Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral is a cathedral of the Church of England in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, with the longest nave and greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. Dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and before the Reformation, Saint Swithun, it is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and centre of the Diocese of Winchester. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building. The cathedral was founded in 642 on a site immediately to the north of the present one. This building became known as
New Minster, Winchester was also given the body of the Breton Saint Judoc (Saint Josse), making it an important pilgrimage centre. Queen Emma added the head of Saint Valentine in 1041. It became a Benedictine house in 963. With the building of the new cathedral at Winchester after the Norman Conquest of England, the monks of New Minster were obliged to move to Hyde Mead just outside the northern city walls, thus founding the Abbey of Hyde. New Minster, Winchester The New Minster in Winchester was a royal Benedictine abbey founded in 901 in Winchester in the English county of Hampshire. Alfred the