This new series will explore some of the British born saints in the Christian canon, and places of worship that continue to be dedicated to them today.
St Werburgh was an Anglo-Saxon princess who was born at Stone in around 650CE. She was the daughter of King Wulfhere of Mercia. Her mother was St Ermenilda of Kent. Werburgh wanted to enter Ely abbey and was trained by St Chad, her mother and other female relatives who were at the abbey. She finally became abbess of the convent, following in the footsteps of her mother, grand-mother and great-aunt! She was responsible for convent reform in England. She died in 700 on February the 3rd.
In 708 her brother, now King Coenred of Mercia had Werburgh's remains moved in Hanbury to a more prominent place in the church due to their growing popularity with visitors. Her body was said to have been miraculously intact, a sign of divine favour. She is said to have appeared and restored a goose to life! She also banished a flock of geese which was laying waste to crops. Her remains to moved to Chester in the 9th century where she remains the city's patron saint, the abbey church renamed for St Werburgh.
The location of her tomb remained at Chester cathedral (as the site is now called) and was a place of veneration and pilgrimage. The badge of a gaggle of geese was adopted as proof of having made the pilgrimage to St Werburgh! Her relics were unfortunately lost during the Dissolution though remnants of her shrine have survived at the cathedral.
Ten churches in England are dedicated to St Werburgh including in Spondon and Derby. Her feast day is February 3rd.
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| St Werburgh, Derby |
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| St Werburgh, Spondon |
