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Saint · Polesworth · Hidden

St Editha and Sir Robert Marmion

Never upset a dead abbess.

Open on the map: directions, what's there today and read-aloud →

Illustration: St Editha and Sir Robert Marmion
The legend
SaintHidden

St Editha and Sir Robert Marmion

She came in the night.

Stand where it happened

What's there
Parish church with a medieval gatehouse
Legend from
Polesworth/Tamworth tradition
Tone
Solemn
SaintsAbbeys

Before you go

Abbey church is the parish church; gatehouse survives. Check before you go.

  • Polesworth Abbey
  • Near B5000
  • The pin is approximate.

A saint came to scold a Norman lord.

British History Online, following Dugdale, says Sir Robert Marmion turned the nuns out of Polesworth after the Conquest. After a feast at Tamworth Castle he had a vision of St Edith (Editha), who rebuked him for the wrong done to her nuns, and the nuns were brought back. BHO notes that a charter shows the Marmions did re-establish them.

One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.

Sources

  1. Polesworth Abbey, VCH Warwickshire vol 2, British History Online —

Legends nearby

More Warwickshire folklore →