Siting peacefully on the edge of the River Wye near Symonds Yat East in the village of Whitchurch is St Dubricius, a 13th century church.
The church is built of sandstone rubble quarried locally, under a slate roof. Parts of an older 9th-century church appear to have been incorporated into the current building, which was heavily restored in the Victorian period.
Interior highlights include a font bowl of Norman date, cut down to fit a late 14th-century stem.
To the west of the churchyard is the Gwillam tomb enclosure, built by Thomas Gwillam in 1744. The Gwillim family owned Old Court at Whitchurch from 1600 until 1898, and the enclosure contains numerous family graves. Among those buried here is the family of Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim. At the age of 19, she married General John Graves Simcoe, who was the first Governor of Upper Canada and founded the city of Toronto in 1793.
Dubricius was a 6th-century holy man who lived in Herefordshire. Legend says that his mother was a princess of Erging (near Ross-on-Wye). When her father discovered that the unmarried princess was pregnant he had her thrown into the River Wye.
She survived the attempt to drown her and was promptly thrown into a fire to be burnt alive. She survived this too and that night she gave birth to a baby boy named Dyfrig, later known as Dubricius.
Dubricius established several early Christian monasteries which gained a reputation as centres of scholarship. His feast day is celebrated on 14th November.
Giving
If you would like to support the life and work of our church, on a one off or regular basis, please click here. We also a successful ‘friends of St Dubricius church‘ which you might like to join. You can find more details here.
Church Warden:
Sue Morris
Address:
St Dubricius,
Whitchurch,
Herefordshire,
HR9 6BZ
What is going on in Whitchurch:
You can check out the services taking place in Whitchurch here. We also have an events diary here.
In Autumn 2021 Saint Dubricius was awarded the Eco Church Bronze award.