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ST. WERBURGH'S CHURCH, SPONDON, DERBY

The present church dates back to around 1390, when it was completed to replace
an earlier church destroyed by fire, along with almost the entire village, in 1340. It
is a very large church compared with the size of the village as it was in the
fourteenth century. The earlier church must have been equally large, because the
present one stands on its foundations. Spondon is an outer suburb of the City of
Derby, and the church should not be confused with the city centre church of St.
Werburgh, which at present is semi-redundant. It stands at the top of a hill on the
north side of the River Derwent, and in the centre of the original village.

The main body of the church, both nave and chancel, along with the 35 metre high
tower and spire, date to 1390, although the north wall of the nave had been
damaged by subsidence and was rebuilt in 1826. The roof also needed replacing
but the church was ruined when a very low-pitched roof was built and the interior
fitted with a flat ceiling. In 1895 this ruinous 'restoration' was finally replaced
with a roof of the original pitch, the ceiling removed and the new fine vaulted roof
structure exposed.

Internally, the church has much of note, including some fine stained glass windows
of the late Victorian period and the earlier half of the twentieth century.. It has a
peal of six bells, one of which is 16th century, one 17th and the remaining four of
the 19th century. The fine organ dates from 1909, but with an electric action fitted
in 1989. Adjacent to the main altar is a recessed sedilia, nearby a priest's sanctus
window and there are four piscinas within the church. . There is a lady chapel
dedicated to St. Mary, which contains a First World War memorial. The royal
arms displayed over the north (main) door is almost unique, there being only one
other known example. It is dated between 1702 and 1707 because it displays the
arms of Queen Ann before the union with Scotland.

Externally, the remains of a decorated cross shaft said to date to around 870 and
in the nearby former vicarage grounds is what is considered to be a "holy well"
which could be the site of the earliest Christian gatherings, before a timber and
thatch church was erected, possibly around the year 750.

Saint Werburgh was bom around 650, the daughter of King Wulfhere and Queen
Ermenhilda of Mercia. Against her father's wishes for her to marry, she was
determined to become a nun and was finally allowed to enter Ely Abbey. She
subsequently became an Abbess, and finally senior Abbess of all Mercia. She died
on 3rd February, 700 and her feast day is 3rd February. There are 17 churches
dedicated to her in England, plus one in Dublin, one in West Australia, a village in
Zimbabwe and lady chapels in Chester and Lichfield cathedrals.

John Hughes