My French Easel: Winchester cathedral

Thursday 5 September 2019

Winchester cathedral

Winchester cathedral in the UK is the longest Gothic cathedral in Europe and its architecture style ranges from the 11th century until the early 16th century.

It also contains some remarkable art covering a wide period.

Medieval wall mural

This 12th-century wall painting in the Holy Sepulchre Chapel was uncovered in the 1960s when the white wash covering it was removed.

Carving of the choir stalls

The 14th-century oak choir stalls and its elaborate carving have survived the Restoration because they were not depicting religious scenes but leaves, animals, dragons and non-religious figures.

The Epiphany Chapel in the north transept features four coloured stained glass windows designed by pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones and . H. Dearle that were created in the workshops of William Morris (1910) and installed in the rounded Norman windows.

The Annunciation, adapted by J. H. Dearle from an original design of 1872 by Sir Edward Burne-Jone - Manufacturer: Morris and Co. 1910

This image is the first in a series of four in the Epiphany Chapel.

The Visitation - John Henry Dearle, 1859-1932 - Manufacturer: Morris and Co. (1910)

This is the second in a series of four Morris windows in the chapel.

The Nativity by Sir Edward Burne-Jones - Manufacturer: Morris & Co. (1910)

The Epiphany by Sir Edward Burne-Jones - Manufacturer: Morris & Co. (1910)

British sculptor Antony Gormley made this life-size statue from lead out of a plaster cast of his own body. The man contemplates the water held in his cupped hands.

Sound II - sculpture by Antony Gormley

Sound II has been installed in the Cathedral crypt that floods during rainy months because of a source running below the cathedral. A tube mechanism run through the body and when the water rises it pushes up though a hole in the man’s chest fills his cupped hands. When the crypt is flooded, the sculpture and the Roman arches reflection in the water create a surreal scene.

Jane Austen’s burial place

You can’t talk about Winchester Cathedral without mentioning that Jane Austen is buried there.

Jane Austen lived in a beautiful cottage in Chawton (that you can visit) 16 miles from Winchester. As she was unwell, Jane came to Winchester with her sister in May 1817 to see a doctor at Winchester Hospital.

They were staying in College Street, near the Cathedral. Jane’s health deteriorated and she died on 18 July 1817 at the age of 41.

house in College Street where Jane Austen died

She was buried in the Cathedral and she lies under the floor of the north aisle of the nave. Her simple gravestone does not mention her writing.

Jane’s nephew Edward wrote a memorial to his aunt. He then and the proceeds to erect a brass plaque on the wall next to her grave, which mentions that Jane Austen was known to many by her writing.