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
Diocese of Winchester licensed as an honorary assistant bishop for ministry in the diocese. The Diocese of Winchester is one of the oldest and most important in England. Originally it was the see of the kingdom of Wessex (as such it is sometimes called the "Diocese of Wessex"), with the "cathedra" at Dorchester Cathedral under Saints Birinus (a Roman missionary and the Abbey's founder) and Agilbert. This Wessex diocese covered most of Hampshire, Berkshire, parts of Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. It was transferred to Winchester in AD 660: the episcopal cathedral see was, at some point, at Old Minster, Winchester. Around 704, the diocese