The quiet suburb of Weston seems an unlikely birthplace for one of England's most dramatic saints, but it was here, around 953 AD, that Alphege — later Archbishop of Canterbury — was born into a noble Saxon family.
As a young man, Alphege entered Deerhurst Abbey near Tewkesbury. Finding monastic life there insufficiently austere, he returned to Weston around 980 and established a hermit's cell on the slopes of Lansdown Hill above the village. His reputation for wisdom spread, and people of all ranks sought his counsel. Dunstan, the great reforming Archbishop of Canterbury, persuaded Alphege to become Abbot of the monastery at Bath.
His rise was swift. In 984 he was elected Bishop of Winchester, where he built a vast organ said to require more than 24 men to operate and to be audible over a mile away. In 994, King Ethelred chose Alphege as his ambassador to the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason, then wintering with his invasion fleet at Southampton. The resulting treaty ended Viking raids for several years — a remarkable diplomatic achievement.
“The resulting treaty ended Viking raids for several years — a remarkable diplomatic achievement.”
In 1006, Alphege became Archbishop of Canterbury. Five years later, disaster struck. A Viking army besieged Canterbury, breached its defences, and captured the Archbishop. Held prisoner for seven months, Alphege refused to allow any ransom to be paid for his release, unwilling to burden his flock. On 19 April 1012, his captors pelted him with ox bones at Greenwich before one struck him dead with an axe.
He was the first Archbishop of Canterbury to die by violence — a distinction later shared by Thomas Becket, who was reportedly praying for Alphege's intercession at the moment of his own murder in 1170. Pope Gregory VII canonised Alphege in 1078, and his feast day falls on 19 April.
