Susanna Calkins, Author
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The romantic ruins of Winchester Palace

9/22/2013

16 Comments

 
Picture
Today, I'm taking part in a "blog hop" celebrating the launch of Castles, Customs and Kings,  a compilation of essays from the English Historical Fiction Authors blog. If you go to the blog, you can enter for a chance to win a free copy!

"Read the history behind the fiction and discover the true tales surrounding England's castles, customs, and kings." --Official excerpt
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I have a piece in here about the political activities of Quaker women, who spent a lot of time speaking against the King.

But today, since a number of bloggers are discussing palaces and castles,  I thought I would write about my personal experience living near the ruins of Winchester Palace in London.


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PicturePhoto: Mike Peel. 2009. www.mikepeel.net
When I was a pirate serving aboard the Golden Hinde, the museum replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship dry-docked in the Thames--(okay, I was a tour guide or 'living history interpreter')--I spent a lot of time gazing at the ruins of Winchester Palace.

Located in Southwark, near Shakespeare's Globe, the Clink and the Anchor (most fun pub in London), the ruins of the 13th century Winchester Palace loom incongruously from a modern parking garage (Car park!) 


PictureLiam Wales © Eng. Her. Photo Library
Not to be confused with the more illustrious Winchester Castle--or Winchester Cathedral, as many a dismayed tourist has done—Winchester Palace was founded by Bishop Henry de Blois, brother of King Stephen, in the early 13th century. It was designed to serve as a place for visiting bishops to stay when they journeyed to London.

According to the English Heritage website, the Palace once consisted of a Great Hall, which led to a buttery, pantry and kitchen.  In its late medieval heyday, the Palace had been a site of great spectacle, feasts and grand dinners, even have hosted the wedding dinner of James I of Scotland and Joan Beauford in 1424.


The majestic qualities of the palace are suggested by the presence of a rose window, a common feature of more lavish churches and palaces built in this time.  There is also evidence that the palace had a tennis court, bowling alley and pleasure gardens, to keep the bishops entertained while on royal and administrative business.

 Underneath the hall was a vaulted wine cellar, no doubt full of great vats and bottles to keep the bishops and their guests merry. There was also a passageway to the river wharf along the south bank of the Thames, to bring supplies into the Palace.

The palace seems to have been surrounded around two courtyards, a brew-house and butchery. The Clink prison, under the auspices of the Bishop of Winchester, was also nearby. (Yes, this is where we get the phrase being ‘thrown in the clink.’)

PictureThe Rose Window http://www.english-heritage.org.uk
After the Reformation and King Henry VIII’s dissolution of many church properties,  the palace changed its purpose.  By the 17th century it was divided into tenements and warehouses. In the 19th century, much of the palace was destroyed in a fire in 1814.  The ruins remained in disrepair until the 1980s when the area began to be redeveloped.  Now only the bare remains and beautiful rose window suggest the former grandeur of the Palace.

When I used to lead school children on tours of the ship, we’d often pause by the Palace ruins.  There, I couldn’t help but whisper about the mysterious happenings  the Golden Hinde crew had all witnessed during our long moonlit stints on ship watch...


A shadow moving slowly through the grounds, when the source of the movement could not be detected.... A flock of black birds, arrayed in a perfect circle, as if convened at a great table.... And most odd of all: one night, our whole crew heard the strands of a madrigal being sung from deep within the ruins...By the time one of us mustered up the courage to peer over the guardrail, the unknown singers had vanished. To this day, I sometimes wonder who those anonymous singers were...

But that's the intriguing romance and mystery of the ruins of Winchester Palace....

16 Comments
Lauren Gilbert link
9/22/2013 06:42:29 pm

I enjoyed your post. These ruins next to a car park...

Reply
Susie link
9/22/2013 11:03:19 pm

Car park! Is that what I should call it? ;-) I probably shouldn't mention how I made tea and cocoa when I worked in the caf near the ship!

Reply
Deborah Swift link
9/22/2013 07:06:36 pm

Lovely post with great photos - very enjoyable!

Reply
susie link
9/22/2013 11:52:26 pm

Thanks. It's fun to be part of this! My first hop!

Reply
Kathleen Kelly link
9/23/2013 03:55:13 am

How awesome that you could look at these ruins on a daily basis...I could look at castle ruins and let my imagination roam. Great post and beautiful pictures!! Thank you!!

Reply
Susie link
9/23/2013 12:53:57 pm

Kathleen Kelly! Thank you it was a ton of fun working on the ship too! Did you know you share the name of the main character in my favorite movie, "You've Got Mail"? ;-)

Reply
Helen Hollick link
9/23/2013 07:29:32 am

thanks for sharing - what an enjoyable read!

Reply
Susie link
9/23/2013 12:54:35 pm

thank you Helen!

Reply
Denise K
9/24/2013 04:08:32 am

I enjoyed learning about Winchester Palace, thanks for informative post and great pictures!

Reply
Susie Calkins link
9/24/2013 02:39:52 pm

thanks Denise K!

Reply
Denise Duvall
9/24/2013 11:02:51 am

Great post! Would have liked to have been on one of your tours!

Reply
Susie link
9/24/2013 02:40:54 pm

thanks! Being a tour guide was a lot of fun!

Reply
Debra Brown link
9/25/2013 06:11:02 pm

I love your post, Susanna! Strange; I thought I commented earlier in the week- I remember mentioning the pretty window. But oh well! Thanks for participating in the blog hop. And did you know- CC&K hit #1 today in Hot New Releases on Amazon!

Reply
Susie link
9/27/2013 02:36:48 pm

thanks for stopping by; it was my pleasure to do this post. And wow on being #1! congrats!

Reply
Debra Brown link
9/27/2013 03:21:07 pm

Hi Susie, thanks! I should say- it was #1 in Historical Essays. :) Not overall Amazon. That would be quite a feat!

Athalia link
2/2/2017 10:42:04 pm

Really enjoyable to read, and it brought back fond memories!

Reply



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    Susanna Calkins

    Historian. Mystery writer. Researcher. Teacher.  Occasional blogger.

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  • Home
  • Lucy Campion Mysteries
    • A Murder at Rosamund's Gate
    • From the Charred Remains
    • The Masque of a Murderer
    • A Death Along the River Fleet
    • The Sign of the Gallows
    • The Cry of the Hangman
    • Death Among the Ruins
  • The Speakeasy Murders
    • Murder Knocks Twice
    • The Fate of a Flapper
  • Short Stories
  • Blog
  • News & Events
    • Event Photos
    • Archived Guest Posts & Interviews
  • The Roaring Twenties
  • 17th c. England
  • Writing Resources
  • Nonfiction
  • New Page