It was agreed that only by extensive underpinning could the work be accomplished.  It has been very costly, and funds are most urgently needed to complete the preservation, not only of the eastern end, but of the whole Cathedral.  The cradle of woodwork erected to give temporary support to the eastern superstructure cost over a thousand pounds to fix, and up to date many thousands of pounds have been spent on the work.  It was not until these temporary supports had been fixed and excavations begun that the magnitude of the task was fully revealed.  The Cathedral was found to have been built on an old “water-bed” having a foundation of peat, the distance between the ground level and the firm gravel beneath the peat being 27 feet.  The only hope of saving the east end was to remove the peat and fill in the spaces with concrete and cement.  With the removal of the peat, however, there was so great an influx of water that pumping was of no avail.  Two of the best divers in the kingdom were then procured, and by working on their backs and sides in 15 feet of muddy water they succeeded in laying the concrete bed.  Owing to the same cause, the remainder of the structure will, sooner or later, have to be treated in the same way, and the thorough restoration of the west front cannot be long postponed.  The difficulty of the work is realized when we consider that it takes a whole month to underpin 4 feet of foundation.  Owing to the cramped space and the darkness three weeks are spent in excavation; after which the divers require a week to place the concrete and cement in position.  That so national a heritage will be saved, for the delight of our own and the instruction of future generations, must be the wish of all true lovers of the great building achievements of the past.

The cathedral precincts are in excellent keeping with the repose and beauty of the building to which they form the court, and are full of historical memories.  The palace of the Conqueror reached from Great Minster Street to Market Street, from High Street to the Square; and eastwards rose the “New Minster”, and the Nuns’ Abbey of St. Mary.

To-day the greater part of the Close, with the Deanery and the various canonical residences, lies on the south side.  Only a few slight fragments remain of the cloisters, the destruction of which could not have been considered possible by Wykeham.  They were taken down by Bishop Horne in the reign of Elizabeth.  The short row of Norman arches seen from the Close belonged to the old Chapter House, which is said to have been pulled down for the sake of its lead.  The Deanery was the ancient house of the Priors, of which it contains many interesting memorials.  Here are the Great Hall, now subdivided, and the Hospitium, used as stables.  The Deanery entrance has three pointed arches, beneath which, as we have stated, the poor pilgrims and other wayfarers received food and alms.  On his numerous visits to Winchester, Charles II used to lodge at the Deanery, until Prebendary Ken (afterwards Bishop of Bath and Wells) refused to allow Nell Gwynne to enter the house, with the result that she had to content herself with an inferior residence outside the precincts.