St Mildred's Church, East Cowes, United Kingdom

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, 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.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in United Kingdom

User Reviews

Catherine Preston (11 months ago)
Prince Albert had this church built. It's very much a royal history focused place. It feels like a museum rather than a living church. My husband enjoyed taking photos, and many thanks to the guide for sharing her extensive knowledge.

Hellington “Happy cat” White (12 months ago)
Beautiful church.Queen Victoria chapel where princess Beatrice is buried.Must visit gift shop in tea rooms and buy tea with a slice of ? cake.

Chris Walton (13 months ago)
A really interesting churchyard with lots of historical interest! Toilets onsite, however was not open when church was closed, and a decent to the toilet block down a slope.

Mark Johnson (15 months ago)
Afternoon wander around the beautifully maintained church yard. Full of history with the obvious connection to Osborne House and the poignant graves of fallen service men.

Leif Marriner (16 months ago)
Queen Victoria's Church while she stayed on the Isle of Wight. Very peaceful and great to walk around, beautiful and very historic. Large carpark with cafe on the left.

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