The historic Great Hall in Winchester is now charging visitors.

Home to the Round Table, the 13th century building which was previously free is now asking people to stump up cash to go inside.

Hampshire County Council have put a charge of £3 for adults and £2 for children from the age of five to sixteen.

Meanwhile concessions like senior citizens, students and disabled card holders will have to pay £2.50 to visit.

However questions have been raised on how much consultation was done about the charges and whether the charges could mean reduced visitor numbers.

City councillor Martin Tod said: "With the brutal cuts pushed through centrally we are going to see a lot more of this sort of thing with charges increasing across the board being put up and what we get in return is going down."

"I think it is disappointing there was no consultation about this, Winchester businesses and residents benefit from having a good offer for people when they come here."

"I think the fact lots of people are surprised shows it is not properly communicated or thought through."

"When people are paying to visit something they expect more, is the council providing a good enough experience for a family that has paid £8?

"What does it do to the number of visitors and what does it do to the revenue for the shop?"

Executive Member for Culture, Recreation & Countryside Andrew Gibson says the charge is fair but admitted that he was unsure consultation was done, Hampshire County Council later confirmed they did a "proactive two week consultation" about the charge.

Cllr Gibson said: "What do we do, do we spend money on the Great Hall and keeping it free or do we reduce our adult care budget?

"We had a donation box for a while and we said £3 would be a good figure. In my portfolio most things I am making profitable and The Great Hall is quite expensive to maintain.

"There were good times where we all worked and got massive big pensions and there are people that have big pensions and are not used to paying for things but times have changed.

"We have massive budget problems and we are talking about the £140m we have to cut because we are getting less from the government.

"The priority have to be for the elderly, it is an unfortunate situation I would really not like to have to charge for the Great Hall but all these things come up and then we have less money for them."

Professor Martin Biddle, an eminent archaeologist who has led several digs in Winchester over the last fifty years said the charge was "inevitable" and "reasonable".

Professor Biddle said: "I think it is necessary I am not surprised that it has to charge and I think the charges are quite reasonable the Great Hall as a building alone is very expensive to maintain and it is very popular with tourists and always will be, whether the charge will mean reduced visitors I do not know."

A statement from Hampshire County Council said: "A £3 adult entry fee was introduced to help secure the long-term future of the Hall, as unfortunately donation levels were below expectations for supporting visitor talks, activities and the maintenance of the 13th century building.

“We were proactive in consulting Great Hall visitors over two, two-week periods, and the £3 entry fee was the option that received the greatest support.

“Partner organisations and stakeholders such as Winchester Tourist Information, Visit Winchester, Hampshire Cultural Trust were also informed before the entry fee was introduced on 1 July.

"It was also highlighted on the Great Hall website along with the entry fee of £2 per child. The entry fees are in line with similar County Council visitor attractions, and visitor feedback has been positive.”