Clerk of Winchester, and several other members of the Corporation being present to receive the Bishop and the members of the Institute. Mr. Wyatt, the architect of the buildings now in process for assize and other county purposes, was expected to be present; but having been called away to London, Mr. Parker said he would say a few words about the place, which was, however, very fully described in the Winchester volume of the Institute some twenty years ago, and therefore the members might be assumed to have some knowledge of it. They would see that its plan was that of a parallelogram. It was built in the first twenty or thirty years of the thirteenth century, in Henry III.'s time, but Edward I. made considerable alterations in it. It was a very fine Hall of that period, corresponding with that at Westminster. These royal halls were used for various public and quasi-public purposes, for banquets and the like, and this no doubt was used then, as now, as a court of justice. Happily the walls constructed in modern days for that purpose, enclosing a bay at each end, were about to be cleared away. Over the East end was the Round Table of King Arthur, well known as one of the curiosities of Winchester. He directed special attention to the mouldings of the arches and the clustered shafts of the pillars, saying that as a whole it was a very fine specimen of an Early English Hall, but so much dis- figured that they could hardy form an idea of what it had been. At both ends there were fine Early English triplet light windows, with detached shafts, and on the West wail traces of the original wall painting, with the remains of lancet windows in the South wall.[1]
Passing to the City Muniment Room over the West gate, the Town Clerk displayed to the visitors such treasures as had not been temporarily removed to the museum at Southampton. The Church and Hospital of St. Cross were the next objects of interest; and here the huge party was received by the Master, and kindly entertained at luncheon in the well-known Hundred Men's Hall. Thanks having been returned by the President of the meeting, progress was made to the church, where Mr. Parker discoursed upon its special features at some length.[2] Discussing the recently-executed decorations of the walls, he remarked that the colours were probably more brilliant than they were originally, and, to his mind, they did not sufficiently bring out the architectural forms. Mr. Parker pointed out that one of the present windows in the North transept was originally a door communicating with the Infirmary, so that the sick might be able to join in the services of the church. Moving on to the College, the party were met by the Rev. Mr. Lee, the Warden, and courteously conducted by him over the chapel, the library, and domestic buildings. The Cathedral was next visited; and here the party received a considerable addition to its numbers. Mr. Parker again obligingly acted as spokesman, and passed in review the general history and the main characteristics of the structure.[3] At the conclusion of the discourse, the fine altar screen was the subject of special remark, and other portions of the structure were also observed upon by the Rev. J. G. Joyce, Sir Stafford Carey, and others.
- ↑ See Winchester vol. of the Archæological Institute, 1845, for an article "On the Hall and Round Table at Winchester. By Edward Smirke, Esq."
- ↑ Ibid. "On the Architecture of the Church and Hospital of the Holy Cross. By E. A. Freeman, Esq., B.A."
- ↑ Ibid. "The Architectural History of Winchester Cathedral. By the Rev. R. Willis, M.A., Jackman Professor in the University of Cambridge."
