In this guest article, find out how Caversham became a site which pilgrims began to flock to, and how the village became tied to the murder of a King. 

The shrine of our Lady of Caversham was visited by thousands of pilgrims when it stood. It was situated at the southern end of Star Road, on a patch of land which used to be Deans Farm.

When the Norman's arrived they built a manor and castle just past the farm on land near the River Thames.

But how did the shrine become a pilgrimage site? Historian Colin Describe fills us in....

On March, 18, 978, Edward, King of the Saxons, was murdered at Corfe Castle.

According to legend, the King was on horseback when his Stepmother Elfrida had a servant serve him a drink. 

Instead of supping the refreshment, the servant stabbed the King. 

Edward fell off the horse, but his foot was caught in a stirrup and he was dragged to his death. 

His stepmother Elfrida had a vested interest in King Edward's death as she wanted he son Æthelred to be king.

He was hastily buried in a grave which people began to flock to, and spoke of miraculous healing, leading more and more people to the site. 

This wasn't a grave fit for the King, so Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury asked ealdorman Elphere of Mercia to dig the grave up and take the King's body to Shaftesbury Abbey so that a fitting funeral could be undertaken. 

Miracles still happened at the tomb. As a result of these miraculous events, the dead King later became known as 'Edward the Martyr', as he was canonized as a saint in 1008. 

His body was interred at Shaftesbury Abbey until 1539, the infamous year of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. But prior to the monasteries being set upon, Edward's body was buried deeper and could not be found by crown officials executing the dissolution.

Edward's tomb was eventually found in 1931, and in 1984 his body was moved to Brookwood Cemetery in Woking, under the care of the Greek Orthodox Church which also regards Edward as a Saint.

In 979, Edward's stepmother Elfrida became an Abess seeking recompense for the death of the King. Elfrida was based at a Nunnery on the grounds of what is now Reading Minster. 

Elfrida's great ally Elphere gave her the dagger that killed Edward.

The late King possessed a hunting lodge in Caversham which would later become Deans Farm. 

The dagger was stored at a shrine on this land, with people flocking to pay homage and see the dagger which became a relic. 

The establishment of this shrine was the start of what would become the Shrine of Our Lady of Caversham. 

This article was written by historian Colin Describe and edited by Reading Chronicle staff.