Winchester Removals

Early Days

The first people to move to what is now Winchester are believed to have settled during the Iron Age, around 150BC. These were the first of the Celtic Belgae tribe who made the town their home for around two hundred years.

The Romans arrived in approximately 43AD and immediately set about smartening the place up, with a grid pattern of streets, temples, libraries, baths, clean water (show offs!) and a market place. They named their ‘new town’ Venta Belgarum, meaning marketplace of the Belgae. Over the next 200 years the replaced the wooden defences with stone walls and it grew into a major settlement covering almost 150 acres, making it the 5^th largest Roman town in Britain.

With the fall of the Roman Empire the Saxons were the next ones moving to Winchester, although they named it Caester or Venta Caester, which became Wintancaester. It was the Saxons who having converted to Christianity, built the first church, the Old Minster. In 676 the Bishop of Wessex made the city his seat and Old Minster became a cathedral.

Anglo-Saxon period

It was during this Anglo-Saxon period that Winchester’s most famous son and arguably Britain’s most important king, arrived. Born in Berkshire, it was Alfred the Great that stood against the Vikings and prevented them capturing the last of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms. Having become King of Wessex at the tender age of 21, the deeply religious Alfred built a navy to attack their ships and set up a series of ‘burghs’ or walled towns using local militias to deter Norse raids. He eventually turned the Viking tide and set about his vision of a single, unified kingdom of Englaland. Throughout this period Winchester was the capital of his kingdom, eventually becoming the capital of England, the country Alfred invented.

The Normans were next to make Winchester their home and capital following the Battle of Hastings in 1066. They also rebuilt the Old Minster, along with a castle to supress the locals.

12^th Century

In 1141 during the Anarchy, as King Stephen and local girl Empress Matilda fought for England’s throne, an event happened which became known as the ‘Rout of Winchester’. The bishop of Winchester having fallen out with Matilda holed his army up in Wolveseyn Castle. Matilda’s army occupied the town and surrounded and sieged the castle, so Stephen turned up with his troops and surrounded the entire city (“My army’s bigger than your army!”). Matilda’s men fought their way out and fled. The ensuing ‘rout’ and fighting set light to much of the city. Over the next two centuries Winchester also suffered from the Black Death in which nearly half the population died.

13^th Century

War returned in 1264 when Simon de Montfort took on the hugely unpopular King John. Staunchly royalist Winchester sided with the King but the pragmatic (and rather greedy) monks supported de Montfort and planned to let his troops in through the town gate. The townsfolk got wind of the monks’ scheme, fighting broke out and many monks were killed. The following year de Montfort returned and captured the city. Eventually King John was forced to appease the rebelling barons by signing the Magna Carta.

17^th Century

Winchester was at it again in 1642 when the Civil War kicked off. Once more the city remained loyal to the crown but Parliamentarian troops captured it several times, usually clearing off leaving it undefended and Royalist troops kept returning. Eventually Oliver’s army showed up, led by the man himself and took the city and the castle.

18^th Century

Things eventually calmed down but Winchester had long since lost its lustre and capital status. In 1724 Daniel Defoe described Winchester as a ‘place of no trade, no manufacture, no navigation’. Horace Walpole called it ‘a paltry town and small’ in 1755. Both men were immediately struck off the city’s Christmas card list.

20^th Century

Another writer, Jane Austen died near Winchester in 1817 and was buried at the cathedral that had once crowned kings. In 1901 the city honoured the 1,000th anniversary of King Alfred’s death by erecting a statue of him. Unfortunately subsequently historians have pinpointed his death to 899. But this wonderfully historic and picturesque city continues to celebrate its ancient roots and quite rightly. It was at the centre of British power for centuries and today is truly charming with good shops, great restaurants and some wonderful annual events reflecting the city’s colourful history and the characters that have shaped it.

Winchester Removals Company
Whether you are moving to or from Winchester, or beyond, we pride ourselves on making the experience as hassle-free and streamlined as possible. With over 160 years of experience as a leading UK removal company, our personable, expert removals team will take the stress out of moving home or office.

The benefits of hiring a local removals firm in Winchester.

• Employing a local removals company in Winchester means we spend less travelling time to your residence.
• Unrivalled geographical knowledge of Winchester & the surrounding areas.
• We know the traffic flow, best times of day to move and where to park.
• We offer overnight storage (or for as long as you require) at our nearby Hampshire-based storage facilities.
• Our size allows us to be more competitive than many other local removal companies across Hampshire, Surrey & Berkshire
• Free removal estimates and removals advice before, during and after your move!
• We employ local people doing local work

Secure Household Storage in Winchester
Are you a homeowner requiring long or short term household storage for furniture and personal effects for which you no longer have room? Do you need secure flexible household storage at short notice, with the minimum of fuss?

With our multiple, large, secure purpose-built Hampshire storage facilities located in Aldershot, Farnborough and Petersfield, we can cater for all your storage needs. We can also arrange to collect and storage your belongings on your behalf. Please visit our Storage Service for further details.

Why use Over’s for your storage needs?

• Our household & commercial storage prices are cheaper than most other storage facilities in Hampshire and Surrey
• Flexible storage – we can even deliver, collect and store your belongings for you
• Friendly staff available on site: our experienced warehouse staff will be on hand to assist customers with packaging, loading and unloading.
• Our facilities incorporate the latest sophisticated fire and security systems

Of course, it’s not just the calibre of our personnel that matters. We are also proud of our modern fleet of specialised removal vehicles, lifting equipment, packaging and dedicated storage facilities to help us best cater to all your storage requirements.