Church of St Aldhelm and St Eadburgha, Broadway
Encyclopedia
The Church of St Aldhelm and St Eadburgha in Broadway
, Somerset
, England dates from the 13th century, and has been designated by English Heritage
as a grade I listed building.
The dedication is unusual. St Aldhelm (c. 639-25 May 709), was Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey
, Bishop of Sherborne, Latin poet and Anglo-Saxon literature
scholar, was born before the middle of the 7th century. St Eadburgha may be an alternative spelling of St Edburga
an English
saint
from the 7th century. A daughter of King Penda of Mercia
, Edburga was a nun
for most of her life.
The church's isolated position away from the village is thought to be because of an outbreak of the plague.
The churchyard cross is also from the 13th century.
The church also still houses the original wooden bier used at funerals over a century ago.
Broadway, Somerset
Broadway is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Ilminster and north of Chard in the South Somerset district. The parish has a population of 616...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England dates from the 13th century, and has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a grade I listed building.
The dedication is unusual. St Aldhelm (c. 639-25 May 709), was Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, was founded as a Benedictine monastery around 676 by the scholar-poet Aldhelm, a nephew of King Ine of Wessex. In 941 AD, King Athelstan was buried in the Abbey. By the 11th century it contained the second largest library in Europe and was...
, Bishop of Sherborne, Latin poet and Anglo-Saxon literature
Anglo-Saxon literature
Old English literature encompasses literature written in Old English in Anglo-Saxon England, in the period from the 7th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others...
scholar, was born before the middle of the 7th century. St Eadburgha may be an alternative spelling of St Edburga
Edburga of Bicester
Eadburh of Bicester was an English saint from the 7th century. A daughter of King Penda of Mercia, Edburga was a nun for most of her life....
an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
from the 7th century. A daughter of King Penda of Mercia
Penda of Mercia
Penda was a 7th-century King of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the English Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley in 628 following the Battle of Cirencester before participating in the...
, Edburga was a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
for most of her life.
The church's isolated position away from the village is thought to be because of an outbreak of the plague.
The churchyard cross is also from the 13th century.
The church also still houses the original wooden bier used at funerals over a century ago.