Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-10-17
TALE OF TWO CITIES
Mayor Of Winchester, Va, Visits English
City of Same Name to Cement Old
Ties of Friendship.

which is divided into four squares.
representing the four regimes under
which the city has existed.
In one corner is a portion Of the
British flag, in another that OF the
United States, in a third part OF
Confederate flag and in the fourth
the flag of Virginia. 1t was adopted
within the past year after an old and
unofficial seal had worn out.
Besides having identical names, the
two Winchesters are similar in many
respects. Both are in pleasant val
leys, both are progressive CONNER.
cially, both have high-clsss schools,
both have been the scenes Of elabo-
rate pageantry and both are historic
centers.
The older English town might well
serve as a model for its newer Viz
GINA nameSake.
1t has greater population. more
educational institutions and, of course,
more history.
Located &c miles southwest Of Lon
don, the older city is municipal and
parliamentary borough in Hampshire,
set in the valley of the Itchen. while
its American namesake, rs miles from
Washington, is at the northern end
of the Shenandoah Valley apple belt.
Our" Winchester has about 10000
population, while theirs" totals about
$4,000.
MUCH Of the English Winchester's
" history centers about its ca
thedral, nearly SIS feet long. the
longest in England. The mortuary
chest in its presbytery contains the
bones of Saxon kings.
The oldest part of the edifce dates
from the eleventh century, but q
greater part of the main building was
built at various. times between the
thirteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The famous architect and scholar,
William Of Wykeham, had an i'm
portant part in the work.
He is buried there along with Will
liam Rufus, Edmund, son of King
Alfred, Cardinal Beaufort, Isaak
Walton and the famous st. Swithin.
The history of the town itself goes
back to the days of tradition. 1t
was an important Romano British
country town. Six Roman roads in
tersected at its site and many Ro-
man relics have been found there.
Under the Saxons it was called
Wintanceaster.
1t was the capital of Wessex, and
when the kings of Wessex became the
kings of England, its Importance rose.
Some authorities refer to it as the
capital of England between the ninth
and eleventh centuries.
1t was the site Of royal residence
and Parliament met there. Only II
miles from Southampton, 1t prospered
after the Norman conquest.
For years the royal treasure was
stored at Winchester and In the
reigns of King Stephen and Henry II,
the Court of the Exchequer also was
held there.
A provision that the excheuuer
and mint should remain there per.
manently was contained in the char.
ter granted by King John.
The town has been called the
Jerusalem Of England" because Of
its large colony of Jews.
It is one of the oldest incorporated
towns in the kingdom. A charter
granted In 1887, the first to mention
a mayor, was the one under which
the town was governed until 1885.
THE Virginia Winchester was in
corporated in 1779 and chartered
as city in 1882. There had been O
settlement on the site of the present
town as early as 1882. Fort Loudoun,
nearby, was built by George WASH
ington in 1756 and used as his head
quarters during the French and In.
dian Wars. .s
The location. which had been the
headquarters of the Shawnees, pow
erful Indian tribe, before the COM
ing of the white man, was the place
from which Washington began hb
career as q surveyor to Lord Fairfax
In 1748.