St Winefride's Well

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St Winefride's Well is a holy well located in Holywell, in Flintshire in North Wales. It is the oldest continuously operating pilgrimage site in Great Britain.[1]

St Winefride's Well

[edit] History

The healing waters have been said to cause miraculous cures, The legend of St Winefride tells how in 660AD, an enraged local chieftain severed the head of the young Winefride after she spurned his advances, how a spring rose from the ground at the spot where her head fell and how she was later restored to life by her uncle, St Beuno [2]

The holy well is known as "the Lourdes of Wales" and is mentioned in an old rhyme as one of the Seven Wonders of Wales. It has been a pilgrimage site since the 7th century.[3]

After a shrine was established in Shrewsbury around 1138, it and St Winefride's Well became important pilgrimage destinations. Some of the structures at the well date from the reign of King Henry VII, or earlier. Later King Henry VIII caused the shrine and saintly relics to be destroyed, but some have been recovered to be housed at Shrewsbury and Holywell.

James II is known to have visited the well with his wife Mary of Modena, after several failed attempts to produce an heir to the throne. Shortly after this visit, Mary became pregnant with a son, James.

The Jesuits have traditionally supported the holy well.

It is also believed to be connected to St Mary's well and chapel in Cefn Meiriadog, Denbighshire.

As one of the few locations mentioned by name in the anonymous medieval alliterative poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it is interesting to compare the site's beheading history with the beheading game in the poem.