King Alfred statue in Winchester

There stands, and has for over a century, King Alfred the Great, sword arm raised, surveying and protecting his great capital of Winchester from his vantage point, from the High Street to the castle. King Alfred’s statue stands where the East Gate did in his reign, majestic and heroic, a statue erected by the citizens of Winchester in 1899 to mark the thousand years since his death. Although this city can trace its history back to pre-Roman times, it was largely its creation. The pattern of streets that King Alfred established is still there today.

Here was the foundation of England. The statue was designed by Sir William Hamo Thornycroft RA 1850-1925. He was the son of sculptors, Thomas Thornycroft and his wife Mary. His grandfather, Francis Thornycroft, was also a famous sculptor. Hamo, as he was known, studied at the Royal Academy and won its Gold Medal in 1876. He is responsible for the design of many London statues, including that of Cromwell. King Alfred was the one who burned the pies! (Well that’s the story!) But his achievements were many, not for nothing he was called “The Great”. He was crowned King of Wessex and died King of England, or more accurately King of the Anglo-Saxons. He was born the son of Ethelwulf and Osburgh at Wantage in 849. He succeeded his brother Ethelred of Wessex, who died at the Battle of Merton in 871. King Alfred inherited a kingdom in crisis like the other English kingdoms. The Vikings invaded at will. No one was safe.

Bands came as an assault from the sea and surged up from the rivers to pillage and loot cities, towns, churches and abbeys. They invaded and colonized areas of the country. The new king set out to try to stop them. No easy task. He led from the front, a smart and courageous leader. Fortifications were rebuilt, some were former forts from the Bronze and Iron Ages. Harepaths, the path of warriors, were built or renovated throughout Wessex so that bodies of troops could move quickly from one place to another. Rivers were turned into highways where possible. The system of boroughs or villages, cities that were fortified, was created throughout the kingdom. No place was more than 20 miles from a fortification in Wessex. He upgraded and modernized the Navy to deal with the Vikings at sea. Beacons were installed on the coast to warn of approaching raids. At one point, the only surviving English kingdom was Wessex. All the others had fallen to the Vikings.

Up and down, winning and losing for many years, the Vikings were finally defeated by King Alfred and retreated to Northumbria or Europe. It had been a monumental fight. He was now king of the Anglo-Saxons, he had restored the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and they were now reorganized under his rule from his capital at Winchester. King Alfred was a learned and Christian man. He promoted learning in his kingdom. He had the Bible and many other works translated into English so they could be understood. Some of the work he did himself. His sons and others were educated in a court school and he also promoted the learning of all capable youths. It was during his reign that the “Anglo-Saxon Chronicles” were begun, and they continued to be written in Norman times long after his death.

He introduced a code of laws for the Saxon people. His country government and legal reforms live on today, as it is said to have been the foundation on which England was formed. Alfred married Ealhswith, granddaughter of a Mercian king in 868. They had five or perhaps six children. The eldest was Edward, who succeeded his father. Ealhswith survived her husband, she became a nun, died in 905 and is buried at St Mary’s Winchester. The “Anglo-Saxon Chronicles” give the date of Alfred’s death as October 26, 901, but the year is not really certain. It could well be 899 as indicated on the statue and believed by the people of his beautiful capital, Winchester. Its citizens honored their greatest statesman.