RESIDENT WINCHESTER RESIDENT OCT NOV 19 WEB - Page 8

Book shelf
Winchester legends
brought to life
L
8 Resident
ABOVE: Tony Kenyon.
RIGHT: Legends cover .
OPPOSITE: Hyde Inn illustration.
‘‘
As a kid, I was
obsessed with
myths and legends
and the haunting
beauty of gothic
stories.
‘‘
OVERS OF LEGENDS, myths
and folk tales will enjoy a new
book full of fascinating stories
based in and around the ancient
city of Winchester by local author
Tony Kenyon.
Tony works in a garden studio at
St John’s Street in what was once a
Roman cemetery called the Skulls,
overlooking a 12th century church
and Winchester Cathedral. An
author/illustrator of many children’s
books published worldwide, Tony,
who has spent much of his career
working overseas (Canada, the USA
and Hawaii), recently retired from
full-time publishing and returned
to his first love, painting and
printmaking.
The 15 tales iinclude a creature
which terrorises the area eating
people, a ghost who rearranges the
bed sheets in a local inn, a severed
head that spoke the Lord’s Prayer,
and a tale of King Arthur – Britain’s
‘once and future king’ – who is said
to sleep in a cave near Winchester,
waking every seven years.
Winchester Great Hall is home to
a Round Table purported to have
Arthurian connections, believed to
have been made in the 13th century
(the Tudor Rose at its centre was
added by Henry VIII).
Tony said: “Winchester is
England’s ancient capital and
steeped in history. In a digital age
myths, legends and fairytales are
often dismissed as fanciful stories
and nothing more. My book
captures the echoes of the past and
brings us nearer to our forefathers.”
One tale explains the origin of
the phrase ‘by hook or by crook’,
which comes from the time of
William Rufus, King of England. As
the king lay dead in the New Forest,
a charcoal burner found him and
returned his body to Winchester. His
reward was the agreement that he
Nathan Parsons, actor
could gather as much local timber
as he needed for his trade ‘by hook
or by crook’ – in other words, ‘any
branches on a tree that could be
reached by a shepherd’s crook and
cut down with a bill hook’.
The stories are brought to life
with distinctive prints, created using
a number of techniques, including
relief and intaglio, which add colour
and depth to the tales.
Tony designed and illustrated
Diver Bill, about Winchester
Cathedral’s legendary diver, William
Walker, published in 2018.
As well as etchings, woodcuts
and lithographic prints he
was introduced to the craft of
bookbinding five years ago via the
Southern Bookcrafts Club.
Winchester Legends is published
by Tricorn Books, priced £14.99
(hardback) and available from P&G
Wells at College Street and the
Cathedral Bookshop.
tonykenyonartistprintmaker.com
www.residentmagazine.co.uk