Winchester Yard and Street
Winchester House, the town mansion of the Bishops of Winchester, gave the name to these localities. The house was built by Bishop William Gifford, 1107. During the time of the Commonwealth it was used as a prison for the confinement of Loyalists, and after Charles I's death was sold, September 26, 1649, to Thomas Walker, of Camberwell, for £4,380 8s 3d. At the Restoration it revereted to the See of Winchester, but having become dilapidated, an Act passed 1663 empowered Bishop George Morely to lease it out.The old palace became ruinous, but considerable remains were exposed to light in 1814, when a great fire destroyed some modern warehouses surrounding it. There is a unique drawing of it in the Guildhall Library. --[R. and N., 46.] In 1692 a portion of the house was formed into a place of worship for the use of a society of Particular Baptists, many of whom were Fifth Monarchy men and Sabellians. The congregation was severely censured on March 25, 1705, by the Association of Baptists on account of disorderly habits and strange opinions, and was cut off from membership with the association. It continued, however, to meet till 1738. Some of the land, at one time the park to Winchester House, is still the property of the See, and is held on lease from the See by Messrs. Pott, the vinegar brewers, as the site of their manufactory. |
