During my stay at the Wykeham Arms in Winchester I was intrigued by slots in the dining tables which stated ‘for the cathedral’.

You will notice that the pub has a number of historical themes. Most notably that of Lord Nelson and Winston Churchill. Our long bar as you enter through the iconic curved front doors is named after Nelson, and the smaller bar ti its left Hamilton. We also have two bedrooms named after England’s former vice Admiral and his lady love. It is reputed that he stayed here on his way to Portsmouth. Sadly he didn’t sign the visitor’s book, but we will have to stick with the story regardless.

As for Churchill, he was revered by former license couple of the Wykeham arms, Graeme and Ann Jameson. The far dining room is named in Graeme’s memory. The couple tirelessly collected all of the authentic bric-a-brac you see around the house, and also implemented the Cathedral donation slots you will notice in the tables. This was, and still is, to collect funds to restore the cathedral.  In the 1980’s Graeme created this fundraising idea, and in its first year pledged to match each pound collected with a pound of his own. £30000 was pulled from the coin boxes, and Graeme stayed true to his word. A bond was forged with the cathedral that remains to this day.*

*Information quoted from the hotel information book.

8 Comments CherryPie on May 24th 2019

8 Responses to “For the Cathedral”

  1. Astrid says:

    What a story this is, Cherry. And what a great way for fundraising. I love the slot.
    I was scrolling through your posts and my condolences for the loss of your aunt. I do have to applaud you for your challenge and a challenge it is, daily life can come in between what you want and what needs to be done. Make sure the walking stays fun to do and does not become a burden, if you know what I mean. I had big plans for me and the bike, just a stupid pulled muscle in my neck made me come to a total standstill…..
    Have a good weekend and please say hello to Mr. C.

    • CherryPie says:

      Thank you for your condolences regarding my aunt. Of the two walking challenges that I am doing I much prefer the 1000 miles in a year, which I only discovered in late February. The emphasis is not on doing a certain amount each day but more on a balance throughout 365 days. It is much more uplifting. When I am having an off day and mentally I can’t really be bothered… I know I will make up for that on the days when I am feeling inspired.

      I am sorry to hear about your pulled muscle. I hope it recovers soon.

      I hope the two of you have a good weekend too :-)

  2. Ginnie says:

    OMG, Cherry. What an inspiring story!!!

  3. Anne says:

    In French, we say “les petits ruisseaux font les grandes rivières”, or small streams make big rivers…

  4. Ha… we have an idiom in Chinese too.
    All Chinese idioms only contain four words.
    “Gather little become more”, collect little by little, eventually it will be more.
    Just like your “many a little makes a mickle”. :)