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St Mildred's Church, Whippingham facts for kids

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St Mildred's Church, Whippingham
Whippingham Church IW.jpg
Denomination Church of England
Churchmanship Broad Church
Website [1]
History
Dedication St Mildred
Administration
Parish Whippingham
Deanery Isle of Wight
Archdeaconry Isle of Wight
Diocese Portsmouth
Province Province of Canterbury
Whippingham Church, Isle of Wight, UK
The setting of the church on the east bank of the River Medina.
Whippingham Church c1910 - Project Gutenberg eText 17296
The church in around 1910.


St Mildred's Church, Whippingham is the Church of England parish church of the village of Whippingham, Isle of Wight.

History

The village of Whippingham, and St Mildred's Church as its parish church, are best known for their connections with Queen Victoria. Whippingham was the centre of a royal estate supporting Osborne House and Barton Manor.

In 1804 a church was reconstructed by John Nash on the site of the lost medieval parish church: in 1854–60 it was pulled down and rebuilt. Prince Albert (the Prince Consort) took an active role in the redesigning of the church building. The chancel of the church was built in 1854 and 1855 by the architect Albert Jenkins Humbert although Prince Albert is thought to have had a guiding hand. The remainder of the church was constructed in 1861 and 1862.

A side chapel with the tomb of Prince Henry of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice, is dedicated to the Battenberg/Mountbatten family.

Queen Victoria took a close interest in 'her people' in Whippingham. This is reflected in the many memorials in St Mildred's Church which commemorate members of the Royal Family, including the Prince Consort, Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and members of the royal household.

The church also has a memorial to the Hessian soldiers who fought under the British flag in the 1790s, and were invalided to the Isle of Wight. Soldiers from the Musketeer Regiment Prinz Carl were housed in the newly built Whippingham mill, which became a temporary barrack and hospital. Eighty-four of them are buried in the churchyard. The memorial was unveiled in 1906 by the Landgrave of Hesse.

The church is now in a united benefice with St James's Church, East Cowes.

Interior

Inside the church, there are brilliant rose windows and a large octagonal lantern in the centre.

Organ

A specification of the Father Willis organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Memorials

A number of memorials in the church commemorate members of Queen Victoria's family and household.

Burials

Tomb of Prince Henry of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom in St Mildred's Church, Whippingham, Isle of Wight
Tomb of Prince Henry of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom

St Mildred's Church contains the last resting places of several members of the Battenberg/Mountbatten family. Inside the church, in a side chapel called the 'Battenberg Chapel', are buried:

  • Prince Henry of Battenberg (double sarcophagus with his wife, Princess Beatrice)
  • Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom (double sarcophagus with her husband, Prince Henry)
  • The 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke (ashes in a brass casket above his parents' double sarcophagus)
  • The Marchioness of Carisbrooke (ashes, photo)
  • Lady Iris Mountbatten, daughter of The Marquess of Carisbrooke (ashes)
  • The 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven (ashes, photo)

Exterior

Uffafoxgrave
Grave of Uffa Fox, showing lifeboat of his design on parachute

The church has a tower reminiscent of a castle on the Rhine, with five soaring pinnacles.

Churchyard

In the churchyard are the graves of Prince Louis of Battenberg and his wife, Princess Victoria; also Uffa Fox, the yachtsman and designer.

The churchyard contains war graves of seven Commonwealth service personnel, four from World War I and three from World War II.

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