Winchester’s history goes back to Iron Age and Roman origins. Its cathedral was founded in the seventh century, later famous for its bishop St Swithun and Winchester became a leading city in Anglo-Saxon Wessex and continued in importance through the Middle Age. Although it declined in later centuries, its ancient heritage attracts many today. Quirky Winchester presents some of the more unusual features, fascinating characters and bizarre stories in the history of the city up to today, including the jumbled west window of the Cathedral formed of the shards rescued when it was smashed during the Reformation and the mortuary chests containing the muddled bones of England’s Anglo-Saxon kings, the character ‘Burping Ron’, artistically painted bollards, city centre otters and a street lamp still powered by sewer gas!Quirky Winchester celebrates the unusual and often strange history of Winchester and its characters over the years. This fascinating insight into Winchester will be of interest to all those who want to know more about the city’s quirky history.
