Saint Cyngars Well was restored in 2000 and lies in a dingle near the church of St Cyngar in the centre of Llangefni
The housing around the spring of Ffynnon y Wrach (Witches Well) on Anglesey dates back to 1866
Credit: Prosiect Wici Mon, Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Credit: Arthur C Harris, Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0
St Dyfnog is said to have stood in the spring’s cold water flow wearing a bristly hairshirt Credit: Llewelyn2000, Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Where holy waters spring forth North Wales has a fascinating history when it comes to holy wells. Dene Bebbington finds out more…
Water is essential to life and a convenience available at the
though. To help remedy this, the Holyhead Waterworks
twist of a tap or the cap of a bottle. However, for our ancestors
Company established in 1865 obtained rights to the well and
life was harder and safe water not readily accessible. Besides
built the octagonal housing. Although some wealthy people
being a source of drinking water, natural springs were
had water piped to their homes, most had to fetch it from
believed to have healing powers. According to folklore even
street taps.
dew could be used to treat sore eyes. Superstitions about wells were common and many became If you’ve ever driven along the South Stack road below
holy sites of water worship. Often they were named after saint,
Holyhead Mountain on Anglesey you may have noticed an
and in Christian times a church was usually built nearby. At
odd, decaying brick structure with a dome. This housing over
Ffynnon Beuno in Tremeirchion, Denbighshire, which is sited
Ffynnon y Wrach – the Witches Well – dates back to 1866.
on a pilgrim trail there’s been a church since at least the year
Its sinister name may have derived from stories of witches
1240. The well named after the 6th Century St Beuno (patron
gathering by druid stones.
saint of sick children) lies in the garden of a private house, while water runs out through a carved head which may be a
The legend didn’t deter the people of Anglesey who suffered
representation of the saint. Ffynnon Beuno has a connection to
poor sanitation and water shortages in the mid-19th Century
another saint since it’s on the pilgrim route of St Winefride. Belief in the healing power of water is a tradition which
SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT WELLS WERE COMMON AND MANY BECAME HOLY SITES OF WATER WORSHIP. OFTEN THEY WERE NAMED AFTER SAINT, AND IN CHRISTIAN TIMES A CHURCH WAS USUALLY BUILT NEARBY
continues today at St Winefride’s Well in Holywell. Known as the Lourdes of Wales, it attracts pilgrims from around the world because it’s claimed to have cured people throughout history. In 1606 the water supposedly cured Sir Roger Bodenham of a gross tumour in the legs and, centuries later in 1805, cured a paralysed servant girl – coincidentally named Winefrid. The miraculous effects of the water is said to stem from a grisly historical act when St Winefride was beheaded by a prince for rejecting his advances. Legend tells that a spring rose from where her head fell and her uncle, St Beuno,
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