Abbey house stands on the sight of St Mary’s Abbey. It was built about 1750 and originally faced the gardens to the rear. The present castellated front was added after the widening of Broadway in 1771. Benedictine nuns, fleeing the disturbances of the French Revolution, made their homes here in the 1790s. The house now serves as the official residence of the Mayor of Winchester.*

The gardens with the guildhall to the right:

The statue of King Alfred as seen from the front of Abbey House:

*From a signboard next to the house.

Alfred. king of the West Saxons (AD 871-889) drove the Danish invaders from Wessex. He created fortified centres, of which Winchester, the largest was his capital. During his reign, the streets in use today were first established. Alfred was the most esteemed of English kings. He encouraged the revival of learning and monastic life, and laid the foundation for a single kingdom of England. This statue by Hamo Thorneycroft, was erected in 1901.*

*From the signboard beneath the statue.