The house stands on the site of a monastic establishment known as Nunnaminster and later as St Mary's Abbey, which was founded around AD900 by Alfred's Queen Ealhswith.

The Abbey survived until the late 1530s when it was formally surrendered to the Crown as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

[2] The exact date of the conferment of full mayoral rights is not known, since the original charter cannot be traced.

Until the 16th century, the Mayor-elect was required to travel to Westminster to receive the royal assent.

[citation needed] The following is a list of every person to have held the office of Mayor of Winchester since 1900:[13]