In polite company after dinner, one never asks one's neighbour at the table "Pass the port". The appropriate question to address to him - the ladies have of course withdrawn - is "Do you know the Bishop of Winchester?" which, in those of any breeding, invariably initiates a drift of the decanter in the desired direction. But lest you move in circles where the question may be taken literally, let me tell you about the most meteorological incumbent of that famous see.
In AD836, King Ethelwulf of Wessex, father of the great King Alfred, rewarded his old teacher, Swithin, for his academic tutelage by appointing him Lord Bishop of Winchester, a very influential and rewarding post in those days. Humble to the last, however, Swithin left instructions when he died in 862 that he was to be buried outside his cathedral "in a vile and unworthy place", where water from the eaves might fall upon his grave.
There he lay for more than 100 years, but when miracles came to be performed in Swithin's name, the monks prepared to move him to an opulent shrine inside the cathedral, the day appointed being July 15th, 971.
Legend has it that a tempest raged that day and the removal was postponed; for 40 days and 40 nights it rained without remission, until the monks, realising the folly of trying to thwart the saintly whim, decided to leave the humble bishop where he was. And thus, of course, we have the origin of the belief that if it rains on Swithin's feast day, which is today, then there will be rain on each of the succeeding 40 days.
History, however, records a somewhat different tale. According to contemporary narratives, the transfer was successfully accomplished on the chosen day, albeit during a severe storm, and in succeeding years the poor saint endured several more "translations", as they are rather nicely called.
In 974 his bones were split in two, half being consigned to a side chapel for the benefit of pilgrims, and the rest to a shrine behind the high altar for ceremonial occasions. Then in 1006, Alphege, another Bishop of Winchester, was made Archbishop of Canterbury, and wishing to bring a worthy gift to his new flock, he took the head of Swithin with him.
In 1125, Reinald, one of the monks of Winchester, crossed the North Sea to found a Christian settlement at Stavanger, and allegedly took one of Swithin's arms to Norway. Finally, Swithin's remaining bones were scattered far and wide during desecrations of his shrine in 1252, and again in 1538 as part of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.