Saint Æthelburh (died after 686) or Ethelburga, founder and first

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

of the

double monastery A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East ...

of Barking, was the sister of

Earconwald Saint Earconwald or Erkenwald (died 693) was a Saxon prince and Bishop of London between 675 and 693. He is the eponymous subject of one of the most St. Erkenwald (poem), important poems in the foundations of English literature (thought to be by th ...

(also spelled "Erkenwald"),

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

Life

The main source for Æthelburh is

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

's ''

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' (), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the growth of Christianity. It was composed in Latin, and ...

'' which recounts the foundation of Barking, early

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

s there, and Æthelburh's death (Book IV, Chapters 6 to 10). Bede describes Æthelburg as "upright in life and constantly planning for the needs of her community". Some time before he became bishop of London in 675, Earconwold founded a

at Barking for his sister, and a monastery at Chertsey for himself. Barking appears to have already been established by the time of the plague in 664. Chertsey Breviary - St

A charter, believed genuine and drafted by Bishop Eorcenwald in the reign of King Sebbi of Essex (reigned –c. 694), records a grant of lands in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

by a certain Æthelred to Æthelburh and Barking. This is dated to between 686 and 688. The 9th century '' Old English Martyrology'' records a vision, recounted by a nun of Barking, who saw Æthelburh being drawn up into heaven by golden chains. She was buried at Barking. The ''Old English Martyrology'' records her

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

as 11 October. She is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on 11 October. Her successor as abbess was Hildelith. Ethelburga founded the church of All Hallows Berkyngechirche (now known as All Hallows Barking or All Hallows by the Tower) in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

on land given to her by her brother Eorconwald c. 675. The church of St Ethelburga the Virgin in the City of London is dedicated to her. It survived the Great Fire and the Blitz but was extensively damaged in an IRA attack in 1993; however, it has been restored and is now a centre for international reconciliation. An area near

Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea, London, Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies ...

and Albert Bridge was also named after her (Ethelburga Street, the Ethelburga Estate and Ethelburga Primary School in 1968-2000). Other churches dedicated to Æthelburh include the Grade II listed St Ethelburga's at Great Givendale, near

Pocklington Pocklington () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, its population was 10,123. It lies east of York, and ...

in the East Riding of Yorkshire b, as well as the Roman Catholic Church in Barking, a short distance from the original site of Æthelburh's abbey. Ethelburga is remembered in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

with a

commemoration Commemoration may refer to: *Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion *Commemoration (liturgy), insertion in one liturgy of portions of another *Memorialization *"Commemoration", a song by the 3rd a ...

on 11 October.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aethelburh Of Barking 7th-century births 7th-century deaths East Saxon saints Anglo-Saxon abbesses 7th-century Christian saints 7th-century English women Female saints of medieval England 7th-century English people Medieval landowners English women landowners Anglican saints