Winchester

For the firearms manufacturer and its brand of ammunition, (which are named after their inventor, Oliver E. Winchester (1810-1880), see Winchester (firearms manufacturer)

Winchester (derivation: Roman town called "venta" from "venta" being a favoured or chief place and "chester, Roman town or camp.), is a cathedral city of 116,595 (2011)[1] inhabitants in the county of Hampshire in Southern England, just off the M3 Motorway, 19 kilometres (12 miles} north of Southampton.

The site goes back to the Iron Age. (A British tribe, the Belgae occupied the area before the Roman occupation.) It became the capital city of Wessex, and after the unification of England by Alfred the Great in the 9th century, it became the capital city of England. It was gradually superseded as capital by London after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Winchester is a picturesque and historic city with a fine Norman cathedral which offers Anglican services and the "Great Hall", the only viable remnant of Winchester Castle after the original fortifications were destroyed on the orders of Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil War.

## External links[edit]

* Official website of the city of Winchester

## References[edit]

1. ↑ "2001 vs 2011 Census - Population and Age" Accessed January 14, 2015