The story of Winchester Cathedral

Walk into the nave and look ahead: this is the longest medieval cathedral in the world, 558 feet from end to end. Building it took more than four centuries, from 1079 to 1532, so it mixes styles: Norman transepts and tower, an Early English area behind the high altar, and a very long, very wide nave in the Perpendicular Gothic style. It is among the largest cathedrals in Northern Europe and the sixth-largest by area in the United Kingdom.

Churches were recorded in Winchester very early, but the first Christian church here can be traced to around 648, when King Cenwalh of Wessex built one. The cathedral is dedicated to several saints, above all Swithun. It is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and one of England's great tourist attractions: in 2019 it welcomed 365,000 visitors, 12,000 more than the year before.

Walk the full length of the nave and feel how far you have come.