Of the several Saxon saints whose names have been given to London churches, none were Londoners. Probably the most famous Christian name associated with the City in the early Saxon period is Erkenwald, Bishop of London in the early seventh century, who was the son of King Ethelbert, a convert of Augustine. Erkenwald was the third successor to Mellitus, and under him St Paul’s Cathedral rose to prominence. Not only was he a popular churchman and a good administrator, but he is said to have performed miracles. Once, on a preaching mission to the woodmen in the forests north of London, his cart lost a wheel but miraculously kept its balance.
He died at the convent of his sister Ethelburga at Barking, and the waters of the River Lea subsided when the procession carrying his body came to its shores. Erkenwald’s shrine in St Paul’s was the old cathedral’s most prominent attraction, and accounted for much of its wealth.