Saint Elphin

Elphin of Warrington (died 679) was a Christian saint who lived in the North West of England in the 7th century,[1] and is considered the patron saint of the town of Warrington.[2]

Life

Little is known about his life, but according to tradition he was a companion of Saint Oswald at Iona. When Oswald became King of Northumbria and moved his country residence to Makerfield, Elphin accompanied him and Oswald built a wooden church for him on the site of the present parish church in Warrington.[3] The Domesday Book also describes two carucates of land in the Hundred of Newton-in-Makerfield as belonging to St. Elphin.[3] He was martyred in 679.[1]

Dedications

The original parish church of Warrington, known for its 281-foot spire, is dedicated to St Elphin.[4] Also dedicated to him was St Elphin's School a former boarding school founded in Warrington that moved to Darley Dale, Derbyshire.

References

  1. 1 2 Charles Hardwick (1882). On Some Ancient Battlefields in Lancashire. p. 87.
  2. ↑ David Farmer,Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford University Press, 1996), p157.
  3. 1 2 "Saint Elphin of Warrington". The Tablet. 22 May 1886.
  4. ↑ "Warrington St Elphin". Church of England.
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