PROJECT leaders hoping to create an English language museum in Winchester have moved a step closer to realising their goal.

Professor Bill Lucas, of Winchester University, said the project has moved “in very promising ways” after working closely with Hampshire Cultural Trust (HCT), the organisation tasked with protecting the county’s culture and heritage.

It comes after plans were revealed to create another new museum, celebrating the city’s Anglo-Saxon heritage.

Prof Lucas said: “We now envisage the English Project’s English Language museum to be co-located with the Anglo-Saxon museum being suggested by HCT. The link is Alfred.

“We imagine a museum, or perhaps more accurately a dynamic visitor attraction, which invites visitors into Anglo-Saxon Winchester where they can hear English being spoken and see the extraordinary impact that Alfred made ‘at first hand’.

“From there visitors can either explore the story of English as it developed from Alfred’s first insistence that his priests translated Latin into English right up to the modern day, explore the Anglo-Saxon heritage of the city and its key role in the birth of England, or both.

“Our approach will be highly interactive and make use of leading edge technology, connecting visitors with digital collections across the world and interpreting the story of English through time and place and people.”

As previously reported, details of the proposed museum are few and far between due to the early stage of the plans, which was revealed by Winchester City Council leader Cllr Caroline Horrill as part of its Central Winchester Regeneration (CWR) project, otherwise known as Silver Hill 2.

Cllr Horrill confirmed the museum would be based in the CWR area, adding: “We will be supporting a museum on the site.”

A spokesman for HCT added: “Winchester is one of our finest English cities. It is the ancient capital of England established by King Alfred as the centre of his kingdom of Wessex. It is where the creation of Anglo-Saxon England began.

“This story of England’s lost capital is one of international importance that needs to be told and celebrated.

“Our intention is to connect Winchester’s outstanding heritage offer and create a new immersive museum experience where stories come together and are brought to life for the community and the many tourists who come to our city.

“The excavated archaeology and that which remains hidden underneath the city streets are the most important elements of this story.

“The proposed new museum provides us with the opportunity to reveal and share this with everyone.

“Our aim is to undertake a professionally run archaeological excavation during construction which will involve local communities, schools and universities across the city.”

However, Prof Lucas said other options were still possible. He said: “Many years ago the English Project suggested the Woolstaplers Hall – currently home to Marks & Spencer in Winchester High Street – as a potential venue and, as the city’s Silver Hill thinking becomes clearer this remains a possibility.”

Prof Lucas also confirmed plans of a new exhibition coming to Winchester in 2021. He said: “Together with HCT, we are planning an exhibition in the Discovery Centre featuring a famous text from the British Library, which will involve us in demonstrating some of the approaches to curating a museum of English, which we will be using in the museum.”