Crossword Genius

Church overlooks old city for some initial bad spell? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

curse

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'spell?' is the definition.
(curse is a kind of spell)

'church overlooks old city for some initial bad' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'city' could be 'ur' and 'ur' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for curse that I've seen before include "Wish harm on" , "Execrate" , "Blaspheme; damn" , "Wish evil upon" , "Cuss" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times and the Irish Times (Crosaire).
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