CHRIS House is quite right in his letter printed on page 23 about the demise of the RAOB Club in Cross Keys Passage. It is a sad day, another clear example of the growing lack of diversity in this city.

http://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/15153006.RAOB_Club_in_Winchester_closed_for_the_last_time/

As Mr House says, the history of Winchester was forged not just by kings, bishops and aristocrats, but by the ordinary man. William the Conqueror may have ordered the construction of Winchester Cathedral in the 11th century but it was another, much humbler William, William Walker, who saved it from collapse in the early years of the 20th century.

The thousands of men who have supped their pints in the RAOB Club over the decades may not have been as heroic as William Walker but they were just as important to this city. They were the skilled craftsmen, traders, mechanics and factory hands.

The club’s closure says much for the worrying way Winchester is evolving. In a nutshell it is becoming too middle class and too expensive for many people to be able to afford to live here.

Some short-sighted people will argue that is doesn’t really matter. This newspaper disagrees with this opinion and believes the need for diversity is one of the fundamental reasons that growth onto the greenfields is necessary.

Without it Winchester will become a place where only the well-off, and their children who inherit their property, will be able to live.