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WinchesterCollege
FriendsNews - Summer 2002
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To mark the occasionof Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's Golden jubilee, this edition of the Friends
Newsletter looks back on the many Royal visits with which the College has been honoured through
the centuries.Sinceit is likely that the first of thesewas a visit by Richard II in 1393- when the College
was still a building site - Winchester might boast that it has enjoyed the longest tradition of Royal
visits of anv school in the world.
Some early visits are not substantiated in College
records, from which we may deduce that their
purpose was to conduct business rather than to
the welcome traditionally accorded to the examiners
from New College, Oxford, whose annual visit during
Election week marked the culmination
of the
indulge in ceremonial. It is reasonable to suspect,
however, that on the occasions that a sovereign is
academic year. In 1615, this practice was formalised
by Mrs Letitia Williams, a lady of strong Wykehamical
connections and Royalist sympathies, who instituted a
recorded as staying at Wolvesey, an informal tour of
the College was almost inevitable. Thus, while we
cannot be absolutely certain that Henry V visited the
College, though he stayed in Winchester during May
7475, we know from archives that Henry VI was a
particularly persistent guest, making no fewer than
eight visits during his reign; these stemmed from his
wish to establish how best to found and run a first-rate
school, viz. Eton! Edward IV visited three times
between 7461 and 7469, while Henry VIII visited
twice, most notably in 7522 in the company of
Emperor Charles V.
The earliest recorded occasion upon which a reigning
monarch was welcomed with specially prepared
verses was 25thJuly 1554, when King Philip II of Spain
and Queen Mary I were entertained at the College
following their marriage in Winchester Cathedral. On
'thirty
that occasion the
elder children' wrote verses
'to
which were copied out and delivered
the Kyngesand
Quenes Highness'. This greeting was a development of
payment of thirteen shillings and fourpence to the
scholar who welcomed the examiners with the Oratio
Ad Portas.This practicelasted until 1873,a few years
after competition for the New College scholarships
had ceasedtobe restrictedtoWykehamists.The kadition
of welcoming distinguished visitors with formal
'at
speeches the gates'was revived
in 1881,when Archbishop Tait was
welcomed in Chamber Court with
within the structure of a world power: George VI, who
visited on 17thMay 7946, said, "Winchester College
was founded during another such time of restlessness
and change by a statesman who had the vision to
grasp/ before other men, the
growing need of his country for
educated servants in Church and
State/' while his daughter, our
Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II,
an address in Latin from the Prefect
of Hall in front of the whole
school. Nowadays some English
has been allowed to creep into the
address from the Prefect of Hall
praised the breadth of education
available at Winchester during her
visit of 1955 thus: "In education.
for the unas well as the
conventional, for the new as well
as the old. Its aim should not be
uniformity but diversity". When,
twenty seven years later, she
stood once again in Chamber
there
Although
records
show
Charles I was welcomed to the
College with speeches in 1629, the
first sovereign officially received
Ad Portas was George V, who with
Queen Mary, visited the College in
1912. Royal visits in the intewening
years by Charles II in 1682, James
IItr-I687, Queen Anne in 1705 and
George III n 7778 appear to have
been celebrated with a peal of
College bells, so it may be that the traditional
reception Ad Portas was still reserved for the New
College examiners during this period.
is
room
conventional
that
Her
Majesty
Court,
Queen
Elizabeth wistfully recalled her
earlier visit: "I stood here in
Chamber Court and spoke of the
importance of preserving welltested traditions in a rapidly changing world. Since
then, the pace of change has accelerated beyond what
any of us could have imagined. All institutions, no
matter how ancient or secure their foundations, have
No such uncertainty exists regarding the royal visits of
the twentieth century, which are chronicled in minute
detail in the pages of the Wykehamist. These reports,
which include transcripts of the replies to the Prefect
of Hall's greeting, show the high esteem in which
had to re-appraise their ideals, their aims and their
methods". The poignancy of the moment can not have
gone unnoticed: two great historic institutions facing
each other in William of Wykeham's ancient courtyard
as she described the secret of their longevity - "the
those royal guests held the College, and how very
fondly they enjoyed their visits: on the
occasion of his visit on 75'h luly 7912,
George V remarked, "It is with very specia-
unremitting
interest that I stand for the first time among
these ancient and historic buildings, which
the passage of five centuries has not
altered save by adding a greater charm to
their stately beauty". His son, Edward,
Prince of Wales (Iater Edward VIII), who
visited in November 7923, was even
more complimentary, stating: "just as
Westminster is the mother of British
Parliaments, so Winchester is the mother of
British public schools".
Behind the eloquent faqade of these lyrical
eulogies, however, lay a deep interest in the
process of education and its importance
Queen Elizabeth ll receiaed'Ad Portas'
25tt' luly, 1955
pursuit of excellence".