Winchester Cathedral the Old Minster. It became part of a monastic settlement in 971. Saint Swithun was buried near the Old Minster and then in it, before being moved to the new Norman cathedral. So-called mortuary chests said to contain the remains of Saxon kings such as King Eadwig of England, first buried in the Old Minster, and his wife Ælfgifu, are in the present cathedral. The Old Minster was demolished in 1093, immediately after the consecration of its successor. In 1079, Walkelin, Bishop of Winchester, began work on a completely new cathedral. Much of the limestone used to build the structure
Winchester Cathedral The blue reflects the vault portals of the chapel. The cathedral possesses the only diatonic ring of fourteen church bells in the world, with a tenor (heaviest bell) weighing . The back twelve were all cast by John Taylor & Co in 1937. They were augmented to fourteen when two new trebles and a 4♯ (sharp 4th) were added in 1992 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. Also there is a 8♭ (flat 8th) which was cast by Anthony Bond in 1621. Nowadays the cathedral draws many tourists as a result of its association with Jane Austen, who died in Winchester