THE OLD - Old Wirral.com

THE OLD CHURCHES OF WIRRAL
ation apart from her reputed discovery of
the cross.
Dedications to Mary, the mother of our
Lord, are the most numerous of any in
England, reaching the extraordinary total
of 2,335, this including the various titles
accorded to her such as " The Blessed
Virgin," ''Our Lady," " St. Mary, the
Virgin," etc. These are found at Birken-
head Priory, where there is the compound
dedication to the Blessed Virgin and St.
James ; at Neston and at Eastham. But,
as emblems of the Virgin Mary are to be
found in many churches not dedicated to
her, the search for symbolic treatment of
the building has not the same interest.
It may be sufficient, therefore, to state
that she is usually represented wearing a
blue robe, a veil the emblem of virginity,
and carrying a lily as the emblem of purity.
The name of St. Nicholas, to whom
Burton church is dedicated, is rich in
legendary ornament. He was born in
Panthera, a city of Lycia in Asia Minor,
in the third century, the son of rich
He is the patron saint
Christian parents.
of mariners, children, of Russians, and of
wolves. Indeed it is stated that on St.
Nicholas day (Dec. 6th), wolves will not
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