Hyde900 is a community project in Winchester, Hampshire, to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the founding of Hyde Abbey. For more details see the "What is Hyde900?" page.

Hyde900 are planning a number of visits this year. Netley Abbey and Beer Caves in Devon being two examples. If you would be interested in taking part in heritage visits similar to this in the future please contact David or Scotty Click Here

Community Dig

August 18th – 21st, 09.00 – 17.00

Hyde, Winchester

Bookings now open for the 2022 Hyde900 Community Dig

Hyde900 are organising their sixth community dig to take place August 18th to 21nd  following previous years’ highly successful events. This year’s event returns to what was the Inner Precinct of Hyde Abbey, on the outskirts of Winchester, and once again we are exploring the remains of the abbey’s medieval cloisters and adjacent buildings.

We already have enough householders offering their gardens to be confident that this year’s dig will reveal more about the layout and architecture of the abbey. We anticipate that once again finds from the dig will help illuminate the life of the inhabitants of the abbey, which flourished from 1110 to the Dissolution in 1538/9.

We very much hope you will take part or visit the dig on the Open Day on Saturday August 20^th.

The event is open to all, although under 18s need to be accompanied by a responsible adult.  Full training will be given.

The cost per 2 hour session is £12 unless you are a member of Hyde900, in which case the cost is £8. Children 11 and under are free.

Membership of Hyde900 costs £10/year for individual members, £15/year for households.

Please click HERE to book your session(s).

You can take advantage of the reduced fees for members by joining on line when you make your booking(s).

Previous digs have established the locations of the east and south sets of cloister buildings, a major 2 story building which could have been the abbot’s lodging, and the north wall of the nave of the huge church of the abbey, over 80% of the size of the cathedral. What is still unknown is the function of the room adjacent to the refectory found in previous digs. Another aim is to find the all important water supply to the cloisters  from the mill stream  and drainage system for the abbey.

However for a grand monastery such as Hyde, having at one time a mitred abbot, it is likely that  in later years that he would have had separate accommodation – perhaps in the two storied building found just outside the cloister area at last year’s dig. We will also be investigating this based  the strongest response found yet in the  ground penetrating radar survey of the cloister.

For answers to frequently asked questions about participating in the dig please click HERE

For the dig location and public parking details please click HERE

Heritage Open Days

September 9th 14.00-17.00; September 10th & 11th 10.00 – 17.00 

Winchester

Hyde900 will once again be taking part in this year’s Heritage Open Days in September, which has become an important part of the Hyde900 calendar.  As in previous years, we will be situated in The Close, adjacent to Winchester Cathedral.  The ever-popular tile-making (in the medieval manner – be prepared to get your hands dirty!) will be a bookable event, along with a fabulous opportunity to hear Professor Chris Mulvey’s talk entitled King Alfred’s “Astounding Inventions”, the theme of this year’s Heritage Open Days.

Booking for tile-making and Prof. Mulvey’s talk can be made via the Heritage Open Days website from August 10th:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/winchester-heritage-open-days-17274323708

King Alfred Weekend

October 20th – 23rd

Winchester

Come and join us for what promises to be an excellent weekend of celebration and remembrance of the times and legacy of this great King. Events will include talks, walks and – we hope – concerts.

There will be an opportunity to catch up on the latest news and finds from the community digs of 21/22 and an update on the medieval glass found in 2020.

The weekend will end with the annual service in St Bartholomew’s Church, dedicated to King Alfred, and a procession to the Hyde Abbey Gardens to lay flowers on the grave markers of Alfred, his wife, Alswitha and his son Edward the Elder.

Bookings for separate events will be open in August; please keep an eye on the home page.

You can further support Hyde900 by purchasing our unique products

See below one of our fabulous offers !

Excavations at Hyde Abbey, Winchester, 1972-1999!

A new book on Hyde Abbey has just been published and is on sale to members in the Hyde900 shop. Entitled ‘Excavations at Hyde Abbey 1972 to 1999’.

This book not only covers the history and the investigations in the remains, but also features descriptions of the Hyde900 digs 2016 to 2018, and our discovery of the 13th century roof in Old Hyde House, reused from an abbey building.

The book, published by the Hampshire Cultural Trust costs £30, but is available to Hyde900 members at a discounted price of £22.50.

Start shopping and view our other products please click HERE

Despite being the burial place of Alfred the Great, the nave of the huge church under the gardens of Hyde has never been found. Over 80 metres long, it has remained hidden beneath the houses, gardens and roads in Hyde. The recent Hyde900 dig has now located the north wall for the first time, only some 80cm below the garden of 6, King Alfred Place.