St. Werburgh
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Warburton
St. Werburgh |
| Warburton St. Werburgh's is an ancient looking and beautiful half timbered building sadly now redundant.A new church was built a few hundred yards away in the Victorian times |  |
How to find it. It is on the B5159 (Townfield Lane) that is to the north east of Lymm. This road runs between the A57 and the A56. The church is close by the Manchester Ship Canal. |
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| Nikolaus Pevsner in writing of Warburton in his book Building of Cheshire 1971 says it is "a lovable muddle" | ||
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"Warburton Church is considered one of the 3
oldest in the county. Externally a patchwork but inside rough great
rough hewn worm eaten timbers support the single roof that spans
naves and aisles.
Picturesque Cheshire - Crossley 1903. |
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| In
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of 917 and 918 A.D. Queen Ethelfleada is
reported as fortifying 3 places in Cheshire against the Vikings;
Runcorn, Eddisbury and Warburton. It is thought that the dedication
for this church of St. Werburgh (the only other is Chester
Cathedral) may be linked to her for she brought the remains of St.
Werburgh to Cheshire.
By the 12th century there was a branch of the White Canons (Premonstratensians) at the church but the present buildings date principally from the late 17th century. |
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| A sculpture of Ethelfleada, Queen of Mercia, alongside the Manchester Ship Canal on Runcorn Promenade. The railway bridge over the Mersey is called Ethelfleada in her honour as the remains of her fort were found in the foundations. |
| The construction of the Manchester Ship Canal, that was built close by, isolated the church even more than before. The B5159 which runs close by the church has a toll bridge over the canal.There is a charge of 12 pence each way or 25 pence for a day ticket. |