Winchester monarchs such as King Canute and William Rufus. It was once an important pilgrimage centre and housed the shrine of Saint Swithun. The ancient Pilgrims' Way travelling to Canterbury begins at Winchester. The plan of the earlier Old Minster is laid out in the grass adjoining the cathedral. The New Minster (the original burial place of Alfred the Great and Edward the Elder) once stood beside it. The cathedral has a girls choir and a boys choir, which sing on a regular basis at the cathedral. Winchester Cathedral Close contains a number of historic buildings from the time when the
Winchester Cathedral the mortuary chests also refers to a king 'Edmund', of which nothing else is known. It is possible that this could be Edmund Ironside, King of England (1016) but he is buried at Glastonbury Abbey by most accounts, including the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle". The earliest recorded organ at Winchester Cathedral was in the 10th century; it had 400 pipes and could be heard throughout the city. The earliest known organist of Winchester Cathedral is John Dyer in 1402. The current organ, the work of master organ builder Henry Willis, was first displayed in the Great Exhibition of 1851, where it was