A MAJOR exhibition is set to bring together historic artefacts in Winchester for the first time in nearly 500 years.

The Treasures of Hyde Abbey includes priceless Saxon and medieval items that were scattered when the monastery was closed by Henry VIII in the 1530s.

The show is opening at the Winchester Discovery Centre on March 6 to mark the 900th anniversary of the founding of the abbey.

The monastery was the last resting place of King Alfred the Great, whose body was reburied at the new abbey in 1110.

The exhibition will be one of the highlights of a year of celebrations, initiated by Hyde resident Edward Fennell, and organised by Hyde900, a community- based organisation.

Hyde900 has secured a £50,000 grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund to fund the borrowing of treasures from national institutions such as the Bodleian Library, British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum.

The exhibits will include the original abbot’s crozier, manuscripts like the Book of Life (‘Liber Vitae’) and Book of Hyde (‘Liber Monasterii Hida’) and beautifully decorative archaeological finds.

Hyde900 chairman, Ron Allison said: “After almost five years of planning and co-operation between Hyde900 and Winchester City Council, we are delighted that this exhibition — which is a powerful reminder of an almost forgotten part of Winchester’s history — is about to happen.

“Exhibits which have been scattered around the country for centuries are coming home to Winchester, and we hope it will be a way of bringing people together to reflect upon a shared heritage.”

Visitors will be able to find out more about the abbey, and the lives of its monks and the people who lived in the streets around it, as well as its rural estates.

The exhibition will also be accompanied by a series of free gallery tours, interactive workshops, lectures, guided tours and craft demonstrations.

To coincide, local artists have come together to produce works inspired by Hyde900 for show in three venues across the city. Their exhibition is called ‘Re-imagining the Treasures of Hyde Abbey’. The three venues are the cathedral, where works have been on show since February 15, the City Space gallery on the ground floor of the Discovery Centre and the Link Gallery at West Downs on Romsey Road. At the last two places the exhibitions run from March 6-April 18.

Entrance will be free.