Saint Mary the Virgin, Foulness Island Saint Mary the Virgin, Foulness Island Saint Mary the Virgin is a parish of the Church of England on Foulness Island, in Essex, England. Before the 15th century, the island of Foulness was divided among several neighbouring parishes. The inhabitants were expected to attend church services in their respective mainland parish churches but in practice this must have been difficult and at times impossible, as in those days there was no bridge linking Foulness to the mainland. In 1407, Lady Joan de Bohun, Countess of Essex, obtained a licence from the Bishop of London to found a chantry of a
Saint Mary the Virgin, Foulness Island chaplain to celebrate Mass service on a daily basis in a chapel on Foulness. She also managed to secure the payment of church dues towards the upkeep of the chapel, rather than having the islanders’ payments going towards the various mainland parishes among which the island had been split. Some 150 years later, the Chantry was dissolved under the massive religious upheaval resulting from Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. The chapel’s land and possessions were confiscated. However, the desire for local services remained and within three years Foulness became a separate ecclesiastical parish. The old chantry chapel was demolished