St Radegund (now)
Parish church
The church is a substantial building consisting of nave, chancel, tower, N and S aisles and porch. This is one of only five churches in England dedicated to St Radegund, a French queen who founded one of the first nunneries in Poitiers c. 550. The present building is largely the result of the extensive restoration carried out in 1865, though some of the original medieval elements have been retained. The only Romanesque feature is the S doorway.
Parish church
The church of St Mary and St Radegund adjoins a road junction in the centre of Whitwell village, a short distance from a holy well site. The village is situated in the south-central area of the Isle of Wight in a valley within the southern chalk massif. Whitwell church consists of the chancel, the nave with a S aisle which continues to the S of the chancel to form the chapel of St Mary, a S porch, a vestry to the N of the chancel and a tower which rises above the western end of the aisle. The jambs and the springing of the N side of the chancel arch were retained when the rest of the arch was reconstructed in the early 17thc. The S arcade was originally of three bays and dates from the late 12thc The chapel of St Mary, to the S of the chancel, was widened in the 16thc. The south-western tower also originated at this time, being inserted into the W end of the aisle. The S porch was also added with a cusped image niche above the door indicating a pre-Reformation date (Lloyd and Pevsner 2006, 298-9). The Romanesque features are the northern side of the former chancel arch and the S arcade.