Whitchurch Canonicorum
Encyclopedia
Whitchurch Canonicorum or Whitechurch Canonicorum is a village
in south-west Dorset
, England
, situated in the Marshwood Vale
five miles northwest of Bridport
.
The village has a population
of 647 ; 10.1% of dwellings are second home
s. It is also the burial place of Bulgaria
n dissident
Georgi Markov
.
The church is noteworthy as containing the only shrine
in Britain to have survived the Reformation
with its relic
s intact, apart from that of Saint Edward the Confessor
in Westminster Abbey
. The saint in question is the somewhat obscure Saint Wite (Latinised as Saint Candida) after whom the church and the village are named. Some have tried to identify her as the Breton
Saint Gwen Teirbron. However a local tradition considers her to be a Saxon woman, probably a hermit or anchoress martyred by Danes in the course of a raid in the year 831.
Sir George Somers
(1554–1610) was the Mayor of Lyme Regis and later Governor of The Somers Isles (Bermuda
) he died "of a surfeit in eating of a pig", on November 9, 1610 in Bermuda. His heart was buried in Bermuda but his body, pickled in a barrel, was landed on the Cobb at Lyme Regis in 1618. A volley of muskets and cannon saluted his last journey to the church at Whitchurch Canonicorum where his body is buried.
The flag of Dorset
makes dedication to St Wite.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in south-west Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
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...
, situated in the Marshwood Vale
Marshwood Vale
The Marshwood Vale is a low-lying, bowl-shaped valley of Lower Lias clay, in the western tip of the county of Dorset in south-west England. It lies to the north of the A35 trunk road between the towns of Bridport and Lyme Regis, and to the south of the two highest hills in Dorset, Lewesdon Hill ...
five miles northwest of Bridport
Bridport
Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. Located near the coast at the western end of Chesil Beach at the confluence of the River Brit and its Asker and Simene tributaries, it originally thrived as a fishing port and rope-making centre...
.
The village has a population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 647 ; 10.1% of dwellings are second home
Vacation property
Vacation property is a niche in the real estate market dealing with residences used for holiday vacations . In the United Kingdom this type of property is usually termed a holiday home, in Australia, a holiday house/home, or weekender, in New Zealand, a bach or crib...
s. It is also the burial place of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
Georgi Markov
Georgi Markov
Georgi Ivanov Markov was a Bulgarian dissident writer.Markov originally worked as a novelist and playwright, but in 1969 he defected from Bulgaria, then governed by President Todor Zhivkov...
.
The church is noteworthy as containing the only shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
in Britain to have survived the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
with its relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s intact, apart from that of Saint Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. The saint in question is the somewhat obscure Saint Wite (Latinised as Saint Candida) after whom the church and the village are named. Some have tried to identify her as the Breton
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
Saint Gwen Teirbron. However a local tradition considers her to be a Saxon woman, probably a hermit or anchoress martyred by Danes in the course of a raid in the year 831.
Sir George Somers
George Somers
This article is about the English naval hero. For the American football player, see George Somers Admiral Sir George Somers was an English naval hero. Born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, the son of John Somers, his first fame came as part of an expedition led by Sir Amyas Preston against the Spanish...
(1554–1610) was the Mayor of Lyme Regis and later Governor of The Somers Isles (Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
) he died "of a surfeit in eating of a pig", on November 9, 1610 in Bermuda. His heart was buried in Bermuda but his body, pickled in a barrel, was landed on the Cobb at Lyme Regis in 1618. A volley of muskets and cannon saluted his last journey to the church at Whitchurch Canonicorum where his body is buried.
The flag of Dorset
Flag of Dorset
The Flag of Dorset is the flag of the English county of Dorset. The 'Dorset Cross' was chosen as the flag of Dorset on 16 September 2008 following a public vote, open to all Dorset residents, and organised by Dorset County Council. The unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole declined an...
makes dedication to St Wite.
See also
- Whitchurch Canonicorum (hundred)Whitchurch Canonicorum (hundred)Whitchurch Canonicorum Hundred or Whitechurch Canonicorum Hundred was a hundred in the county of Dorset, England, containing the following parishes:*Burstock*Catherston Leweston*Charmouth*Chideock*Lyme Regis*Marshwood*Pilsdon*Stanton St Gabriel...
- Flag of DorsetFlag of DorsetThe Flag of Dorset is the flag of the English county of Dorset. The 'Dorset Cross' was chosen as the flag of Dorset on 16 September 2008 following a public vote, open to all Dorset residents, and organised by Dorset County Council. The unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole declined an...
, The Dorset Cross/St Wite's Cross