Issue 492 – Edington’s 650th anniversary celebrations

EDINGTON Priory Church has been celebrating its 650th anniversary this month with a host of events well supported by the village.

The opportunity to view an art exhibition, chance to see the hidden corners of the Priory Church, and enjoy a birthday cake were all part of the celebrations, and the village’s annual fete even took on a medieval theme to join in.
Joanna Robertson, chairman of the Edington Priory Church working group said, “We had a lot going and a wonderful level of support, lots of people supported things and most importantly everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
“On Sunday afternoon we invited every household in the village to explore the secret corners of the church – up the tower and the bell chamber and we had a big exhibition, music was played on the piano and organ and we had all the registers out which go back 100 years or so.”
Sunday 10th July saw a rather different morning service. Instead of a sermon, one of the parishioners wrote a poem about the history of the church and children helped by miming the story. At the part where the Bishop of Winchester comes to escape the Cade’s rebellion, he was chased out of the priory and up the hill by the children at the service.
Built by William of Edington, Bishop of Winchester, to replace an earlier Norman church, Edington Prior Church was completed in 1361 and is considered one of the greatest village churches in England and a magnificent example of early perpendicular architecture.
A monastery was founded but later dissolved under Henry VIII in 1539, but as the church served the needs of the parish it was kept. Major restorations of the church fabric occurred in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the Friends of Edington Priory Church was founded to provide for the ongoing maintenance work.
Now, the Priory Church intends to continue as a place for the community. Joanna said, “We did want the celebrations to be for the village so we were really pleased with the support. We do want it [the Priory Church] to be part of the community, not something separate, but to be used and accessible.”