Winchester | City Museum, City Walls, Hampshire

Winchester is a city located on the River Itchen in Hampshire. It was the Saxon capital of England until 1066 CE, and is noted for its Cathedral containing the Relics of the Saxon Kings and the Danish King Canute.
It was the Roman town of Venta Belgarum in the Province of Britannia.

Venta Belgarum was at the centre of the Roman Wool trade and like London, had a Procurator of the Wool Warehouse.
It was founded in 70 CE as the civitas Capital of the Belgae Tribe, the name Venta Bulgarum meaning Market of the Bulgae. The Romans built Temples, Public Buildings and Town Houses. At the beginning of the 3rd century CE they encircled it with a defensive stone wall.
The River Itchen probably connected Winchester with Clausentum at Bitterne Manor, Southampton, where the wool could have been transferred to sea-going vessels.

Winchester City Walls today are Medieval and were built over the Anglos -Saxon Walls, but they still follow the line of the original Roman Walls.
The Roman city built its walls in the 3rd century CE. There are no Roman remains above ground, although one tiny piece of the wall is preserved in an alcove on the riverside behind the Bishop on the Bridge Pub.

Winchester City Museum
- Located at The Square, Winchester, adjacent to the Cathedral.
- The museum holds a Venta Bulgarum Gallery describing the Roman town.

Portway
- London to Dorchester, with a branch at Silchester to Winchester, Southampton and Portchester.
Ermin Street
- Gloucester to Silchester, and then the branch to Winchester, Southampton and Portchester.
Iter XV and Iter XII (same route)
- Silchester-Winchester-Exeter
Iter VII
- Chichester to London via Southampton and Silchester avoiding Stane Street
Iter XV
- Silchester on the Portway to Dorchester then a coastal road to Exeter

Winchester City Museum