I have a historic Winchester building to share with you today. And it’s a rare interior scene for me. The Great Hall is one of the finest surviving aisled halls of the 13th century. It was part of Winchester Castle one of the first Norman castles built in England by William the Conqueror. The Hall and the nearby Westgate are the last buildings standing from the complex, although you can see plenty of the castles foundations and remains as you walk down the steps to the neighbouring Law Courts. It really does have an ancient atmosphere to it all. It’s something that’s easy to take for granted once you’ve lived in the City a little while.
The Great Hall, Winchester (2025)
My Great Hall illustration is completed using acrylic and ink on a 30 x 30cm canvas and presented in a black floater frame. It’s hard to photograph and capture the nice warmth I was looking for in the paint. But I do think I found a balance in the angles of the arches. I think this canvas will be a nice addition to a future exhibition. I’m also tempted to rewind back to the drawing stage, having spent a lot of time piecing together the line work. I’m sure this would make a fascinating paper diorama with all those layers!
Here’s a short time-lapse of the painting. I didn’t record all of the pen/ink stage… because I had to move the canvas around so much to get the lines right!
A Little History
The castle was built in 1067 and for over one hundred years it was the seat of Government of the Norman Kings. Henry II built a stone keep to house the royal treasury and the Domesday Book. Henry III added the Great Hall between 1222 and 1235 using flint with stone dressings. Originally it had lower walls and a roof with dormer windows. In their place were added the tall two-light windows with early plate tracery.
The Arthurian Round Table was hung in the Great Hall in the 13th century, and repainted in its present form for Henry VIII. Around the edge of the table were painted the names of King Arthur’s knights. A series of pictorial epigrams illuminated in medieval monastic style known as the Winchester Panels were also hung around the Hall… thought to depict the 25 knights of the Round Table and illustrate the challenges facing a maturing character as it progresses round the great ‘Wheel of Life’.
A Winchester Book
I’m not going far for my next Winchester inspired scene! I have a composition prepared for a street scene looking down Upper High Street (just below the Westgate). It’s part of my push to collect together a book of my Winchester paintings and it seems natural to work on these smaller areas of the City in turn. I’ve just finished a number of studies from the landscape around College Street.
If you would like to get in touch you can send me a message using the contact form. Or find/follow me on one of my socials: https://linktr.ee/illustrationbyjonathan.
