St Edith

This day Nancy was borne into the church of St Edith's in Bishop Wilton where she rested overnight before her funeral the following day. In life, as in death, this peaceful place was a sanctuary for her. It was here where she was christened, confirmed and married; where her three eldest children were married; where as a 16 year old she became the church organist; where she attended the funerals of family, friends, her beloved husband Bernard and her devoted brother Henry; and where only two weeks before she died, she was cleaning the floor and had difficulty kneeling down - one of the first signs of her illness.

The Norman church is dedicated to St Edith of Wilton in Wiltshire, Edith was a nun born in 961 AD, the illegitimate daughter of King Edgar the Peaceful, by Wilfrida, a woman of noble birth whom Edgar had carried off from the nunnery at Wilton Abbey. Edith is said to have been celebrated for her beauty, learning and sanctity. She was 23 when she died.