Visiting King Arthur’s Round Table at The Great Hall in Winchester

Shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1067, William the Conqueror built a castle where the Great Hall now stands. The original hall was made of timber and significantly smaller than the current space. It was there that the King received his second coronation in 1070.

What can be seen now was created by Henry III between 1222 and 1235. Henry III was born in Winchester and desired a magnificent Gothic building that reflected his royal authority. The hall was built to an impressive size for hosting feasts, a royal court, and for conducting state business.

The Great Hall was the heart of England for centuries, as all local government functions were conducted in Winchester. The hall hosted important banquets, as well as trials, and parliamentary decisions. Some of the famous trials that took place in the Great Hall:

1330 Edmund of Woodstock, first Earl of Kent: Edmund was the son of King Edward I and attempted to overthrow King Edward III. He was tried in the Great Hall and beheaded outside the castle gates.

1603 Sir Walter Raleigh: Raleigh was found guilty of treason, allegedly for his involvement in the Main Plot against King James I. He was transported to the Tower of London, where he stayed imprisoned until 1616. He was released to go on an expedition to South Africa to find the Lost City of Gold. During the expedition, his men attacked a Spanish settlement, and when he returned home, he was tried again and beheaded in London.

1685 The Bloody Assizes: There was an attempt to overthrow King James II led by James Scott, the Duke of Monmouth, the illegitimate son of King Charles II. Scott was captured and tried in London and beheaded on Tower Hill. The Bloody Assizes were a series of trials held for Scott’s supporters. The most famous of the trials was for Dame Alice Lisle, who was tried in the Great Hall and beheaded in Winchester’s Marketplace.

1954 Edward Montague: Edward Montagu, the 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, Michael Pitt-Rivers, and Peter Wildeblood were convicted of indecent behavior for being homosexual. Montagu was sentenced to 12 months in prison, while Pitt-Rivers and Wildeblood were sentenced to 18 months in prison. Wildeblood later wrote a memoir about the ordeal, which led to the decriminalization of homosexuality in the UK in 1967.

1973 IRA Bombing Trials: 8 people were convicted and sent to prison for the bombing of the gate at Old Bailey, the criminal court for England and Wales.

During the English Civil War, fire destroyed most of Windsor Castle, but the Great Hall withstood the onslaught. At the beginning of the war, Royalists held the castle, but Parliamentarian forces took the castle in 1646. Oliver Cromwell ordered the castle to be destroyed and “rendered useless” in 1649, but the order was not carried out until 1651. Despite no longer being a royal castle, the Great Hall continued to be used by government agencies.

The object that gets the most attention inside the Great Hall is King Arthur’s Round Table. The table is 18 feet across and weighs 1.2 metric tons. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the table, but the most likely story is that the table was created by Edward I during the 13th century. Edward I enjoyed the Arthurian legend and used the stories about Arthur to enhance his own authority. Historians believe Edward had the table built for a royal tournament or a celebration. Many King Arthur chroniclers believe Winchester was the inspiration for Camelot.

Later on, King Henry VIII had the table painted with a green and white Tudor design, with the names of the Knights of the Roundtable placed around the table. At the center of the table is King Arthur, who looks similar to King Henry VIII. Despite time and sieges, the Roundtable still hangs on the wall within the Great Hall.

Another large object found in the Great Hall is a marble statue of Queen Victoria. The statue was commissioned in 1887 to honor Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, celebrating her 50 years on the throne. It was placed near the east end of the hall, so visitors could quickly see the queen presiding over the court.

During our visit to the Great Hall, my fascination with King Arthur caused me to peruse the information provided within the museum. The enormous collection of dress-up clothes entertained my daughter that was found within the hall. I appreciated the Hampshire Cultural Trust’s attention to kids’ needs, so that parents can do their own research while kids play. It was a joyful time for my daughter as she went from a court jester to a knight to a queen.

Visitors can also visit The Long Gallery, which is a series of portraits showing influential figures that were connected to the Winchester Castle. Within the gallery are also details about the history of the castle.