Saint Æthelburh or Ethelburga, founder and first Abbess

Abbess

An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....

 of the dual monastery of Barking

Barking

Barking is a suburban town in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, in East London, England. A retail and commercial centre situated in the west of the borough, it lies east of Charing Cross. Barking was in the historic county of Essex until it was absorbed by Greater London. The area is...

, was the sister of Eorcenwald, Bishop of London

Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...

.

The main source for Æthelburh is Bede

Bede

Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...

's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum

The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum is a work in Latin by Bede on the history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity.It is considered to be one of the most important original references on...

which recounts the foundation of Barking, early miracle

Miracle

A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...

s there, and Æthelburh's death (Book IV, Chapters 6 to 10). Bede describes Æthelburg as "upright in life and constantly planning for the needs of her community".

A charter (Sawyer 1171), believed genuine and drafted by Bishop Eorcenwald in the reign of King Sebbi of Essex

Sebbi of Essex

Sebbi was the joint King of Essex from 664 to 683 along with his brother, Sighere. After Sighere died, Sebbi became sole ruler of Essex until 694....

 (reigned c.

Circa

Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...

 664–c. 694), records a grant of lands in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

 by a certain Æthelred to Æthelburh and Barking. This is dated to between 686 and 688.

The 9th century Old English Martyrology

Old English Martyrology

The Old English Martyrology is a collection of over 230 hagiographies, probably compiled in Mercia, or by someone who wrote in the Mercian dialect of the Old English language, in the second half of the 9th century....

records a vision, recounted by a nun of Barking, who saw Æthelburh being drawn up into heaven by golden chains. She was buried at Barking. The Old English Martyrology records her feast day as 11 October. Her successor as abbess was Hildelith.

The church of St Ethelburga the Virgin

St Ethelburga's Bishopsgate

St Ethelburga-the-Virgin within Bishopsgate is a Church of England church in the City of London, located on Bishopsgate near Liverpool Street station.-History:...

in the City of London is dedicated to her. It survived the Great Fire and the Blitz but was extensively damaged in an IRA attack in 1993; however, it has been restored and is now a centre for international reconciliation.