Experience captivating history and magnificent architecture as part of your festive day out.
Winchester Cathedral's Christmas market, cosily housed in the confines of the Cathedral Close, is a must see at this time of year, but there are plenty of other 'hidden jewels' not to be missed within the cathedral itself...
We encourage you to book online now to experience the splendour of one of the great Cathedrals of the south as part of your festive day.
Winchester Cathedral is home to four volumes of the beautifully inscribed 12th Century Bible, one of the finest in existence anywhere in England and an important insight into how Medieval manuscripts were made.
Other must sees include the longest Cathedral nave in Europe, one of the most significant collection of in-situ medieval tiles in Europe, a Holy hole that housed St Swithun’s bones which people used to crawl into to receive a blessing, and a statue of William Walker, a diver who dived under Cathedral for eight years with bags of concrete on his back to shore up the foundations of the Cathedral. Also notable are the medieval wall paintings in the Holy Sepulchre Chapel and the Great Screen between the nave and the Choir.
Winchester Cathedral is open to the public Mondays to Sundays, with mornings being the best times to visit. Dogs and pushchairs are allowed inside the Cathedral and there is easy access for wheelchair users.
The Cathedral is also open for worship in the mornings, at lunchtimes and in the afternoons, when members of the public are invited to join a service should they wish to do so.
A huge Christmas tree is installed in the nave for the Christmas season alongside festive flower arrangements.
Our Cathedral is truly one of the gems of southern England and with so many people visiting our Cathedral Christmas Market in the Close just outside, we would like to invite some of them to come in, while they are waiting to get to the Christmas Market, to experience the splendour of this beautiful building.
Catherine Ogle, Dean of Winchester Cathedral
