Ghosts, Music and Christmas Spirit

Christmas preparations tend to involve lists, shopping and wondering quite where the year has gone. This year, we suggest making room for something a little more memorable.

An evening with Ebenezer Scrooge, perhaps. Although we can’t promise he’ll be pleased to see you.

The Three Inch Fools return to the Hospital of St Cross this winter with a new production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, bringing their imaginative storytelling to the Brethren’s Hall for three performances.

A Familiar Story with a Ghostly Heart

We all know something of Scrooge: the miser, the muttered complaints, the distinctly uncharitable approach to Christmas.

But before the goodwill and second chances, Dickens gives us a ghost story. As unexpected visitors interrupt Scrooge’s Christmas Eve, he must reckon with the life he has led and the future he is heading towards.

This production brings that supernatural heart to the fore through illusions, music performed live and storytelling with a shiver to it. In the historic surroundings of St Cross after dark, those encounters should feel particularly close at hand.

From Summer Laughter to Winter Spirits

Visitors who enjoyed The Three Inch Fools here during our summer theatre season will know how much invention and energy they bring to a performance.

Now, the company is embarking on its first Christmas tour. We’re delighted to welcome them back for a different kind of evening: indoors, intimate and with rather more ghosts.

For all its unsettling moments, A Christmas Carol remains a wonderfully hopeful story. Its belief in kindness, generosity and the possibility of change gives it a warmth that lasts well beyond the final scene.

Bring someone you’d like to share that warmth with, and begin December with a little theatrical magic.

Choose Your Evening

All three performances begin at 7pm in the Brethren’s Hall:

– Monday 30 November 2026
– Tuesday 1 December 2026
– Wednesday 2 December 2026

Allow around two hours, including a 20-minute interval. The recommended minimum age is eight; audiences should be aware of supernatural content, dark moments and abrupt lighting and sound effects.

Capacity is limited, so please reserve your seats ahead of your visit.

Book A Christmas Carol tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-christmas-carol-at-the-hospital-of-st-cross-tickets-2001882864537

For booking queries, email boxoffice@threeinchfools.com.

We’ll look forward to welcoming you. Scrooge may take a little longer.

Beautiful Music, Remarkable Surroundings: Three Evenings at St Cross

As the evenings draw in, there is something particularly inviting about stepping inside St Cross and settling down to listen. Outside, the light fades over the ancient buildings. Inside, musicians and audiences gather, ready to share something rather special.

This autumn and winter, we’re delighted to welcome three performances taking us from early sacred music to much-loved orchestral works and one of the great musical traditions of Christmas. Whether you’re a regular concert-goer or simply curious, there’s plenty to tempt you through our gates.

Vox Humana & Gregoriana: A Journey Through Sacred Music
Saturday 31 October 2026, 7.30pm

Our first evening reaches far back into musical history, with Vox Humana & Gregoriana presenting works from the first millennium and the early centuries of the second.

The programme includes music by St Kassia and St Hildegard, anonymous compositions and works by Chilcott-Monk. There is a particularly lovely local connection in music from the tenth-century Winchester Troper, alongside pieces drawn from thirteenth-century fragments associated with Fountains Abbey and Worcester Cathedral.

Directed by Julien Chilcott-Monk, with soloists Elizabeth Barlow, Wendy Allen and Lucy Loydell, the evening will also explore the development of musical instruments before moving on to later motets.

You needn’t arrive knowing your medieval music. Come with an open mind and enjoy discovering sounds with a history as fascinating as the surroundings.

Tickets are £12 on the door; children attend free. Parking is available in roads off the west side of St Cross Road.

The First Movement: Be There at the Beginning
Saturday 21 November 2026, 7.30pm

November brings a new chapter when Winchester’s newest orchestra, The Orchestra Session, gives its debut concert in our medieval Chapel.

Twenty string players will perform a programme including Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and Air, Pachelbel’s Canon in D, selections from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No. 10. After the interval comes Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings.

There is a thoughtful purpose behind this new orchestra, too. Professional and exceptional amateur musicians receive equal pay for the same role, while a fixed share of ticket revenue supports organisations helping more people access music-making.

Familiar favourites, new discoveries and the chance to support the beginning of something promising: a rather good combination for a November evening.

Tickets: £23 standard; £12 for students, under-25s and unwaged audience members.
Book The First Movement: https://theorchestrasessionconcert.eventbrite.co.uk

Handel’s Messiah: A Christmas Favourite
Friday 18 December 2026, 7pm

As Christmas approaches, The Hanover Band and The Hanover Band Chorus bring Handel’s Messiah to the Chapel, performing on original instruments under the direction of Robert Howarth, with soprano Phillipa Hyde and tenor Bradley Smith.

From its reflective passages to the joyful force of its choruses, Messiah offers plenty of reasons to pause amid the December bustle. Heard within the Chapel’s ancient stone walls, it promises an evening to savour.

Perhaps it is already part of your Christmas tradition. Perhaps this will be your first live performance. Either way, we’d be delighted to welcome you.

Book tickets for Messiah: https://www.ticketsource.com/thehanoverbandfoundation/messiah/e-kkodqa

Three evenings, three different musical experiences, and a warm welcome at St Cross. We hope you’ll join us.