Nicholas of Myra, bears much
similarity to three others found in Hampshire--at St. Michaels',
Southampton; East Meon; and St. Mary Bourne. They are all of the same
era, and possibly the work of the same hand, being among the most
interesting of our Norman fonts. The material of which they are made has
never been settled, some authorities defining it as Tournai marble,
others as basalt, and yet others as nothing more than slate.
The roll of bishops is a remarkable one, and the see has had eleven who
were also Lord Chancellors, the last being Wolsey in 1529.
As we have seen, Winchester continued in favour with the reigning houses
long after it had ceased to be a royal residence. Here Henry I was
married to the Saxon Matilda, and here in the closing years of his life
the aged Wykeham married Henry IV and Joan of Navarre; and here, too,
came Philip of Spain and Henry VIII's sad daughter, Mary of England, to
be wedded before the high altar, the chair on which the royal bride sat
being still shown to visitors.
For the architectural student the plan of the cathedral is not the least
interesting feature of the building, for although it has an ambulatory
which is semicircular internally, the plan is in other respects rather
exceptional.
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