SIR: Your article about the statue to Licoricia of Winchester (Chronicle, March 4) illustrates why I am proud to be a Wintonian.

The Jewish history of Medieval Winchester received extraordinarily little attention until the posthumous publication in 2009 of Sue Bartlet’s book Licoricia of Winchester. The fascinating Medieval Jewish Trail launched by the Winchester Tourist Office in 2015 increased awareness and has attracted many visitors. Support from the city and from Hampshire County Council has encouraged the development of an education programme directed at children which will be introduced using the new statue as a focal point. We must learn from our past appalling treatment of minorities and benefit from the different skills, cultures and diversity that can come from outside our closer society.

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Examining Licoricia and the Jewish community of Winchester prior to the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290 gives us an unconventional perspective of individuals and a small community forcibly separated yet interacting with the majority. The statue outside the Discovery Centre will act as a catalyst for us to learn about tolerance and valuing ‘the other,’ much needed in a conflicted Britain that is currently experiencing a significant increase in acts of hostility against Jews, Muslims and people of colour.

Danny Habel.

Bere Close,

Weeke,

Winchester