Florence Wadham
Encyclopedia
Florence Wyndham was the daughter of Sir John Wadham of Merifield and sister of Nicholas Wadham
founder of Wadham College, Oxford
.
In 1556 she married Sir John Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham
and a year later was taken ill and thought to have died. She was buried in the Wyndham
family vault in St Decuman’s church at Watchet
, Somerset and that same night a covetous sexton opened her coffin in order to remove her rings and cut one of her fingers in the process. She had in fact fallen into some sort of cataleptic trance, and was now awakened by the pain and rose from her coffin. The sexton fled leaving his lantern behind him; and with its aid she made her way home across the fields to her astounded family.
Soon afterwards she gave birth to her only son, Sir John Wyndham
, from whom every member of the Wyndham family is descended (apart from a branch of the family in the United States whose progenitor is Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Wyndham, Henry VIII's distinguished naval commander).
Her remarkable survival and importance is celebrated in the family by successive generations naming the eldest son Wadham Wyndham
, most especially by the Salisbury branch of St Edmund's College founded by Sir Wadham Wyndham
.
He seized the slender fingers white
And stiff in their repose
Then sought to file the circlet through;
When, to his horror, blood he drew,
And the fair sleeper rose
She sat a moment, gazed around,
Then, great was her surprise,
And sexton, startled, saw at a glance
This was not death, but a deep trance,
And madness leapt to his eyes.
The stagnant life steam in her veins
Again began to flow:
She felt the sudden quickening,
For her it was a joyous thing ,
For him a fearsome woe.
Nicholas Wadham
Nicholas Wadham was the benefactor of Wadham College, Oxford.-Life:Wadham was probably born at Merrifield, near Ilton, Somerset. He was the only son of John Wadham and his wife, Joan, daughter of John Tregarthin and widow of John Kellaway. A biography written before 1637 notes Wadham as attending...
founder of Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
.
Buried alive
Her fame rests on a remarkable escape from a horrific death and her singular importance to the survival of the Wyndham family.In 1556 she married Sir John Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham
Orchard Wyndham
Orchard Wyndham is a historic house parts of which date from medieval times near Williton, Somerset, England.There is evidence of occupation of the site from Roman and Saxon times....
and a year later was taken ill and thought to have died. She was buried in the Wyndham
Wyndham
-Localities:*City of Wyndham, an LGA in Victoria, Australia*Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley, a LGA in Western Australia, Australia*Wyndham Hills, Pennsylvania, an opulent community in York County, Pennsylvania, United States*Wyndham, New South Wales...
family vault in St Decuman’s church at Watchet
Watchet
Watchet is a harbour town and civil parish in the English county of Somerset, with an approximate population of 4,400. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The parish includes the hamlet of Beggearn Huish...
, Somerset and that same night a covetous sexton opened her coffin in order to remove her rings and cut one of her fingers in the process. She had in fact fallen into some sort of cataleptic trance, and was now awakened by the pain and rose from her coffin. The sexton fled leaving his lantern behind him; and with its aid she made her way home across the fields to her astounded family.
Soon afterwards she gave birth to her only son, Sir John Wyndham
John Wyndham (1558-1645)
Sir John Wyndham JP was an aristocratic English landowner who played an important role in the establishment of defence organisation in the West Country against the threat of Spanish invasion....
, from whom every member of the Wyndham family is descended (apart from a branch of the family in the United States whose progenitor is Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Wyndham, Henry VIII's distinguished naval commander).
Her remarkable survival and importance is celebrated in the family by successive generations naming the eldest son Wadham Wyndham
Wadham Wyndham
Sir Wadham Wyndham SL , English judge, was born at Orchard Wyndham, Somerset, the ninth son of Sir John Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham, and his wife, Joan, daughter of Sir Henry Portman...
, most especially by the Salisbury branch of St Edmund's College founded by Sir Wadham Wyndham
Wadham Wyndham
Sir Wadham Wyndham SL , English judge, was born at Orchard Wyndham, Somerset, the ninth son of Sir John Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham, and his wife, Joan, daughter of Sir Henry Portman...
.
Lady Wyndham's Return
A poem about her remarkable escape, called 'Lady Wyndham's Return', was written by Lewis H. Court, a vicar of St Decuman's church, and includes the following verses:He seized the slender fingers white
And stiff in their repose
Then sought to file the circlet through;
When, to his horror, blood he drew,
And the fair sleeper rose
She sat a moment, gazed around,
Then, great was her surprise,
And sexton, startled, saw at a glance
This was not death, but a deep trance,
And madness leapt to his eyes.
The stagnant life steam in her veins
Again began to flow:
She felt the sudden quickening,
For her it was a joyous thing ,
For him a fearsome woe.