A Grand Tour of Winchester Part V: Two Norman Building Bishops of Winchester

Main photo: Winchester Cathedral Crypt, 1093

Medieval history is partly shaped by the ‘magnates’ of a realm. These confident people, often men, positioned themselves to achieve what still echoes today. Two of the Norman Bishops of Winchester played their role, not just within the city, but in the history of England. These were Bishop Walkelin (Bishop: 1070 – 3 January 1098) and Bishop Henry of Blois (Bishop: 17 Nov 1129 – 1171). They were key patrons of the arts and architecture, bringing in force the Norman and other French regions cultural influences to England.

Winchester Cathedral was one of the first Norman cathedrals to be built after William the Conqueror’s invasion. It was started in 1079 and designed by Norman master masons, bringing a new architectural style to England.[i] The Normans were making an ecclesiastical conquest as well as the military one. Their cathedrals and castles were statements of dominance and a new order.

Bishop Walkelin: (Bishop: 1070 – 3 January 1098)

Whilst there is no chantry or tomb to seek out for Bishop Walkelin, he is an important figure in the history of the Cathedral. He was one of William the Conqueror’s chaplains and was appointed to the see of Winchester by the king. He was consecrated on the 30th of May 1070. He made the decision to take down the Anglo-Saxon Old Minster and replace it with a vast Norman cathedral. It was an ambitious project which would not be completed until Bishop William Giffard’s time in c. 1122.[ii]

The Norman cathedral was in place by 1093, under Walkelin’s tenure. On the 15th of July 1093 the Shrine of St Swithin was removed to the new church. On the 16th of July the pulling down of the Old Minster began.[iii]

Bishop Walkelin was close to William II (Rufus) and was appointed regent along with Ranulf Flambard (d.1128) when the king left England. When Battle Abbey was consecrated on the 11th of February 1094, he obtained permission for St Giles Fair, which was to be one of the four great fairs of England. This provided a significant economic boost for Winchester.[iv]

The Normans liked to provide offices for family members. Walkelin made his brother Symeon prior of St Swithun’s Cathedral Priory. Symeon became abbot of Ely in 1093 and began building the abbey church we see today. Walkelin’s nephew, Gerard, became bishop of Hereford and then archbishop of York.[v]

WALKELIN’S TOWER

Thomas Rudborne, a Benedictine monk of Swithun’s Priory and chronicler of the mid 15th century, wrote the Historia major Wintoniensis (The Greater History of Winchester). This covers the period from 164 to 1138. The Reverend R. Willis wrote a paper in 1845 (History of the Architecture at Winchester Cathedral) which uses Rudborne as one of the key sources.[vi] There was some confusion about the Norman tower, which Rudborne sought to clarify. Willis wrote from his work:

When King William Rufus was slain by the arrow of Walter Tirrel in the New Forest, (A.D. 1100,) his body was brought to Winchester and buried in the cathedral church, in the middle of the choir. It was laid in the ground within the limits of the tower, in the presence of many nobles, but with the tears of few. Some years afterwards (namely, in the year 1107) the tower fell, which many thought to have been a judgment for his sins ; and because that it was a grievous wrong to bury in that sacred place one who all his life had been profane and sensual, and who died without the Christian viaticum.[vii]

But now (says Rudborne) an apparent contradiction arises, for it is written in the archives of the church of Wynton, that Bishop Walkelin built the tower in question. But he died in the eleventh year of King Rufus, (about two years before that monarch ; ) and the tower does not appear to have fallen after it was erected by Walkelin… That Walkelyn did not build the tower during his life, but that after his death the old tower of the church having fallen after the king was buried within it, it was rebuilt out of the great funds which Walkelyn left to this church.[viii]

Essentially Walkelin was the founder of the tower after his death by use of his funds. The problem of the tower that fell was likely an issue of weak foundations (peat overlying gravel).[ix]

Rudborne also described where Walkelin was buried in the nave of Cathedral (now lost):

‘His venerable body is buried in the nave of the church, before the steps under the rood-loft … in which stands the silver cross of Stigand, and the two great silver images ; and he lies at the feet of William Gyffard, bishop of Winchester, having over him a marble stone, with these versus engraved thereon :’[x]

“Praesul Walkynus istic requiescit humatus

Tempore Willelmi Conquestoris cathedratus”[xi]

(Translates as: “Bishop Walkelin rests buried here

Enthroned in the time of William the Conqueror”)

Bishop Henry of Blois: (Born: c. 1096, Bishop: 17 Nov 1129 – 1171)

Henry was born circa 1096 to Stephen II, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy. His elder brother Stephen became King of England (r. 1135-1154). He was a grandson of William the Conqueror through his mother.

Henry was educated at the great Burgundian Benedictine Monastery of Cluny and became a monk. He had a deep connection to Cluny.[xii] The new and major abbey church of Cluny, conceived in 1088, would emerge as the Maior ecclesia in Christian monasticism. At the time the 30-metre-high vaulted ceilings made it the largest church in Western Christendom until St Peter’s Basilica in Rome was completed in 1626.[xiii]The Abbots of Cluny were at the centre stage of European politics and religion around the time Henry would have been there.

The importance of the Cluniacs was not the size or number of their houses in Norman England but by the influence of many of their brethren who held prominent positions. The Cluniac order instituted All Souls’ Day (2nd November) as a sequel to All Saints’ Day (1st November). King Stephen (1097-1154) was buried at his Cluniac priory at Faversham in Kent. The Cluniac order had a reputation as “ferrymen of departing souls”.[xiv]

Henry of Blois was connected to the Cluniac priory at Montacute, Somerset. It may have been that he was briefly the prior, although, more likely he had control of it in another capacity.[xv]

In 1126 Henry I, Henry’s uncle, appointed him abbot of Glastonbury. According to his brief record (libellus) he was active in reclaiming property. This record is one of the earliest treatises on English estate management.[xvi] He found the abbey in a very poor state. The buildings were in a state of collapse with impoverished monks living in huts. Once a wealthy abbey, its grip on its large properties had been eroded, some of which had been misappropriated. Henry set about sorting out the ownership and administration, reasserting Glastonbury’s rights where he was able.[xvii]

Glastonbury was a Benedictine House. The Cluniac order was a reforming arm of the Benedictine order and lived by the Rule of St Benedict. They wanted to protect the Benedictine Rule and order from secular influence and practices, which had crept in to abbeys.[xviii] Maybe this is why Henry would continue to keep his grip on Glastonbury after becoming bishop of Winchester.

Not long after this appointment at Glastonbury, Henry was made bishop of Winchester. His consecration took place on the 17th of November 1129. He did not resign his abbacy at Glastonbury and held it alongside his status as bishop at Winchester until his death. He was primarily concerned with the liberty and independence of the Church.[xix]

But he was much more that a straightforward bishop. He was gifted in rhetoric and highly intelligent. He operated as a statesman, diplomat, builder, patron, collector, and astute businessman. His Influence at Winchester and England was hugely important and included the following achievements:

Henry de Blois: Builder, Businessman, Patron & Collector:[xx]

1. Patron for the Winchester Bible (created 1150-1175).
2. Likely responsible for the Tournai Font in Winchester Cathedral.
3. Founded the Hospital of St Cross just outside Winchester.
4. Responsible for most of the building of Wolvesey Castle at Winchester.
5. Reformed the old collegiate church of Christchurch in Twynham and in 1150 turned it into a house of Augustinian canons.
6. He was extremely wealthy and at Winchester made surveys of the city and the monastic estates.
7. He took over the monastery at Hyde in Winchester.
8. He controlled the port at Southampton.
9. He built at Glastonbury.
10. At his palaces he built water features and lakes and had menageries of exotic birds and wild animals.
11. He built Winchester Palace at Southwark, London.
12. He started the construction of the bishop’s palace at Bishop’s Waltham in Hampshire in the 1130s.[xxi]
13. In terms of economic privileges, he was very astute. His first request at Glastonbury to Henry I was the confirmation of its fair. At Winchester the first request of Henry II was to extend the number of days of the St Giles Fair.[xxii] King Henry I had extended the length of the fair by five days, making it an eight-day fair. In 1136 King Stephen extended it again to fourteen days. King Henry II ignored Stephen’s grant and doubled the number of days from eight to sixteen.[xxiii]
14. He went to Rome and to Santiago de Compostela. In Rome he was like an early grand tourist and sought out shops selling antiquities such as statues, which were shipped to Winchester.

Henry de Blois: Statesman and Diplomat:[xxiv]

1. Essentially, he was the ‘kingmaker’ for his brother Stephen.
2. He was made Papal legate by Pope Innocent II in England until the Innocent’s death in 1143.
3. He attempted peace brokering between Stephen and Empress Matilda in 1140.
4. At Winchester in 1153 he had a prominent role in negotiating the treaty which established Duke Henry of Normandy, Empress Matilda’s son, as Stephen’s adopted heir. Stephen died on the 25th of October 1154. Henry II’s coronation at Westminster was on the 19th of December 1154, attended by Henry of Blois.
5. In 1158, probably in the present of Henry II, he reinterred the bodies of the early English kings in the cathedral, a symbol of the continuity of monarchy in Winchester’s royal connection.
6. Whilst he was never archbishop, he was subdean of the province of Canterbury and presided over the election and consecration in 1162 of Thomas Becket’s appointment.
7. He attempted to broker agreements between Becket and Henry II when their relationship broke down. He reproached Henry II for the death of Becket.

TOURNAI FONT

The font was likely carved at Tournai, in modern day Belgium, from local black marble and shipped in kit form to Winchester. It dates from c. 1150 and therefore in Bishop Henry’s time. The scenes depicted on the font are of the miracles of St Nicholas of Myra[xxv].

Of the four sides, two are scenes from the life of St Nicholas, who in folklore is known as Santa Claus. One of the scenes is of where he gives gold coins to the poor father of three girls so could pay a dowry for them. This is why we have chocolate covered coins at Christmas!

There are other Tournai fonts to be found in parish churches in Hampshire as well as one in Lincoln Cathedral.

HOLY SEPULCHRE CHAPEL

Before the steps in the north aisle that led pilgrims up towards the Shrine of St Swithin, stands the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre. The wall paintings are a wonderful survival. See blog post Winchester: 12th C Wall Paintings. The early wall paintings are 12th C and are possibly from the time of Bishop Henry. I was told that crusaders would stop off here before congregating at St Cross, but I have no reference confirmation as yet!

TOMB MONUMENT of BISHOP HENRY

On the 6th of August 1171, Bishop Henry was on his death bed and Henry II visited him. He died two or three days later and was buried in Winchester Cathedral.[xxvi]

Tomb of the Bishop Henry of Blois. The tomb slab is polished Purbeck Marble. It is situated in the choir in the centre before the sanctuary steps.

SUMMARY

Winchester was an important city for King Alfred the Great and William the Conqueror. The continued importance of the city was developed by Bishops Walkelin and Henry de Blois, along with other bishops. Winchester’s episcopal see, along with the lands and properties, was one of the wealthiest in England. This small, inland, contained city thrived well beyond its gates and walls. The role of the bishop magnates in the history of England cannot be underestimated.

NOTES

[i] ‘A Guide to Norman Architecture in England’, Historic England, 2022, < https://heritagecalling.com/2022/03/31/what-is-norman-architecture/> [accessed 22 February 2025].

[ii] Edmund King, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, online edn, 23 September 2004, <https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/12968> [accessed 1 April 2025].

[iii] ‘Winchester: The cathedral’, in A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 5, ed. William Page (London, 1912), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol5/pp50-59 [accessed 8 April 2025].

[iv] King, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

[v] King, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

[vi] The Reverend R. Willis, The Architectural History of Winchester Cathedral, (Winchester: Friends of Winchester Cathedral, 1984, repr. 2005), p. 18. NOTE: The Reverend Willis paper History of the Architecture of Winchester Cathedral was first written in 1845.

[vii] Willis, pp. 18-19.

[viii] Willis, p. 19.

[ix] ‘Winchester: The cathedral’, in A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 5.

[x] Willis, p. 18.

[xi] Willis, p. 18.

[xii] King, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

[xiii] ‘History of the Abbey of Cluny’, Abbaye de Cluny, < https://www.cluny-abbaye.fr/en/discover/history-of-the-abbey-of-cluny> [accessed 4 April 2025].

[xiv] Stephen Friar, The Companion to Cathedrals and Abbeys, (Stroud: The History Press, 2010), p. 94.

[xv] King, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

[xvi] King, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

[xvii] N. E. Stacy, “Henry of Blois and the Lordship of Glastonbury.” The English Historical Review, vol. 114, no. 455, 1999, pp. 1–33. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/579913. [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025].

[xviii] Friar, p. 94.

[xix] King, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

[xx] King, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

[xxi] ‘Bishop’s Waltham Palace’, English Heritage, < https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/bishops-waltham-palace/history/> [accessed 8 April 2025].

[xxii] King, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

[xxiii] Counties and Wales: Winchester’, Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516, (Centre for Metropolitan History), < https://archives.history.ac.uk/gazetteer/gazweb2.html> [accessed 3 April 2025].

[xxiv] King, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

[xxv] Chiz Harward, ‘Recent investigations of the Tournai font’, Winchester Cathedral, < https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/news/recent-investigations-of-the-tournai-font/> [accessed 3 April 2025].

[xxvi] King, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abbaye de Cluny, ‘History of the Abbey of Cluny’, Abbaye de Cluny, < https://www.cluny-abbaye.fr/en/discover/history-of-the-abbey-of-cluny> [accessed 4 April 2025]

British History Online, ‘Winchester: The cathedral’, in A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 5, ed. William Page (London, 1912), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol5/pp50-59 [accessed 8 April 2025]

Counties and Wales: Winchester’, Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516, (Centre for Metropolitan History), < https://archives.history.ac.uk/gazetteer/gazweb2.html> [accessed 3 April 2025]

English Heritage, ‘Bishop’s Waltham Palace’, English Heritage, < https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/bishops-waltham-palace/history/> [accessed 8 April 2025]

Friar, Stephen, The Companion to Cathedrals and Abbeys, (Stroud: The History Press, 2010)

Harward, Chiz, ‘Recent investigations of the Tournai font’, Winchester Cathedral, < https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/news/recent-investigations-of-the-tournai-font/> [accessed 3 April 2025]

Historic England, ‘A Guide to Norman Architecture in England’, Historic England, 2022, < https://heritagecalling.com/2022/03/31/what-is-norman-architecture/> [accessed 22 February 2025]

King, Edmund, ‘Blois, Henry de (c. 1096-1171)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, online edn, 23 September 2004, <https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/12968> [accessed 1 April 2025]

Stacy, N. E. “Henry of Blois and the Lordship of Glastonbury.” The English Historical Review, vol. 114, no. 455, 1999, pp. 1–33. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/579913. [Accessed 3 Apr. 2025]

Willis, The Reverend R., The Architectural History of Winchester Cathedral, (Winchester: Friends of Winchester Cathedral, 1984, repr. 2005)