St. Werburgh's Church, Dublin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Werburgh's Church, Dublin
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Location	Werburgh Street, Dublin
Country	Republic of Ireland
Denomination	Church of Ireland
History
Founded	1178
Founder(s)	Men of Bristol
Dedication	St. Werburgh
Past bishop(s)	Henry de Loundres, James Ussher
Architecture
Architect(s)	Thomas Burgh (1719), Joseph Jarratt (1759)
Architectural type	Italianate classicism
Specifications
Length	(interior) 80 feet (24.4 m)
Width	(interior) 52 feet (15.8 m)
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough
Province	Province of Dublin

St. Werburgh's Church is a historic Church of Ireland building in Dublin, Ireland. The first church on this spot was built way back in 1178. This was soon after the Anglo-Normans arrived in the city. It was named after St. Werburgh, who was an important abbess and a patron saint. The church building you see today was finished in 1719. You can find it on Werburgh Street, very close to Dublin Castle.

A Look at St. Werburgh's Church

St. Werburgh's Church illustration from 1780

Long ago, in Celtic and Danish times, the area where St. Werburgh's stands was dedicated to St. Martin of Tours. The church then was near the south end of Werburgh Street. After St. Werburgh's Church was built, many people from Bristol visited it. These Bristol people were some of the first settlers in Dublin. The church had special areas called chapels for Our Lady, St. Martin, and St. Catherine.

The first church building sadly burned down in 1311. A lot of the city was destroyed in that fire too. But the church was rebuilt! Over time, the nearby church of St. Mary del Dam closed in 1559. Its parish, or local church area, then became part of St. Werburgh's. This meant that Dublin Castle was now part of St. Werburgh's parish.

Many important people were connected to this church. James Ussher, a very senior leader in the Church of Ireland, worked here in 1607. Edward Wetenhall, who later became a bishop, was also a curate here. He wrote famous Greek and Latin grammar books. Dr. Patrick Delany, a friend of the famous writer Jonathan Swift, was the rector in 1730.

In the 1600s, St. Werburgh's parish had arguments with the nearby St. John the Evangelist church. They disagreed about where their parish borders were. Each church wanted to collect taxes from certain houses in areas like Copper Alley.

By the late 1600s, the church needed to be replaced. In 1715, a special law was passed by the Irish Parliament. This law set up a group to build a new church. Colonel Thomas Burgh, who was in charge of public buildings, was given the job. The new church was mostly finished by 1719 and cost about £8,000.

However, in 1754, another fire damaged the church. It didn't open again until 1759. The inside of the church you see today was designed around this time by John Smyth. It's interesting to note that the city's old fire engines used to be kept in the church porch! St. Werburgh's still has some of the oldest fire equipment in Dublin.

In the 1700s, St. Werburgh's became very popular. It was the church where the British Lord Lieutenant (a high-ranking official) and his staff went. In 1767, a special pew was added just for him. The church records from this time show many important people from Dublin's public life. Around the same time, John Smith (or Smyth) designed an upper gallery for schoolchildren.

The church also had a tall tower and spire added the next year. But around 1810, the Castle authorities removed the spire. They said it was unsafe, but it was really because it overlooked Dublin Castle. They worried about security. The tower itself was taken down 26 years later.

The inside of the church was updated again in 1877 by architect William Welland. This happened when St. Werburgh's parish joined with the parish of St. John the Evangelist.

The Church Organ

In 1754, a fire accidentally started inside the church. Only the stone walls and bells were left. A clergyman named Sir Philip Hoey left money to buy a new organ. It was built by Millars of College Street and was first played in public in June 1768.

On May 3, 1787, a special concert celebrating the composer Handel was held at St. Werburgh's. Many talented amateur musicians performed.

The organ you see today was first built by Ferdinand Weber, a local organ builder from the 1700s. It was later fixed up by Telford and Telford around 1870. They used the original organ's outer case.

This organ has two keyboards for the hands and pedals for the feet. It has 15 different sounds, called stops. The shiny gold pipes at the front and some inside are from the 1700s. The foot pedals are from the mid-1800s and have 25 notes.

The organ still has a space where people used to pump the bellows by hand. This was needed to make the organ work before electricity was common in the 1960s. You can even see old drawings and writings on the walls in this space! The famous composer George Frideric Handel used this very organ to practice his famous work, Messiah. It was first performed nearby in the Great Music Hall.

People Connected to St. Werburgh's

John Field, a well-known composer and pianist, was baptized in this church on September 5, 1782.

Rev. J.H. Mason, who was a Chancellor of St. Patrick's Cathedral, was also a rector at St. Werburgh's.

There are old church documents from St. Werburgh's parish that date from 1317 to 1662. These papers list the property owners in the parish from those times.

Burials at St. Werburgh's

Next to the church, there was a churchyard used for burials for hundreds of years. Also, beneath the church, there are 27 underground rooms called vaults where people were buried.

• Nicholas Sutton, who was the Attorney General for Ireland, was buried here in 1478. His family had lived on Werburgh Street for many years.
• William Hilton, a High Court judge and Member of Parliament, was buried here in 1651, along with his wife Anne Ussher.
• Peter Palmer, a judge, was buried here in 1621.
• Robert Sibthorp, who was the Bishop of Limerick, was buried here in 1649.
• Sir James Ware (1594–1666), a historian, was buried here in December 1666.
• Lord Edward Fitzgerald, a leader of the United Irishmen, was buried in the church vaults on June 5, 1798. Interestingly, his captor, Major Sirr, was buried in the churchyard in 1841.

Images for kids

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  St Werburgh's interior

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  Church organ and Lord Lieutenants' gilded pew (c1767)

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  Parish pews (c1760)

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  Fitzgerald's medieval tomb (c1510), stored at St Werburgh's.

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  St. Werburgh's in 1808, showing the tower and steeple