What can you expect?

The Great Hall is a vast stone medieval building with lots of space for activities and with the backdrop of The Round Table on the wall.

It was the royal court for Henry III and Edward I, who held some of the first English Parliaments here. In later years it became the Crown Court building.

There is level access to Queen Eleanor’s Garden from the hall. The garden has a vine, arbour, fountain, pond, raised lawn seating and scented herbs and medicinal plants that would have been found in medieval Winchester.

There are stairs (disabled access via a lift can be arranged) to the first floor where we have our shop with gifts and history resources, a gallery with a pictorial history of the Castle site and toilet facilities.

A Hazard Awareness sheet is available on booking to help you with your risk assessment.

Lunch times

We have plenty of space in the Castle Yard for picnics including toilet and hand-washing facilities. We  offer indoor facilities for eating lunches during poor weather. This is especially helpful for schools in the winter months booking led sessions for class groups in Winchester all day. Please advise us on booking if you may want to stay for lunch.

Indoor lunchtime provision is also available at the Cathedral and Discovery Centre. Again, pre-booking is essential.

Shop

If you would like your class to visit the shop, please allow time to do so. Alternatively, you may pre-order items for payment and collection on the day.

Our ‘Chronology’ session tells the history of Winchester’s Castle and Great Hall. Children are encouraged to explore the building for evidence of previous occupants and then use a trail with a story book, map and clue sheet that tells the story of the Hall through the people who have lived and worked here – some more famous than others! The trail draws attention to the Hall’s constant but changing use over the past 800 years and we work together to produce a time line of images of the people and artefacts they may have used. We have copies of primary sources such as maps, plans, prints and photographs of the Castle site to illustrate the chronology of change.

Our ‘Myths and Legends’ session enables children to explore the Great Hall in terms of stories relating to people and events from history but also the narratives that they may have brought into the hall through artefacts and decoration, including The Round Table and the stories of King Arthur.  It gives children the opportunity to use the fabric of the hall to develop their own alternative ‘myths and legends’ on story boards and by using props and dressing up at ‘story hotspots’ around the Hall.

Both our sessions can last for between one to two hours depending on your time constraints. The activities are tailored to suit the age and ability of the class. All the group work within the sessions requires staff and helpers to participate with their groups.

Costs

Custodian-led sessions cost £30 per group for each session (£45 from 1 January 2012). All materials used are free. If you are a Hampshire County Council school, payment may be made by SAP following your visit or by card or cheque payable to Hampshire County Council.

Schools are welcome to use The Great Hall as an awe-inspiring alternative to their own classroom space.

There is no set fee but group donations are welcome. We suggest a minimum donation of £1 per head. (normally £2)

Some schools book a led session in the morning and stay for self-led activities in the afternoon. You could, for example

• Use the building as an alternative, atmospheric classroom space for drama or literacy
• Use the ‘wedding gates’, stained glass windows or the architecture of the building as a focus for art

For pre-school and foundation stage children, we have ’window trails’ that explore the hall, by counting objects and finding animals pictured in the glass.

If you propose to visit us very briefly in the context of looking at the whole of Winchester in a day, short tours of the building can be arranged. Let us know in advance the period in history you are studying and we will make sure that we highlight those aspects of the hall for you.

How to book a UK school visit

All visits must be booked in advance. Enquiries should be made using our online booking form or by email the.great.hall@hants.gov.uk, so that we have your contact details and can discuss your visit with you.

Pre-visits are encouraged.

The Great Hall is generally open every day, including weekends and bank holidays from 10am - 5pm

The Great Hall is occasionally closed for civic functions and events. These are planned in advance so we can advise you of any planned closures when you book.

The Great Hall will be closed on

• Queen Eleanor's Garden is closed whilst restoration work is carried out on the external wall of the Great Hall. It will reopen during the summer.

Online booking form >>>

We work in partnership with Winchester Cathedral and Winchester City Museum/The Westgate to accommodate school groups that would like to take part in activities on two or three sites throughout the day with groups of children moving between venues.

It is a ten-minute walk between The Great Hall and Cathedral. The Westgate is situated next to the Great Hall and The City Museum is at the entrance to the Cathedral grounds.

Separate session fees and booking arrangements apply on each site but we will liaise with the other venues to ensure your day runs smoothly.

Contact

Winchester Cathedral

• email Cheryl.Bryan@winchester-cathedral.org.uk
• tel 01962 857224

Winchester City Museums

• email riles@winchester.gov.uk
• tel 01962 848115

We are developing themed sessions across the sites looking at The Tudors, The Civil War and the Victorians.

If you are interested in a themed visit or have a particular topic on which to base your visit, please ask for more information.