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
Dedications in the Church of England Catherine was favoured by many institutions as she is also the patron saint of educators and philosophers. A number of churches seem to have selected their patron according to the feast day on which the church was dedicated. Though these are often hard to discern, they include several churches dedicated to the Ascension or the Assumption. The table lists the most common dedications in the Church of England. Note that churches with more than one patron saint are counted towards the totals of both. Among another Biblical saints the following have dedications: St Philip (92), St Jude (37), St Gabriel