Repton Abbey

Repton Abbey stands in the village of Repton in Derbyshire. Founded in the 7th century, it was a double monastery where monks and nuns lived together under an abbess. The abbey became closely linked to Mercian royalty and saints, with thirty-seven Mercian kings buried in its crypt. Its first abbess was Saint Werburgh, daughter of a Mercian king. The crypt was built over a natural spring and later used as a mausoleum for Mercian kings. The abbey’s crypt holds the remains of King Æthelbald, King Wiglaf, and Saint Wigstan. After reports of miracles at Saint Wigstan’s tomb, the crypt became a pilgrimage site. The Vikings destroyed the abbey in 873, but the crypt survived and was later incorporated into St Wystan’s Church. Archaeologists found a Viking burial mound nearby containing the remains of 200 Viking men and 49 Anglo-Saxon women. Visitors to St Wystan’s Church can see the Anglo-Saxon crypt with its domical vaults and four free-standing pillars. The church also preserves parts of the original abbey church, including the chancel and transepts. The River Trent once flowed beside the abbey grounds, now a short distance away. The village of Repton itself retains traces of its Viking past in nearby burial mounds.