Many old churches have closed and been repurposed for other duties though rather unusually St Werburgh is now a church again after closing previously. It closed in 1984 for worship but reopened in 2017. The oldest surviving part of the church is the 15th century tower which collapsed and was rebuilt at the start of the 16th century. The rest of the church was rebuilt in 1699 after flood damage though only the chancel remains from this rebuilding after the church was rebuilt again in 1892-4.
This later rebuilding reorientated the church with the altar being at the North, the chancel was converted into a side chapel. The tower is made from coursed gritstone, the chancel ashlar and the rest of the church rock-faced gritstone.
Dr Samuel Johnson married Elizabeth Porter at St Werburgh's in 1735.
