A Visit to Winchester Cathedral

Wednesday 6th March 2024

Court Assistant Margaret Hill organised a trip to Winchester Cathedral as part of the celebrations of the 650th Anniversary of the Company, with particular emphasis on the skills shown by early exponents of one of our traditional trades, that of calligraphy.

The main purpose of the visit was to see the Kings & Scribes Exhibition in the recently refurbished Exhibition Gallery, featuring the Winchester Bible which was commissioned in the 12th Century probably by Henry of Blois, a grandson of William the Conqueror and a Benedictine monk from the Abbey of Cluny in France. The Winchester Bible is one of Great Britain’s most prized treasures and is beautifully illuminated. It had been restored recently and the Scriveners’ Company was one of many contributors to that restoration.

There was a guided tour of the newly refurbished Cathedral including the gloriously restored roof in the Choir, the flooded Crypt with the Anthony Gormley statue, the newly revealed wall paintings and the Shrine of St Swithun, before moving on to a specially-arranged tour from the Archivist of the exhibition including the Bible and other exhibits setting out the early history of the Cathedral from the first foundation as a Romanesque Minster Church to the beautiful Norman building which exists today. There was also a visit to the Library with its unique collection of books and scrolls. Many thanks to Margaret for all her efforts in arranging this.