Saint Edburga
The community had grown and it was felt that a bigger building was needed. So under the 3rd Abbess, Edburga, the community moved to the site of the current monastery in 741, just a few hundred yards from the site of the original monastery. (The present St. Mary the Virgin Church). The monastic buildings were probably constructed of wood or wattle like most Saxon buildings, but the monastic church was built of stone. It was dedicated to SS Peter and Paul by Archbishop Cuthbert of Canterbury. Edburga had the relics of St Mildred brought from St Mary’s Church and re-interred behind the altar of the new church. In the 1920’s an archaeological dig uncovered the foundations of this church.
Missionary Zeal
During the time of Abbess Edburga several monks and nuns left England to spread the Gospel in Europe. One of these, St Boniface, corresponded with Edburga and she supported his missionary work in Germany by sending him gifts of manuscripts.
Several of the Anglo-Saxon missionaries who set sail for the continent did so from Minster. St Lioba (originally from Wimborne Abbey in Dorset), who became a co-worker with St Boniface, refers to her “dearest mistress Edburga” in her letters.
Edburga died in 751 and was buried in the monastic church she had built at Minster. She too is venerated as a saint. Her feast is kept on 12th December.
