Saint Elphin

Elphin of Warrington (d.679) was a Christian saint who lived in the North West of England in the seventh century.[1] 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.[2] The Domesday Book also describes two carucates of land in the Hundred of Newton-in-Makerfield as belonging to St. Elphin.[2] He was martyred in 679.[1]

Dedications

The original parish church of Warrington, known for its 281-foot spire, is dedicated to St Elphin.[3] Also dedicated to him was St Elphin's School a former boarding school originally 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. 1 2 "Saint Elphin of Warrington". The Tablet. 22 May 1886.
  3. ↑ "Warrington St Elphin". Church of England.
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