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ARCHIVE OF BRITISH SAINTS (V-Z)St. Werburgh (Werburga) of Chester, Abbess, c.700, fd: 3 February St Werburgh was descended on her mother's side from Kentish royalty and a long line of saints from that family. Her father, Wulfhere, was a prince of Mercia, newly converted to Christianity. Her paternal grandfather was the pagan king of Mercia, Penda who was responsible for the deaths of many Christian kings of neighbouring kingdoms. St. Werburgh had an early close association with the Church being brought up by her great aunt, St. Audrey of Ely, her mother, St. Ermenhild and her grandmother, St. Saxburgh. When very young she chose the monastic life by becoming a nun. She eventually became Abbess at Minister-in-Sheppey and then at Ely. Later she was invited by King Ethelred of Mercia, (St. Ethelred), to take charge of the convents in the Kingdom of Mercia:- Weedon (Northamptonshire), Hanbury (Staffordshire) and Threckingham (Lincolnshire). St. Werburgh's prayers are sought by the young, especially children and young women. She has links with the animal world arising from her control of wild geese who were causing crop damage in the Weedon district. The saint reposed at Threckingham on 3 February in about the year 700 A.D. Her much venerated relics were kept at Hanbury until 875 A.D. when, for fear of Danish depravations, they were moved to Chester where there is still part of the stone base of her shrine. There are churches at Hanbury, Derby and at nearby Spondon and Blackwell dedicated to the saint and the village of Warburton, (Werburgton), and its church are dedicated to her. (adapted from "Orthodox Christianity and the English Tradition" by Fr Andrew Phillips, published by the English Orthodox Trust, 1995. ISBN: 1-898281-00-9) |
