[4] It was described by composer Stanley L. Osbourne as "Objective, robust, confident, and stirring, it possesses that peculiar combination of tragedy and victory which draws the singer into the very centre of the drama.

[5] The third line of the first verse "Thine humble beast pursues his road" has been disliked by some hymn book editors.

[5] The hymn is sung to a variety of tunes—the database at Hymnary.org shows 39 tunes paired with it—including St Drostane by John Bacchus Dykes, and Winchester New.

It first appears in Musikalisches Handbuch der geistlichen Melodien (Hamburg, 1690), and was reworked into a long-meter setting by William Henry Havergal in an 1864 publication, Old Church Psalmody.

Named after the county seat of Hampshire, it is appended with "new" to distinguish it from Winchester Old, which is most commonly sung as the Christmas hymn "While shepherds watched their flocks by night".