Chester was an important Roman stronghold and there may have been a Christian basilica on the site of the present Cathedral. It is possible that the basilica was dedicated to St.Paul and St.Peter and it is recorded that the dedication of an early Saxon chapel on this site was changed from St.Peter to St.Werburgh. In the C10th St.Werburgh's remains were brought to Chester and in 907AD her shrine was placed in the church. Æthelfleda may have turned the church into a college of secular canons, and it was given a charter by King Edgar in 968. This abbey was restored in 1057 by Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and Lady Godiva, then razed to the ground around 1090 with the secular canons evicted, leaving no known trace.
In 1093 a Benedictine monastery, St.Werburgh's, was established on the site by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, and the earliest surviving parts of the cathedral's structure date from that time. The abbey church of St.Werburgh's was not at that time the cathedral church of Chester, this honour was given to the nearby church of St John the Baptist from 1075 to 1082, after which the see was transferred to Coventry.
In 1538, during the dissolution of the monasteries, the monastery was disbanded and the shrine of Saint Werburgh was desecrated. Later, in 1541 St Werburgh's abbey became a cathedral of the Church of England by order of Henry VIII and the dedication was changed to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The last abbot of St Werburgh’s Abbey was Thomas Clarke who became the first dean of the new cathedral at the head of a secular chapter.
The Lady Chapel is to the eastern end of the choir and behind the high altar, and dates from between 1265 and 1290. It is of three bays and contains the reconstructed Shrine of St Werburgh which used to contain her relics, most of the shrine dates from the 14th century. The shrine, of similar red sandstone to the cathedral, has a base pierced with deep niches. The upper part takes the form of a miniature chapel containing statuettes. During the dissolution of the monasteries it was dismantled but some of the parts were found during the 1873 restoration of the cathedral and the shrine was reassembled in 1888 by Arthur Blomfield and his son Charles. A carving of St Werburgh by Joseph Pyrz was added in 1993 in memory of Albert and Mary Broome.
The vault of the Lady Chapel is the only one in the cathedral that is of stone. It is decorated with carved roof bosses representing the Trinity, the Madonna and Child, and the murder of Thomas Becket.
There is a plaque close by which records the following:-
The statue on the / Shrine of this Chapel / is of St.Werburgh. Born in / the 7th century, the daughter / of a Mercian King, she became / a Nun, and later an Abbess / famed for her miracles of healing / Her relics were brought to Chester / in 927 and the church which housed / them became, as this Cathedral remains / today, a place of pilgrimage. X X / The statue of the Saint by Joseph Pyrz / was given by John L.Broome, C.B.E. / in 1922 in memory of his parents / ALBERT and MARY BROOME, / and in recognition of their long / service to The Kings School. / Their ashes are buried in / the memorial garden.
Joseph Pyrz is a Frenchman who specialises in the carving of religious images and has pieces in churches, mainly in France, but also Poland and England.
The opening hours of the Cathedral, suggested entry charges, and further details can be found here:- Chester Cathedral Visit