East Anglian links to St Edward the Confessor

St Edward the Confessor, who ruled England from 1042 until 1066, had many links with East Anglia, with a new link now emerging through local historian Oliver Wessex.

St Edward the Confessor, born between 1002 and 1005 in Islip, Oxfordshire, ruled England from 1042 until his death on January 5, 1066. Once seen as a weak ruler controlled by nobles, recent research by Professor Tom Licence shows Edward stabilised and unified the kingdom during his 24-year reign.

The son of King Ethelred II and Emma of Normandy, Edward spent time in exile after the Danish invasion of 1013, returning after his father’s brief restoration in 1014. Ascending the throne in 1042, he successfully asserted authority despite challenges from nobles like Godwine, Earl of Wessex. He was canonised in 1161 and Edward left a legacy of piety and strong ties to East Anglia. 

King’s Ely, a historic school, dates back to 673 AD, when child oblates were educated at the abbey founded by St Etheldreda on the site now occupied by Ely Cathedral. Destroyed by the Danes in 840, the monastery and school were restored in 970 by Æthelwold, Bishop of Winchester, and St Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. Edward the Confessor was educated at this school, which has operated continuously since its restoration.

The Liberty of St Edmund, established by Royal Charter in the 11th century by Edward the Confessor, granted the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds significant power over Suffolk. The town, named after St Edmund, became a major religious site, with the abbey growing into one of Europe’s wealthiest. Edward visited the abbey in 1044, moved by the monks’ poverty, and granted them the manor of Mildenhall and other lands.

In 1061, during Edward’s reign, Lady Richeldis of Walsingham reportedly experienced a Marian apparition, where the Blessed Virgin Mary showed her the Holy Family’s house in Nazareth and instructed her to build a replica in Walsingham. This “Holy House” became a major pilgrimage site.

Recently, diocesan historian Oliver Wessex proposed a new theory on the 1066 succession crisis, drawing from Professor Tom Licence’s biography of Edward the Confessor. Oliver argues that Edward never intended for William of Normandy or Harold Godwinson to succeed him. Instead, Edward aimed to continue the House of Cedric, the original royal family of England, through his nephew, Edward the Exile, and later through his grandnephew, Edgar the Atheling.

Oliver suggests that the original English royal line did not end around 1126 with Edgar, as previously believed. He claims that landmarks like Huntingdon Priory and Castle Cary indicate that England’s first royal family has living descendants today. A 1291 chronicle from Huntingdon Priory records that Edgar had a daughter, Margaret Lovel, who married Ralph Lovel II of Castle Cary. Their descendants held the title of Lord of the Manor at Castle Cary for several generations. The Lovels of Castle Cary are distinct from the Lovels of Titchmarsh.

Although the Lovels failed to produce a male heir during King Edward III’s reign (1312–1377), the Lovel surname remains common today.  Wessex hopes to trace a direct male-line descendant of the House of Lovel. So, if your surname is Lovel, you might just have a claim to the throne!

You can contact Oliver at: oliver.wessex@proton.me

Pictured is an image of St Edward the Confessor.

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