A special granite Camino milestone, or mouteira, has been installed in Winchester on the line of the St James’ Way.
The location is outside St Bartholomew’s which is a surviving church within the once large Hyde Abbey on the edge of Winchester.
The St James’ Way, from Reading Abbey to Southampton, is the first leg of the Camino Inglés, once linked by a direct sea route to La Coruña on the northern Spanish coast, leading to Santiago de Compostela.
The relics of St James the Great, often depicted as a pilgrim, are in Santiago’s cathedral. But a hand, given by Henry I and claimed as belonging to St James, was held by Reading Abbey.
The new stone is where the St James Way has briefly joined the Pilgrims’ Way. For pilgrims walking eastward to Canterbury, the stone is 1km from the Pilgrims’ Way starting point at Winchester Cathedral. For Santiago pilgrims walking south it is 659 miles to Santiago.
The stone is unusual in not recording in kilometres. A delegation from the Spanish Galician Government and A Coruña Provincial Council, who gave the stone, was present for the unveiling last week.
A pilgrim passport stamped on the route across Berkshire and Hampshire counts towards receiving a certificate, or Compostela, in Compostela de Santiago.
A new stamp for pilgrims walking in either direction is available in St Bartholomew’s, open Saturday and Sunday mornings. The stamp depicts the stone. The nearby King Alfred pub also has a stamp.
Bishop David Hamid, former suffragan Bishop in Europe, blessed the stone and spoke in Spanish.
David Sinclair of the Confraternity of St James, who has worked on the development of the St James’ Way Camino Inglés, said: ‘It is a further significant step in the ongoing development of the St James’ Way Camino route.
‘The milestone marks in a magnificent way at this most apt of sites, the 100 km ‘to go’ point by foot in a pilgrim’s journey to Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. This is the point from which their Compostela is earned.
‘We are grateful for the efforts and contributions of the Galician government, A Coruña Provincial Council, Winchester City Council, St Bartholomew’s Parish Pastoral Council and the Diocese of Winchester in its placement, production, shipment and installation. For the future pilgrims that reach it, we wish them ultreia et suseia (go further, and higher).’
Before the dissolution of monasteries in 1539 pilgrims were attracted to Hyde Abbey by the relics of St Josse and the head of St Valentine. David Sinclair hopes that the addition of the St James’ Way will herald a return of pilgrimage to St Bartholomew’s church and Hyde Abbey now the resting place of King Alfred.
