We began our day by grocery shopping and making breakfast at our B&B. While eating, Leslieann, the leg leader for the day, prepped us on the upcoming events.
First, we walked to St. Peter's Church for mass and a pilgrimage blessing from the parish priest, Fr. Mark Hogan.
From left: (1) Exterior of St. Peter's, (2) Altar and stained glass window, (3) Close-up of window
After mass, we headed to Winchester Cathedral for a tour. There were so many interesting and beautiful aspects of the Cathedral and its history -- far too many to recount. Here are just some of the architecture and art we saw:
From beginning of slideshow: (1) Inside of Winchester Cathedral facing the rear, (2) Exterior of western window, (3) Interior of western window, (4) Original Romanesque (Norman) architecture in the transept, (5) North side aisle, (6) The ornately carved choir section, (7) Baptismal font featuring St. Nicholas
During the tour, we climbed the stone spiral staircase in the Cathedral (oriented clockwise so that right-handed swordsmen could defend against attackers climbing after them!) to the Treasury, which holds the sacred vessels used during mass at the Cathedral.
The spiral staircase was extremely narrow.
The Cathedral Treasury
One fascinating part of the Cathedral was the shrine to St. Swithun, a 9th century bishop of Winchester and patron of the cathedral. Post mortem, he became renowned for miracle-working, and many went on pilgrimage to his shrine. Here you can see the "Holy Hole" below his tomb; pilgrims would crawl into this hole to lay close to Swithun's bones and emerge on the other side of the crawlspace hopefully with their prayers having been answered by the saint.
(1) Left: St. Swithun's memorial canopy. The writing on the canopy explains the meaning of rain on the saint's feast day: St. Swithun's day if thou dost rain / For forty days it will remain / St. Swithun's day if thou be fair / For forty days 'twill rain nae mare. Some think that this prophetic rhyme refers to a particularly bad downpour that happened when Swithun's bones were translated from outside the Cathedral to inside (against his wishes). (2) Right: The "Holy Hole" of St. Swithun. The stone around the arch is discolored from countless pilgrims gripping the edge to get out.
We toured the Cathedral crypt, as well as visited many side chapels, and Jane Austen's tomb, and then went to lunch at the William Walker pub. After lunch, we commenced our walking tour of the rest of Winchester.
Along the way, we chanced upon a street performance of Morris dance, an English folk art that features dancers wearing bells on their clothing and utilizing other percussive accessories. Have a look and a listen to the left!
We visited the Hospital of St. Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty, one of England's oldest and longest running almshouses. This house charitably harbors the Black Brothers (Order of the Hospital of St. Cross) and the Red Brothers (Order of Noble Poverty). They also participate in a centuries-old tradition of offering the "Wayfarer's Dole," a simple meal of bread and ale freely given to travelers. We knocked on the door of the Porter's Lodge and asked for the Dole:
Receiving our daily bread (in solid and liquid form)!
At the Hospital/Almshouse we also met Master Terry Hemmings, who was intrigued by our pilgrimage and gave us a personal tour of the church as well as a pilgrim's blessing. We have now received three pilgrim's blessings!
Top row from left: (1) Church of St. Cross and almshouse living quarters exterior, (2) Interior of the Church of St. Cross, (3) Window in the Church. Bottom row from left: (1) The Master of the Almshouse gave us a personal tour, (2) Photo with the Master after receiving his blessing
We walked around the grounds of the Hospital/Almshouse and said the rosary and the Stations of the Cross in the gardens. This moment of prayer together was the most meaningful part of the day.
The idyllic grounds at the Almshouse
After leaving the Hospital/Almshouse, we headed down Keats' Walk, a path that poet John Keats would take daily when he lived in Winchester in 1819. We came across our first kissing gate (livestock gate), a sight that we will see much more of on the pilgrimage trail.
Along Keats' Walk
Coming into the city, we visited the ruins of the old Roman wall (below) that surrounded Winchester, which was built in the 3rd century AD during the Roman settlement of Britannia Superior. At that time, Winchester was a settlement which the Romans called Venta Belgarum.
We also saw the beautifully clear River Itchen that runs through the city, and we took the opportunity to admire it on the High Street Bridge overlooking the River.
(1) Left: Remnants of the Roman Wall of Winchester, (2) Right: Peering over the High Street Bridge
At the end of the day, we attended a choral Evensong Service (Vespers in the Anglican tradition) at Winchester Cathedral. Here's an angelic snippet:
Finally, we ended the day with vittles from The Royal Oak, the oldest pub in Winchester, dating back to 1002 AD. We're definitely getting our fill of hearty food before hitting the trail. One more day until the pilgrimage starts!
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