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Our ever-expanding 'Famous Residents' section includes a special category for those who made Derbyshire their 'final resting place' - or more prosaically, their remains were buried in the county. Here Peter Seddon makes the acquaintance of the much-venerated St. Wystan, a prince of Mercia whose bones were deposited in a reliquary casket at Repton and rendered the crypt there a revered place of pilgrimage.

This splendid figure of St. Wystan was gifted to Repton Church in 1911 - it stands above the porch door

The interior of the Saxon crypt at St. Wystan's, Repton

A charcoal drawing of the Saxon crypt in 1923 by the Repton School pupil O. C. D. Berry

What was Derbyhire's first big tourist attraction?

Not a question often posed, and therefore one little debated. But the Anglo-Saxon crypt at St. Wystan's Church, Repton, has a fair claim. Or more specifically, something that people came to see there - namely the 'relics' of St. Wystan, whose bones were deposited in the crypt at the Repton church which now carries his name.

Wystan - often alternatively-named Wigstan - is one of those shadowy figures from early history about whom something is known, but not a great deal.

He was a prince of the Kingdom of Mercia, the son of King Wigmund of Mercia and Aeflaed, daughter of King Ceolwulf I of Mercia. Mercia itself was a kingdom of Central England in the Anglo-Saxon period, and Repton its capital.

Wystan may have briefly ruled Mercia in 839 and 840 - the chronicles are inconclusive. What is better documented is that Wystan was killed by his successor Beorhtwulf, who is said to have been his godfather and guardian.

The catalyst for his sorry demise was a dispute concerning Beorhtwulf's plan to marry his son Beorhtfrith to Wystan's mother. Wystan fiercely objected to the proposed marriage, and Beorhtwulf's equally fierce response to this family quarrel was to have him killed at a meeting.

The treacherous act occurred at Seckington near Tamworth in 849, but Wystan's remains (his bones only) were buried at Repton in the Anglo-Saxon crypt where his grandfather King Wiglaf of Mercia was also buried.

The crypt which lies 'below' Repton church is one of Derbyshire's greatest treasures, although now somewhat unsung as a 'popular' tourist attraction. It has neither an adventure playground, a gift shop or a tea room, and not a white-knuckle ride in sight.

The crypt dates from the first half of the 8th century and is thought to have been initially constructed as a baptistry. But it soon became a royal mausoleum where the Kings of Mercia were laid to rest. It is one of the oldest and most important examples of Anglo-Saxon architecture to survive intact.

And the burial there of Wystan's relics truly put it on the map, for it became a place of pilgrimage and a cult venue for religious 'fanatics' - a tourist attraction in modern parlance.

It seemed that Wystan's 'relics' became associated with miraculous happenings - 'twas ever-thus at that time - the medieval way of 'getting in the punters'.

There was talk of 'shafts of light' emanating from the area where the remains were housed, and even 'locks of golden hair' sprouting from his remains. Such fantastical yarns did the trick - in no time at all Wystan was sanctified and the crypt at Repton became a shrine to inumerable pilgrims who came to see the St. Wystan relics. And of course they spent money - food, drink, lodgings, trinkets - Repton did very well from it.

Steps were cut through into the crypt to afford easier acces to visitors. These remain today, their lower reaches worn and irregular due to the eager tread of generations of Wystan fans.

In the course of time the church at Repton adopted the name St. Wystan's in his honour.

The Wystan cult at Repton endured for almost two centuries but was effectively ended by King Canute in 1019. In that year he donated St. Wystan's bones to Evesham Abbey - so Derbyshire's loss became Worcestershire's gain, for by judicious promotion the Abbey was able to perpetuate the cult for its own benefit.

There remains a tangible link with Repton however, for in 1911 the Reverend S. B. Stallard-Penoyre made a splendid gift to the church of a statue of St. Wystan complete with sword. It stands over the porch door.

Visitors often remark that the sword 'looks new' - that is because it is. The original 'disappeared' many years ago and the current replacement was donated in 2003 in memory of Douglas Carr by his widow Pamela. The whole effect is very impressive.

Some might hold the Anglo-Saxon age and even 'churches' in general to be a little dull - the reality is far from it. So here are a couple of rather more light-hearted pieces of trivia to finish on.

The first concerns the poet W. H. Auden, whose father George Auden was educated at Repton School. So taken was George with the Wystan legend that he named his son Wystan Hugh Auden. The poet loved it, and believed his name to be unique, once saying - 'I should be most put out if ever I encountered another Wystan'.

The second concerns the crypt itself. It is most often admired with great reverence by erudite scholars or romantic souls who like to imbue it with a sense of wonderment and awe - the former Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman is a good example - he tremblingly described the crypt as 'holy air encased in stone'.

So it is refreshing to report a lighter side, for at some point the boys at Repton School got wind of a neat little tongue-twister concerning that 'holy air', and generations of school 'japesters' have since recited it for the ribald amusement of their young fellows.

It is to be sincerely hoped that it is strictly figurative in nature - 'I crept into the crypt, crapped, and crept out again'. A somewhat irreverent end to the tale of St. Wystan - but weren't the Mercian royals a bawdy lot at heart?

• St. Wystan - They came for miles just to see his bones!

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