. . . where he had humbly begged to be buried” so that the sun might not shine upon him,” and laid by Edgar and Dunstan behind the altar of the new Cathedral which Bishop Ethelwold had raised on the site of the ancient church of Birinus. This was done, says the chronicler Wulfstan, although the Saint himself “protested weeping that his body ought not to be set in God’s holy church amidst the splendid memorials of the ancient fathers,” a legend which may have given rise to the popular tradition of the forty days’ rain, and the supposed delay in the Saint’s funeral. From that time countless miracles were wrought at the shrine of St. Swithun, and multitudes from all parts of England flocked to seek blessing and healing at the great church which henceforth bore his name.

THE WEST GATE, WINCHESTER.

Under the rule of Norman and Angevin kings, the venerable city had attained the height of weal. . . Read More