A MEMORIAL garden to mark the final resting place of King Alfred was unveiled as Winchester's crowning glory.

Workers laboured around the clock to get the first phase of the development of Hyde Abbey Gardens finished in time for the 50th anniversary of the Queen's Coronation yesterday.

But even though the opening ceremony took place in the middle of the ongoing building work which is transforming the face of the former leisure centre car park, the scores of people that turned out for the event were full of praise for the project.

The garden at Hyde Abbey marks the place where King Alfred, England's ruler from 871 to 899AD, was reburied in the Middle Ages.

The ceremony began with a procession of children from St Bede's primary school who were dressed as Benedictine monks and led by a lone drummer from St Bartholomew's Church.

Kim Wilkie, the landscape architect for the garden, hailed the memorial garden "one of the most important sites in the country" and praised the workers for their hard work.

Workmen were rushing to get the job finished until the last possible moment - the last of the top soil was delivered just 25 minutes before the ceremony began and some of the trees were planted with only an hour and a half to go.

The Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire Mary Fagan officially opened the garden in glorious sunshine by removing a cover marking King Alfred's tomb with the help of the school-

children.

She spoke of honouring two great monarchs and added: "I am glad all the trees have arrived, I hope they will remain here and I will definitely come and check."

The Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Jean Hammerton said: "Winchester has been a royal city for centuries and the garden is a very apt way of linking our history with that of the present day monarchy."

Work started on the site after the Friends of Hyde Abbey Garden raised more than £30,000 from various sources to launch the project.

About £50,000 still needs to be raised to complete the final two phases of the work which will see the installation of benches, flowers and a bridge across the stream at the far end of the garden.

Chairwoman of the Friends of Hyde Abbey Gardens, Barbara Hall, said: "We have got the shell but now we need the essential embellishments to the scheme."