The relics of St Erkenwald, the patron saint of the City of London, have been found by two independent researchers. The relics were previously thought to have been destroyed during the Reformation. They were, in fact smuggled out of London in 1549 and buried under what is now the lawn of Soulton Hall in Shropshire.
The revelation comes as the result of years of careful investigation by James D. Wenn and James Syrett, who specialise in architectural history. They noticed that Soulton Hall has coded messages in its design, left by its creator, Sir Rowland Hill.
“Hill was tasked with the destruction of the relics by King Edward VI”, explains James Wenn. “We now believe that he brought them here to be buried, and then built his house around them.”
The couple noticed the similarity between the original form of the house and the shrine of St Erkenwald, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The house originally had a pyramidal roof, flanked by decorative towers, reflecting the silhouette of the shrine. The house also sits within a walled precinct, resembling a railing that protected the Medieval monument.
Sir Rowland Hill was the first Protestant Lord Mayor of London, but has a history of protecting Catholic works of art. He is known to have buried a statue of Christ under the floor of the Mercers’ Hall, as leader of that Company at the time. The statue was discovered during rebuilding work after the Blitz. As well as the relics of a Saxon saint, James and James discovered a stone that bishops believe is the altar stone from the old St Paul’s Cathedral. This was installed in a discreet chapel room in the basement of Soulton Hall. The house hid Protestant fugitives during the time of Queen Mary in cavities within the walls.
The relics have been located in the centre of the precinct, just outside the house. During periods of drought, a square mark becomes visible in the grass, showing the spot of the burial. James and James supported sensitive meetings with Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox bishops over the last two years to decide what to do with them. The decision was not to remove the relics, but instead to pave the site with a memorial to Erkenwald. In the meantime, a temporary memorial has been put on the spot, and extra security brought in to protect it.
“The architecture of England has a huge amount of coded meaning that we have rediscovered.” Says James Syrett. “This, however, was a discovery more dramatic than anything we expected when we started this research six years ago.”
