Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral has its roots in the 7^th century, and the present Cathedral was consecrated in 1093. Between c970 and 1539 it was at the heart of a Benedictine monastery, St Swithun’s Priory, and since 1541 it has been run by a Dean and Chapter.

The surviving records mainly date from the twelfth century onwards and include:

• administrative records of the Priory, 12^th-16^th centuries, including obedientiary rolls (the accounts of office-holding monks)
• records of the estates of St Swithun’s Priory and the Cathedral, mainly 13^th-19^th centuries
• administrative records of the Cathedral, 1541 onwards
• registers of baptisms, marriages and burials at the Cathedral, 1580 onwards
• records of the underpinning of the Cathedral in 1905-12 and the role of the diver William Walker

The Cathedral Archive relates primarily to the running of the Cathedral, not the wider Diocese of Winchester, its Bishops, clergy and parishes. These other collections may help:

• The Cathedral’s library and artefact collections remain at the Cathedral