Bridewell, which has vanished in its turn. The property has now come
into the hands of the Corporation, and scientific excavations have been
commenced. Strong hopes are entertained that Alfred's tomb may be
found, although the iconoclasts of the Reformation and the Magistrates
of later days have made the task a difficult, if not an impossible one.
In 1901 Alfred's thousandth anniversary was celebrated at Winchester,
and on September 20 of that year Lord Rosebery unveiled Hamo
Thorneycroft's magnificent bronze statue, standing in the Broadway, and
bearing on its granite pedestal the single word, eloquent in its
simplicity:--

AELFRED.

Interesting and important as are the associations of Alfred and St.
Swithun with this ancient capital of Wessex, the _genius loci_ is
William of Wykeham, one of the most remarkable men the world has ever
produced. The more we study his life and character the more we are
amazed at the versatile nature of his splendid gifts. Born, like Wolsey,
the only other clerical architect with whom he can be compared, of
humble parents, in the sleepy little village of Wickham, in the autumn
of 1324, he early attracted the attention of Sir John Scures, the lord
of the manor of Wickham, and Constable of Winchester Castle. By Sir
John's influence he became a scholar at the Priory School, the "Great
Grammar School of Winchester", then situated just outside the west wall
of the priory enclosure. Taught by the brethren of St. Swithun's, he
was eventually recommended to Bishop Edington, who appears to have
appreciated the great talent for architecture shown by young Wykeham.
Edington himself was no mean builder, and he had already begun to
rebuild the west front of the cathedral, and to transform the nave from
the Norman to the Perpendicular style, a transformation that was to be
completed by Wykeham when he succeeded his old master in the episcopacy.

In Wykeham's twenty-third year Edward III came to Winchester, and he,
having heard of the clever young architect, wished to test his skill in
the warfare then being waged against Scotland and France, and
particularly in the new fortifications of Calais. On taking service with
the King, plain William Wykeham became Sir William de Wykeham, and as
Surveyor of Works he superintended such buildings as St. Stephen's
Chapel, Westminster, and the castles of Dover and Queensborough. In 1356
he was in charge of Windsor Castle, which, as his birthplace, Edward
wish