Hyde Abbey was the successor of Winchester New Minster, founded in 900 by King Edward the Elder as a Royal Mausoleum for his father, King Alfred the Great. With the building of the present Cathedral after the Norman Conquest, the New Minster was demolished and the monks forced to move north to just outside the City's North Gate at Hyde. Here a fine Abbey Church was built and the bodies of both King Alfred and King Edward were reburied within it.

The Dissolution of the Monasteries, in the late 1530s, brought an end to Hyde Abbey. A large Tudor mansion was erected over the site, but this was largely demolished in 1769. Only the 15th century gatehouse survives today opposite Hyde Church. It bears a plaque recording the last resting-place of the two great Saxon Kings. They are thought to lie under the River Park Leisure Centre Car Park.

Next Stop: River Park Leisure Centre