The museum tells the story of the city through its extensive archaeology and local history collections. These illustrate Winchester's emergence as the fifth largest town of Roman Britain and its development under Alfred the Great and during Anglo-Norman times. Decline, hastened by the Black Death in the 14th century, was halted when Charles II built a palace in Winchester, enhancing its reputation as a fashionable market town. Reconstructions of Victorian and Edwardian shops bring the story up to more recent times.