Let’s sum this up, because it’s a bit of a mess—like a jigsaw puzzle made of soggy biscuits. Before London, the official, long-term capital was Winchester. It was the royal seat for the kings of Wessex and then all of England from the 9th century until the Norman Conquest in 1066. Before that, the Romans used Colchester, and for a brief, chaotic period, Oxford gave it a go.
So next time someone tries to act superior about London, you can smugly say, “Ah, but the real capital was a town in Hampshire where the local delicacy is a pork pie named after a pig that won a bet.” It’s a surprising fact that makes you look like a genius at parties—or at least someone who reads Wikipedia while eating breakfast. And that, my friend, is the untold, gloriously messy history of England’s capitals.
