St. Edmund's Church, Wootton

St Edmund’s Church stands in Wootton on the Isle of Wight, a medieval parish church with Grade II* listing. The building began in the Middle Ages and once served a small area that now forms part of Wootton Bridge. A detached part of the parish once reached as far as Chillerton. The churchyard holds a Commonwealth war grave for a Hampshire Regiment soldier from the First World War. In 1953 the church was officially recognised as a Grade II* listed building. The church’s pipe organ dates from 1869 and was first installed in St Andrew’s Church near Freshwater. When that church closed in the early 1980s the organ was moved to Wootton. It remains in use today and can be studied on the National Pipe Organ Register. The Diocese of Portsmouth now oversees the church as part of its parish network. Inside, visitors find a plain medieval nave and chancel with simple fittings. The organ case stands at the west end, its Victorian pipes still voiced for worship. The churchyard offers quiet paths bordered by yew and holly. From the gate there are views across the gently rolling countryside of the island.