Learnings: The City of Winchester
When the Roman legions conquered southern Britain, they were said to have settled in an ancient meeting place of the Belgar tribe. The Romans built a town there and called it Venta Belgarum, or Market of the Belgae. Surrounded by stone walls, Venta Belgarum became a regional centre for centuries.
After the Roman leaders left Britain, the Saxons invaded, claiming Venta Belgarum as their own. According to Bede the Venerable, a Northumbrian monk, the Saxons called it Uintancaestir, or, the Walled City of Uenta.
After the territory was Christianized, Winchester became the seat of Bishop Wine. Bishop Wine was the first bishop to be consecrated in the Old Minister, the Anglo-Saxon cathedral of Winchester.
Winchester, mapped here, was associated with the royalty of Wessex and. as it had been for both the Romans and Saxons, was an important centre in Anglo-Saxon Britain.