the common Englishmen their heritage and develop a sense of "nationalism." In fact, he even translated a number of works from Latin into Old English himself.

As we made our way back through the town to the train station, we noted the medieval gate to the city, that still stands where it did hundreds of years ago, as do several sections of the medieval walls of the city.

We also stopped by the Great Hall, the only remaining portion of the medieval castle that isn't in ruins. There we had the opportunity to take a group picture.

These are the students in my British Literature II class. And yes, that is the Round Table on the wall behind them! It has been dated to the 14th century, and it was repainted by Henry VIII during his reign. The image at the top is of Henry VIII, and the emblem in the middle is the Tudor Rose, the symbol of Henry VIII's heritage. This room was the main throne room of the medieval castle. It would also have served as a very large, and drafty, banquetting hall.

Since I didn't make it into the group picture, here's one of me at the Great Hall in Winchester.

After a very busy day in Winchester, we were all very glad to make it back to Waterloo train station in London.

That's it for this first field trip day. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are "free days." That is, there isn't any academic schedule to adhere to. Most of the students travel on their own. Sometimes they accompany the faculty on various excursions. I'm thinking of going to Greenwich on Friday. Until then...