St. Edmunds Church, Wooton, Isle of Wight

On a recent holiday to the Isle of Wight we were very lucky to be within walking distance of the beautiful old 11th century Norman church built 1087AD.

St. Edmunds Wooton 8/8/18 by S. Johnston

St. Edmunds, Wooton

 








The church is medieval in origin. The patron saint of the church is St. Edmund, King and Martyr; King of East Anglia during the time of the Danish invasions of the late 10th Century.

Legend has it that he was captured by the Danes and given the ultimatum of surrendering his Christian Faith and his kingdom - or death.  He refused and was therefore, rather gruesomely, tied to a tree, fired with arrows till dead before his head was cut off and thrown into a nearby wood.

Legend has it that when his friends came to retrieve his body they heard a faint cry 'here, here' and eventually found Edmonds head; guarded by wolves.

His body was originally buried at Hoxne; the site of his martyrdom before being later interred at a monastery at nearby Beodericsworth, later known as Bury St. Edmunds in the 10th Century.

Edmund was venerated by his enemies as the Patron saint of England until George was introduced by returning crusaders.


Although the details of his martyrdom are legend, Edmund is mentioned in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle as having been killed by the Danes. St. Edmunds symbol is a crown with arrows through it and the wolves are featured in the window behind the Rector's chair.

St. Edmunds church was built on the site of an old Saxon church as mentioned in the Domesday Book, 1086 as Odetone.  Following the Norman Conquest the church was built as a private chapel for the nearby manor house, now known as Wootton manor Farm. The original building is the present nave with an extension, the chancel, being added 200 years later.

Around the end of the 14th Century, a chantry chapel was constructed on the north wall of the church.  This was later demolished in the 16th century during the reign of Henry VIII.

The present Chapel of Remembrance was built on the same site in 1892.

The entranceway is a beautiful Norman doorway, the font is Jacobean with a Victorian base and the pulpit is also Jacobean.  The railings and restoration work were designed by Percy Stone, well-known architect.

The stained glass is late Victorian and on the wall of the side chapel is a 
Royal Coat of Arms thought to date from 1813.



References: 
http://woottonbridgeiow.org.uk/stedmunds.php
http://www.cofeparishofwoottonbridge.org.uk/st-edmonds-testamonials/