Early history Around AD 70 the
Romans constructed a massive earth rampart long and wide. On top of this they built a fort to protect the city of
Venta Belgarum. This site was chosen by
William the Conqueror as the site of one of the first
Norman castles in England. The castle was built in 1067 and for over one hundred years it was the seat of Government of the Norman Kings. In 1141, during
The Anarchy, forces of the
Empress Matilda were besieged by the forces of
King Stephen at the castle, in the
Rout of Winchester.
Henry II built a stone keep to house the royal treasury and the
Domesday Book. The remains of a 13th-century round tower complete with
sally ports is still visible. In 1287, Asher, who was
Licoricia of Winchester's son, wrote a Hebrew inscription on the ruins of the Jews' Tower which forms part of the castle. This dates back to his imprisonment as part of the whole community on 2 May 1287, in advance of a huge tax on the Jews by Edward I, before their
expulsion in 1290. Extensions to the castle were added by
Edward II.
Later history In 1302,
Edward I and his second wife,
Margaret of France, narrowly escaped death when the royal apartments of the castle were destroyed by fire. The castle remained an important residence and on 10 April 1472
Margaret of York, daughter of
King Edward IV, was born there. In 1580 the nun
Elizabeth Sander was imprisoned here with other Catholics. She escaped but returned to show that Catholics were law abiding. After
Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, the castle ceased to be a royal residence and was handed over to Winchester's city authorities. The castle was used by the
Royalists in the
English Civil War, eventually falling to
Parliamentarians in 1646, and then being demolished on
Oliver Cromwell's orders in 1649. It was in The Great Hall that, in the aftermath of the
Monmouth Rebellion,
Judge Jeffreys held the
Bloody Assizes on 27 August 1685:
Castle Hill, located nearby, is the location of the Council Chamber for
Hampshire County Council and, since 2014, of the Winchester Register Office. The Great Hall was also the home of the Winchester Assizes and, in 1954, another notorious trial took place there, when
Edward Montagu,
Michael Pitt-Rivers and
Peter Wildeblood went on trial and were convicted of charges of having committed specific acts of homosexual indecency. The Great Hall was also the venue of the trial and conviction of six members of the
Provisional IRA, in 1973, for the
Old Bailey bombing. The Great Hall ceased to be the venue for criminal trials after the
Winchester Law Courts were erected, just to the east of the Great Hall, in 1974. In 1963 the Winchester Excavation Committee began a
rescue excavation at part of the site of the castle ahead of the planned construction of court buildings and associated carparks. Behind the Great Hall a medieval-style garden, called Queen Eleanor's Garden, was created in 1986. As of March 2024, the Great Hall was operated by Hampshire Cultural Trust, under the marketing name The Great Hall with Westgate Museum. ==Gallery==