The Great Hall and the Round Table

The Great Hall is the only surviving part of Winchester Castle, the rest having been demolished on the orders of Parliament after the Civil War. What remains is a magnificent 13th-century aisled hall — considered one of the finest medieval halls in England — and on its western wall hangs the Round Table of Arthurian legend. Or rather, a 13th-century table that was displayed as Arthurian from the very beginning.

The table is 5.5 metres across and weighs about 1,200 kilograms. It has been repainted several times; the current decoration, with its 24 alternating panels of green and white leading to a Tudor rose at the centre, dates from 1516. The portrait of King Arthur in the position of honour at the top has Henry VIII's face. The hall also contains the alleged Saxon statue of Queen Eleanor and a display explaining the castle's history. Entry to the hall is free.

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The Round Table has hung in the Great Hall since at least 1348. Dendrochronology dates the wood to the 1270s — which means it was made about a century after the first Arthurian romances were written, almost certainly as a piece of deliberate royal propaganda. Henry VIII had it repainted for the visit of Emperor Charles V in 1522, adding a portrait of King Arthur that inconveniently resembles Henry himself.

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