Hero · Winchester · World-famous
Open on the map: directions, what's there today and read-aloud →
Twenty-four knights' names, and Henry VIII in the high seat.
See it clearly
Museum run by Hampshire Cultural Trust in central Winchester; ticketed. Check before you go.
Arthur's table, built eight centuries after Arthur, with Henry VIII's face painted on him.
On the wall of the Great Hall of Winchester Castle hangs a great oak round table, about 5.5 m across and weighing over a tonne. For centuries it was shown as King Arthur's own. Tree-ring dating and a 1976 study led by Martin Biddle showed it was made under Edward I, probably for a tournament feast around 1290. Henry VIII had it painted in 1516 with Arthur on his throne, given the face of the young Henry, and a Tudor rose in the centre, with the names of the knights around the rim.