A new church, planted out of Christ Church Southampton, begins its ministry in Winchester in early February.
In 1160, almost 100 years after the Norman invasion, Henry of Blois, the grandson of William the Conqueror, commissioned a Bible that later became known as the Winchester Bible. It is considered one of the finest Bibles ever produced, filled with beautiful and intricate artwork. It points back to a time when the Word of God had a place of central importance to Winchester, the people who lived there and the kings who ruled from there.
A thousand years later, the Winchester Bible is now safely locked away. Like the Christian faith, it is considered by many in Winchester to be an interesting cultural artefact, but nothing more.
