March Day Visit

 TUESDAY, 15 MARCH

 Winchester College and St Cross Hospital, Hampshire

 Cost: £35 (includes guided tours at both locations and a light lunch)                                                                

 Founded in 1382 Winchester College is believed to be the oldest continuously running school in the country. The tour concentrates on the mediaeval heart of the College, and include Chamber Court; the 14th century Gothic Chapel, with one of the earliest examples of a wooden vaulted roof; College Hall, the original Scholars’ dining room; School, the seventeenth century redbrick schoolroom and the original mediaeval cloister.

 The fine medieval buildings of St Cross Hospital have provided food and shelter for hundreds of years. Its principal activity continues to be the provision of individual, private apartments for a living community of about twenty-five elderly men. At the heart of the Hospital’s inner quadrangle is a wonderful Norman church, its tower, chancel, transepts and nave soaring so high that it looks like a cathedral in miniature. Nearby stand a classic medieval hall and kitchen, as well as a Tudor cloister, with another ancient hall in the outer quad that serves as a tea room. The extensive gardens are immaculately maintained throughout the year.