Bishop Birinus began converting the Gewisse to Christianity in 634, In 635 he baptized their king Cynegils who established Birinus at Dorchester. But the Dorchester bishopric was never considered West Saxon by Bede. He considered it to be Gewisse. In 660 Cenwalh created a new diocese at Winchester and made Wine the first bishop. Bede referred to the Winchester diocese as West Saxon. At the time he was writing in the early 8th century, Bede treated the two names as interchangeable. But when writing of the reign of Cynegils he referred to them as "anciently known as the Gewissae."