The University of Winchester is a British public university primarily based in Winchester, Hampshire, England. Winchester is a historic cathedral city and the ancient capital of Wessex and the Kingdom of England. The origins of the University of Winchester began in 1840 when the Winchester Diocesan Training School was founded as a Church of England foundation for the training of elementary schoolmasters. The School was initially quite small, located in a house at 27 St Swithun Street, Winchester. In 1847 the School moved to Wolvesey, the Bishop’s Palace, where it became Winchester Training College. Following an outbreak of cholera at Wolvesey a new building (now the main building on the University's King Alfred Campus) was established for the College in 1862, on land granted by the Cathedral at West Hill, Winchester. The College was renamed King Alfred's College in 1928. King Alfred's College trained thousands of teachers, at first men only, but women as well from 1960. With the sudden change in government policy in the early 1970s, the College first looked for partners to merge with and also sought to diversify its provision.