Werburgh

Werburh or Wærburh (also known as Werburgh and Werburga) (d. 3 February 699 at Trentham) was an Anglo-Saxon princess who became an English saint and the patron saint of Chester. Her feast day is 3 February.

Life

She was born at Stone (now in Staffordshire), and was the daughter of King Wulfhere of Mercia (himself the Christian son of the pagan King Penda of Mercia) and his wife St Ermenilda, herself daughter of the King of Kent. She obtained her father's consent to enter the Abbey of Ely, which had been founded by her great aunt Etheldreda (or Audrey), the first Abbess of Ely and former queen of Northumbria, whose fame was widespread. Werburgh was trained at home by St. Chad (afterwards Bishop of Lichfield), and by her mother; and in the cloister by her aunt and grandmother. Werburgh was a nun for most of her life. During some of her life she was resident in Weedon Bec, Northamptonshire.

Werburh was instrumental in convent reform across England. She eventually succeeded her mother Ermenilda, her grandmother Seaxburh, and great-aunt Etheldreda as fourth Abbess of Ely.

Hoo St Werburgh

Coordinates: 51°25′23″N 0°33′29″E / 51.423°N 0.558°E / 51.423; 0.558

Hoo St Werburgh is one of several villages on the Hoo Peninsula to bear the name Hoo. It constitutes a civil parish in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It was, until 1998, part of Kent and is still ceremonially associated via the Lieutenancies Act. It had a population of 7,356 at the 2001 census, increasing to 8,945 at the 2011 Census.

History

St. Werburgh was the daughter of King Wulfhere of Mercia, and niece of King Æthelred, his brother and successor. She was born between 640 and 650.

The first church of Hoo St Werburgh may have been built in the reign of the 8th century King Æthelbald of Mercia, though presumably a monastery existed nearby at an earlier time. This, together with land at Hoo All Hallows, is likely to have been placed under the rule of the leading Mercian monastery of Medeshamstede, now known as Peterborough.

A significant, and possibly unique, feature of this ancient parish church are the two Royal hatchments of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Recently these have been restored and can be viewed in the church.

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