A Tour of Two War Cloisters

On Saturday 14 October a small group of Friends enbarked on a unique experience bringing together a number of threads that intertwine the story of Winchester College’s War Cloister. From here they also visited the cloister in Blackmoor, constructed by the Selborne family in memory of their son, Robert Palmer (C, 1902-07) who died in Mesopotamia in 1916.

Robert’s father, the 2nd Earl of Selborne was a Fellow of Winchester (later to become Warden) and had been High Commissioner of Southern Africa from 1905-10. During his time in South Africa, Selborne would have come across Herbert Baker, since described as ‘Architect of Empire’, while he established his substantial architecture practice out there. Other connections through the College would have brought them closer.

Herbert Baker left an important imprint on Winchester College. In 2024 we will commemorate the Centenary of War Cloister, often regarded as Baker’s finest work, although his best-known memorial is probably Tyne Cot Cemetery, near Ypres. But his first war memorial is the Selborne cloister at Blackmoor.

Please read the accompanying article here which was in The Trusty Servant in November 2021.