From the time of Alfred the Great until after the Norman Conquest, Winchester was England's capital and the Cathedral was its royal chapel. Much of England's early history was based here and twelve English kings are believed to be buried here – meaning that Winchester can lay claim to being the first Royal Mausoleum.
What kings are buried in the Winchester Cathedral?
The remains of several kings of Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, including Edmund Ironside, Cnut and William II Rufus are believed to be in Winchester Cathedral.
Jane Austen is now celebrated as one of England's greatest novelists, but when she was buried in the Cathedral in 1817, at the age of 41, her original memorial stone made no mention of her books.
Is King Canute still buried in Winchester Cathedral?
His remains are in a mortuary chest perched high up on a stone screen in Winchester Cathedral. Who was he? Canute the Great (Knud den Store in Danish) was both the greatest Viking and the greatest ruler of Anglo-Saxon England.
King Alfred was first interred in the Anglo-Saxon cathedral in Winchester, known as the Old Minster and then moved by his son Edward the Elder to New Minster. Edward, his brother, son and grandson were also buried at New Minster. In 1110, New Minster was moved to Hyde and became Hyde Abbey.
Sweyn was proclaimed king on Christmas Day 1013, but his reign lasted for a matter of weeks; he died suddenly at his capital, Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, on February 3rd 1014. Sweyn was buried in England and his body was later removed to Roeskild Cathedral in Denmark.
King Knut died at Shaftesbury on 12 November 1035. He was buried in the Old Minster in Winchester. His bones are currently in a mortuary chest in Winchester Cathedral (the building which replaced the Old Minster). Knut's line died out in both England and Denmark within a decade of his death.
Famous People in Winchester - King Alfred, William Walker and Jane Austen. In Winchester a famous statue pays tribute to King Alfred, who fought off the Vikings and was the founder of a unified Anglo-Saxon England.
In 1992, escape artist Bill Shirk was buried alive under seven tons of dirt and cement in a Plexiglas coffin. The coffin collapsed and almost killed Shirk.
Known for proudly reminding people that she was “a Hampshire born Austen”, Jane was finally laid to rest in Winchester Cathedral, in 1817 - at the age of just 41.
Today, the cathedral holds a 14th century volume, which contains a transcription of the 1217 version of the Magna Carta, the third version of the document. “Our History.” Winchester Cathedral. Accessed August 26, 2015. http://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/our-heritage/our-history/.
In August 2012, 527 years to the day that King Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth, Leicester City Council, the University of Leicester, and the Richard III Society began the archaeological dig for the 'Looking for Richard' project, a search underneath a car park in Leicester, to find King Richard III's ...
How many kings are buried at Winchester Cathedral?
Much of England's early history was based here and twelve English kings are believed to be buried here – meaning that Winchester can lay claim to being the first Royal Mausoleum.
Four oddly matched royals are buried beneath: King Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, King Charles I, and an infant child of Queen Anne. Originally, the vault was intended as only a temporary resting place for Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, his third wife.
Once the seat of the royal power of the Anglo-Saxons and Normans, a Christian church was built here around 645 AD and over the next 350 years it became the most important church in Anglo-Saxon England. By 1000 AD, its status as one of the grandest cathedrals in Europe was assured.
Following a period of illness, Canute died on November 12, 1035, at Shaftesbury while on an inspection tour of England; his remains were buried at Winchester. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the writer reported jaundice as the cause of death.
Sweyn Forkbeard was the first Viking King of England, however you'd be forgiven for potentially forgetting who he was given he was only King for five short weeks, being declared King on Christmas Day 1013, and ruling till his death on 3rd February 1014.
Burial. A year after his death at Stamford Bridge, Harald's body was moved to Norway and buried at the Mary Church in Nidaros (Trondheim). About a hundred years after his burial, his body was reinterred at the Helgeseter Priory, which was demolished in the 17th century.
King Alfred established the largest 'burh' or fortified town in Wessex at Winchester, which became the royal centre of the Kings of Wessex and later Anglo-Saxon England.
Post-mortem journeys. Rollo never stopped moving, even after his death! Buried in the cathedral of Rouen, his remains were moved to the Romanesque cathedral, then to the brand-new Gothic cathedral, then to the cathedral restored after the Second World War.
Canute (I) (died November 12, 1035) was a Danish king of England (1016–35), of Denmark (as Canute II; 1019–35), and of Norway (1028–35), who was a power in the politics of Europe in the 11th century, respected by both emperor and pope. Neither the place nor the date of his birth is known.
