The reopening of Winchester Cathedral’s Dean Garnier Garden is most welcome. On entering the garden there is a tangible feeling of peace and tranquility.
A variety of plants and bushes, historic stonework, and pristine lawns add to an atmosphere of calm and serenity.
The team of stonemasons and carpenters should be acknowledged for their dedication to facilitating the reopening of this iconic garden.
Garnier Garden is situated in the Inner Close of Winchester Cathedral. A place of stillness and beauty, the Dean Garnier Garden offers an atmosphere ideal for reflection, meditation, and being close to Nature.
Winchester Cathedral has always been a place of worship, hospitality, and welcome, and wonderful that visitors can enjoy the Dean Garnier Garden once again. Following essential conservation work, visitors can now enjoy this calming and serene place – whether it’s during a lunch break from the office or simply spending time with family or friends. This is a significant and important milestone, facilitating the opening up of areas of the Cathedral for all to enjoy. It is divided into three ‘rooms’: the Dorter Garden, the Presbytery Lawn, and the Lady Chapel Garden.
Winchester Cathedral and South Transept
The garden looks onto the South Transept of the 1000-year-old Cathedral, where the Kings and Scribes Exhibition is located, featuring the 900-year-old Winchester Bible.
Written in Vulgate Latin (Old Latin) it took one scribe five years to write. Visitors from around the world can explore England’s history from the Roman era 400AD, through the family of King Alfred the Great, the Anglo-Danish era, and the Norman Conquest of 1066 by William the Conqueror. King William ‘commissioned’ Winchester Cathedral and a close family member, Bishop Henry de Blois, believed to be King William’s grandson, ‘commissioned’ Winchester Bible.
As a voluntary steward at Winchester Cathedral’s Kings and Scribes Exhibition, I can relate to the significance of the Dean Garnier Garden, enjoying this gem of calmness.
Featured Image courtesy of David Splendor
