My apologies, St W's Day was actually yesterday, July 8th. But I only discovered that at 5.30 in the afternoon. This saint is not particularly well known outside of East Anglia - but she came to our town 1350 years ago and founded a nunnery. And she is commemorated on our town sign, which spans the road leading into the Market Place.
Her story goes like this ...Anna, king of the Angles had four daughters. He died in 654,
and one daughter, Withburga came to Dereham. Here she founded a nunnery. The
women cared for the community and built a small church. They had little money
or food. One night the Virgin Mary appeared to Withburga, saying ‘Send two of
your women down to the stream every morning, where two does will stand to be
milked’. This they did, and so there was milk, butter and cheese for all. The
news spread, many came to ask for help. The Reeve became jealous and set off with
his hounds to kill, or drive away the deer, but his horse stumbled and threw
him, and his neck was broken.
The years passed, Withburga died, and was buried in the
churchyard until a suitable shrine could be built. When the time came to move
her to her final resting place, the coffin was opened, and her body was found
to be whole and uncorrupted as on the day she died. One story tells how one of
the men reached and touched her cheek with his finger – whereupon the maiden
saint blushed at the sacrilege! Then came the Danish invasion. The nuns were
scattered, the nunnery destroyed. But the church and shrine escaped, and when
peace returned, became the parish church. Many pilgrims came to pray at the
Saint’s Tomb
In 870 King Edgar gave all the monasteries destroyed by the
Danes, and the cathedral at Ely., into the care of the Bishop of Winchester. The bishop suggested that Withburga, should lie at Ely
with her three royal sisters, but Dereham folk did not wish to lose their saint. So Ely
monks gave a great feast to the men of Dereham and when they were all drunk,
they stole the Saint’s coffin. Next morning, they found the grave desecrated,
the coffin gone. They chased after the monks, but it was too late. Returning to
Dereham, they found the empty tomb had filled with a spring of clear water. Pilgrims
continued to come to pray, and drink the holy water, which to this day has
never run dry.
Years later, at the end of the eighteenth century, a
Bath-house was built over the spring, in the hope that the town would become as
famous as Buxton nor Bath. Described as ‘a hideous building of brick and
plaster’, it was never popular and in about 1880 it was removed and replaced
with iron railings and for years was smothered in ivy and ferns, the water
green with duck-weed.
Since 1950 it has been cleared, the ivy replaced with
climbing roses and rock plants, and the water kept clean. Every year on a Sunday
near St Withburga’s Day, a special service is held. In a few week's time, Katie is organising an event at the museum, and wanted a Withburga Mouse to head up her display. So I have been busy today creating the Saintly Mouse.
So now you know!
Does your town have a special Saint?
