HOLYWELL WELSH NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE TO ST WINIFRIDE's WELL

Reviewing the post below, there were few people actually around the altar area, since most people were sitting in the shade, so the numbers look a bit sparse in the pictures. It was a terrifically hot day.








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Holywell remains of great interest to Welsh Catholics and British Catholics generally. St Winifride one of the early young virgin saints, remains a Patron Saint of Wales. Holywell, built by Henry VIII's grandmother (the present shrine) remains in Mediaeval glory and has become known as the Lourdes of Birtain, because of the many miracles wrought by the prayers of St Winifride of her people in Wales. Ever since her martyrdom, in fighting off a rape attempt, she has continued to pray for Wales and its people. St Paul tells us nothing can stand in the way of the love of Christ for his people, especially those who love him as did St Winifride who had consecrated her life to his service. Somehow she survived the attempt to cut her head off and lived to become Abbess of the small monastery founded by St Beuno at Gwytherin, pictured in the recent 'Cadfael' episode 'A Morbid Taste for Bones'. The church at Gwytherin was seized at the Reformation by Henry VIII and has now been closed by the Anglican authorities because of a small congregation. This is a rebuild of the earlier church, which needed refurbishment.

There are two main Monmouthshire links with Holywell:

1. St Beuno, who according to one source received his theological training at Caerwent in the college of St Tatheus, as there was at that time no similar college in North Wales He returned there to begin to found his abbeys.

2. During the wrecking of the Monasteries and knockdown sales to wealthy landowners, many precious relics, vestments pyxes etc were taken there for safety, even some relics of St Winifride herself were carefully salted away by devout people, so that there were remains of these things for when the persecution would end. A cross and some vestments of Monmouth Priory were returned when the new Catholic Church was built at Monmouth, the first since the 'reformation'.

With this in mind, I set off last week to the National Pilgrimage, trying to recapture the essence of a mediaeval pilgrimage. I stayed the night before at the St Winifrid'es Guest house, although thunder and lightning assailed me as I drove up the M5/M6/M54 to Chester and then to Holywell. I had a very friendly greeting. I knew Mother Julia from my time at Maryvale and I was relieved to gt into my bedroom, quite snug but cosy and warm and with a TV! Not the thing for a pilgrimage I know. I was up early and went to Mass at St Winifred's Church right next to the Guest House and it was in the Extraordinary Form. I loved the singing and the reverence of it and it was very restful after a very stressful week. It was a the Feast of St Peter and St Paul , martyrs and apostles and a lovely celebration. Father Salvatore of the vocationist fathers celebrated Mass with the Deacons. To the right of the altar was the statue of St Winifride, beautifully carved representation of the Saint, with flowers and ready to be carried in procession that afternoon. After that I had a bit of a wait but decided not to go anywhere, as I would lose my car space. In a strange way, I found myself surrounded by Irish camper vans and people with big dogs. On chatting to them, I found some of them had travelled over from Ireland to this pilgrimage. The sun was out in glorious golden hue over the whole shrine, but it was so hot that many of the pilgrims had actualy seated themselves off the field in the shadows around the walls for shade- a very sensible thing as I understand from the St John's Ambulance people that many people faint every year in the son. So there were about 300 in the field around the shrine before the procession arrived. The people there were generally those with children. I had thought to bring a chair-my knee needed it. It really was hot, and there seemed to be no discipline as far as the children were concerned.Some of the language was quite 'choice'.

Anyway gradually at about quarter to 3 the procession came down. Leading it the children who had made their first communions this year from the diocese, followed by other notables, Knights of St Gregory, the Bridgettine Nuns, the Vocationist Fathers, Deacons, Bishop Regan and Bishop Salvatore with microphone intoning the rosary and singing the Ave Maria. It was a huge procession with hundreds of people and banners and very impressive.

As the people filed in it began to fill up. The wheelchairs in the shade next to the well and other pilgrims also trying to find shady places to sit. I had a good view to start but was obscured by people standing in front of me, so I was constantly moving. The occasion was tremendous, but apart from 'Soul of My Saviour'I did not know the hymns at all, which was a shame as I love singing, but the behaviour of some pilgrims was disappointing -answering mobiles furing the liturgy of the Eucharist was a a big 'no no' and I had the feeling I was in an episode of Ballykissangel when I heard a woman say in a strong Eire accent'Oooh, mother, can't talk now, I'm at the holy well'on her mobile. In fact Bishop Regan was very patient and had to tell people they had to be quiet at the consecration.There was for that moment of consecration a huge and silent and profound stillness that settled on everyone. Then when the priests came out with the consecrated hosts it was suddenly a scramble and rather than lining up in the normal way, crowds of pilrims rushed around the priests rather like fish rushing to their food, but then I thought in a way it was wonderful -very biblical.At the end of Mass, Bishop Regan walked up to the shrine with the relic of St Winifride kept at the church. Stewards from the shrine allowed a few people in at a time and inside you can see pictured the beautiful display of candles , with prayers to God for which pilgrims had requested the Saint also pray. I remember thinking, 'St Winifride will be busy today!' On one wall were large candles with labels requesting help will illnesses , marriages, almost anything bereaved people etc.Flowers adorned the mediaeval statue and the scent of the flowers was quite intoxicating. It was moving to see the mixture of people, a huge contingent from Ireland. They had christened Holywell 'The Lourdes of the British Isles' . All milled together -men with Mohicans and tatoos, women dressed in hot pants and tea shirts ,Knights of St Columba, more well off people and the happy sense of Communion there.

There were, of course, a number of people difficult to control. When people had finished venerating the relic of St Winifride, thereby thanking her for her sacrifice for Christ, the Rite of Bathing began. Father Salvatore tried to keep a lid on this and a number of people queued to walk into the icy water in their full clothes and pray for healing. Many prayed devoutly for healing. I had planned to but did think I had a long drive back to Gloucestershire and no way of drying myself, so I resolved to come back privately and ask Father Salvatore, perhaps before a session of prayers at the shrine.




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Poor Father had his work cut out to 'police the pool'. Some children went into the bathing cubicles, came out and jumped into the pool of the well trying to swim, while the pilgrims were walking round praying.. He had to explain to children it was not a swimming pool, which disappointed them, but was not insured as such or was designed for this use.

There were some humerous moments. A lady came up to the small ante room and said 'Confessions?' to a big Irishman standing nearby. He smiled at her and she went in to make her confession only to find a rather bemused St John's Ambulance team inside. The ambulance man was heard to remark as she hurriedly left- 'Come back, I can do you a good confession!' Everyone laughed at his remark, even the lady. Then at one stage a man leapt out and dive bombed right in the middle of the pool, focing a lot of water out of the pool and splashing the pilgrims! Father Salvatore seemed to know him and called him out of the water. I did wonder at one point, whether the pool needed 'bouncers'.However the man seemed to be a bit mentally challenged, and so was sick and I hoped St Winifred would work for him as the people prayed.


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Finally the sun went down over the hills in a glorious red sky. The well lies right in the middle of a group of mountains and as I got back into the car and made my way down, I remembered the procession, the banners, the sound of all those people praying the rosary, the very beautiful Tridentine Mass in the Morning, the holy Bishop Regan, a Welsh speaker, the moment of the consecration, the candles, the flowers and the prayers and the friendship and care of the Bridgettine sisters. The pilgrims who had travelled from Ireland for long hours.Echoing in my head was the Victorian hymn to St winifred. In the nineteenth century when the wells were restored composers dug up all sorts of ancient tunes and texts. Here is one translated by E.Caswell, who I think was an Anglican clergyman. It is from the ancient pilgrims' hymn: VIRGO VERNANS VELUT ROSA

St Winifred

1.More fair than all the Springtime flowers
Embosom'ed in the dales
St Winifred in beauty bloomed
The rose of ancient Wales

2.With every loveliest grace adorn'd
The Lamb's unsullied bride
Apart from all the world she dwelt
Upon the mountain side.

3.Till Caradog with impious love
Her fleeting steps pursued,
And in her sacred maiden blood
His cruel hands imbrued.

4.He straight the debt of vengeance paid
Engulfed with yawning flame;
But God a deed of wonder worked
To her immortal fame.

5.For where the grassy mound received
The Martyr's severed head,
This holy fountain upwards gushed
Of crystal veined with red.

6.Here miracles of might are wrought;
Here all diseases fly;
Here see the blind, and speak the dumb,
Who but in their faith draw nigh.

7. Assist us glorious Winifred
Dear virgin, ever blessed
The passions of our heart appease
And lull each storm to rest.

God is glorious in his saints, all saints canonised and not, and in his martyrs. St Winifride is always shown in statues and iconography with the palm of a martyr.

Saint Winifride's Holy Well -a 'Baptismal font for the World'

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Heaven's fruitfulness before the cooling of the body
Is the virtue of Chastity.'

Following the trip to St Asaph, the following morning, after another comfortable stay at St Winifride's House and an excellent early breakfast, we went down to the shrine itself. There was a piety shop, very well stocked by two lay men who were able to furnish us with guidebooks and information and I bought some holyu medals for friends who had requested prayers. The museum was very interesting telling the story of the shrine from the beginning.The many crutches also stayed there, of people whose illnesses had been cured.

The guidebook begins with the following quote from Caxton's first printed version of the Life of St Winifride

....and after the hed of the vyrgynge was cut of and touchd the ground , as we have said, sprang up a welle of Spryngynge water largely endurying unto this day , which heleth all langours and sekenesses , as well in men as in bestes , which weele is named after the vyrgyne and is called St Wenefredes Well.....(1485)


I have explained the legend in a previous post. When men were still talking and writing Old English, they were building this fine perpendicular Gothic Chapel over the most famous healing well of the British Isles.It may have been the first chapel over the well, though for centuries there was one alongside in the place where the parish church continues to stand.It is here that St Beuno would have built the first wooden chapel in the 7th century. He no doubt used the well as a baptistery.

A stone church was, however what the Countess Adeliza of Chester gave to the Benedictine Monks of St Werbergh's Abbey, Chester in 1093 and it would have been this church, or a successor to it that was 'falling down' in the early fifteenth century. By the end of the 15th century the parish church was rebuilt , of which only the tower remains today -but the present well chapel was also constructed here. This chapel was the final testament to the cult of pilgrimage that had grown steadily through the Middle Ages. St Winifride's Well was already famous when in 1115 was written:

'Earl Richarde intended all thing to the best to visit Sainte Winifride , in herte desirous upon his journey went (myn authour sayth thus) devoutly to Holywell in pilgrimage for his great merite and gostly advantage'.

Attacked by ht e Welsh

When Earl Richard return four years later, he was attacked and fortunes of war affected the ownership and care of the well and church for more than a century.

Henry II rebuilt the castle at Basingwork 1157 but Owain Gwynedd and the Welsh destroyed it again.

Knights Templar

King Stephen during he time in Chester established the Knights Templar in Basinwerk to protect pilgrims, but Owain destroyed it again.

Monks from Savigny in France at Basingwerk

In 1131, these monks came to live in Basinwerk and became Cistercian in 1147.However at Basingwerk archeologists have found Saxon remains , showing a much earlier cell. Since St Beuno laboured to established Catholicism in a framework of monastic settlements , it is not impossible that this was the monastic cell he founded centuries earlier.(Check out Settlements of the Cetic Saints by Porfessor E.G.Bowen)

The link seems to be very old and Mass may have been continuous , except for the wars of England and wrangles with Chester Abbey . Ranulf , the third Earl of Chester built a castle on the hill above the well in 1209 because the monks of Chester had complained to Archbishop of Canterbury Hubert Walter (1193-1209) that:

'In the wars with the princes of Wales they have lost their Church at Hallewell which was £100 value'.
(Chartulary of the Abbey of St Werburgh)

The castle did not survive long. The monks of Basingwek were confirmed in their possession of the Well Church by Dafydd ap Llewellyn in 1240 and nothing remains of the castle except the name Bryn y Castell. It is an obvious defensive site.

Winifride(Gwenfrewi's) Parents house

This is believed to be the site of the parents of the saint and these were Tewth ap Eylud and Gwenlo. This was the childhood home of St Winifride.


On the right hand side were some changing cubilcles on the left a chapel, with a stained glass represent ation of St Winifride and St Beuno, and a large Statue of Our Lady and on the other wall a huge crucifix of Our Lord. Our Lady was almost covered in flowers.

I lit some candles and walked around the 15th century chapel, which had been the scene of numerous healings and the hopes of recusant Catholics.The tradition remained unbroken all the way up until today.

THE RITUAL INTERCESSION AND NOVENA PRAYERS AT THE SHRINE

You need to stop before the entrance to the shrine and make the sign of the Cross. Then you go to the front of the Well and make your intentions and recite the Apostles Creed. Then as you walk around the shrine three times , reciting the rosary, Our Father and Glory Be and today the Fatima Prayer.

If you yourself are the patient looking for healing, you are meant to do this in the pool, kneeling on the saint's stone in the well pool, or immersed in the deeper water up in the shrine itself. It has a high reputation for healing. Follwing a mining disaster in the 18th century the streams course was temporarily cut off, then found again, but the pool does not gush out as it used to in the old drawings.

Along all three walls are many votive stands bearing candles, and there is an ancient statue of the Sainton a large scale in the chapel surrounded by candles and with medals on her feet. The walls were blackend with the effects of candles over the centuries. The Museum is most interesting giving you the details and history. It was a cold February day, so my son poured the water from the well over my knees - it certainly freshened up my legs, but I know healing works in all sorts of ways. I loved the well and the Latin Mass that followed was the icing on the cake.

The Welsh poet Iolo Goch wrote a 'cywydd' poem

There ran from the earth
A God-given event-sweet are its graces-
A spring of water of which one drop excels all wealth
It's water, light , transluscent,
Is like that of the Jordan, under a fair elm tree,
It is a balm against every disease.
A gracious protection to the weak and the sick;
It redeems the weariness of thousands.

A Blessed Fountain of the Faith,
A clear-shining river from the hillside,
Its water is seen from the meadows
As a wave above its gravelly bed.

Then there is a vivid description of the gushing spring water as its leaps from its source, a description which suffers tin translation.

Ieuan Bryddydd Hir, also wrote a poem about all the miracles wrought by te Saint and the well. 'Generous as the Midsummer sun on the Baptist's Feast'.

He wrote

Here is the Fountain of the Faith
A baptismal font for the World.

Tudor Aled wrote:

It is a breath of heaven in the Vale
And the breeze which comes from it
Is as the honey bees first swarming
A sweet odour over the turf
Of musk or balm in the midst if the world.

The drops of her blood are like the red shower
Of the berries of the wild rose
The Tears of Christ from the height of the Cross.

The power of the Saint's prayers spring, says Tudor, from the prayers of the Mass, offered as it was at the site of her martyrdom. Tudor explicitly relates the wonders of Holywell to the great treasury od Christ's merits. His devotion is founded on Theology.

William Byrinsa (early 17th cent) wrote

A well in a much loved dwelling
I know, that on high, it belongs to Gwenfrewi. (Winefride)

Other poets wrote about the healing of bodily wells because of the prayers and intercessions of St Winefride.

To have a lively and privileged life force
A worthy tenderness made warmer by Jesus
Gwenfrewi's fine well
Cleanses the soul.

The Glory of Hospitality, Family and Marriage

These excerpts of poetry are by T Charles-Edwards and his Historical background. I will finish with his words.

'The Welsh poets saw Wales as a great society composed of families; to use the metaphor of which they were so fond, as a growve of wide-branching trees, sturdy, shapely and fruitful. They saw this society as bound together by friendship and hospitality and reaching right up to the Court of Heaven , and to the very foot stool of God and in the persons of the native saints of the kindred and the countryside. It was suitable that Tudor Aled whose glory it was to see all this so clearly, should grace the cultus of St Winefride with one of the great poems of Welsh literature: for hearth and home, friendship, kindred and hospitality have for their guardian the hard and steadfast virtue of Chastity'.

Heaven's fruitfulness before the cooling of the body
Is the virtue of Chastity.'

So this makes Winefride a modern saint too as Charles Edwards writes

'It was the peculiar glory of this Welsh girl of the seventh century to defend and glorify the tradition of Chastity and the family, this tradition, in its Catholic and Christian setting, against that contemptuous list lust which is the hall mark of a barbarian, bringing to it gifts of spiritual and physical healing. ONce that is clear, it is also clear, why the cultus of Saint Winifride had outlasted the changes and chances of thriteen centuries'.

We visited one more holy place before we left North Wales, but I will write about that again as it is a slightly younger place than the holy well of the saint.Curiously I have to confess I was given this name at birth (Winifride) and really hated it. I felt it was really old fashioned and every time it wasmentioned in school , I squirmed. Yet when I was received into the Catholic Church,by Father Fitz (John Fitgerald) it was at the little Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Winifride in Aberystwyth, and at every Welsh pilgrimage , she is prayed to for intercession and the Conversion of Wales.

St Winifride, Blessed Saint of Wales-7th century-Part 1 Ave Maria House and Gwytherin

Apologies for all for the long delays in the blog, due mainly to both my computers crashing within days of each other. Hopefully normal service is now resumed.

Holywell

Two weeks ago on my weekend off, my family and I made a pilgrimage to where so many pilgrims from Monmouthshire went in the Middle Ages, to the Shrine of the Blessed St Winifred. This shrine at Holywell (The Holy Well of St Winifride) is the only shrine from Britain to come unscathed through the Reformation as the most recent building to the shrine was built by Lady Margaret, grandmother of Henry VIII.

The shrine's location is easy -off the M5-M6 at Chester and along the motorway to Chester and only a stone' s throw from Liverpool with its port and airport.

St Beuno, the local Bishop and monastic leader is said to have been the uncle of the saint.

Winifride's story-Gwenfrewi Sant in Welsh

Winifride was the daughter of two local families of standing in the Holywell area.They were as you would expect of a royal family Tewych and his wife Gwenlo. Gwenfrewi had decided to live a consecrated life as a nun but remained within her father's house until she came of age. When her parents were out of the house, a neighbouring chieftain, Caradoc came to visit, and she welcomed him as the laws of hospitality decreed. But Caradoc was overome with lust, tried to rape Gwenfrewi who managed to get away from him and ran out of the house. He set off after her and struck at her head with his sword. Where she fell, a spring of water flowed up . St Beuno came out from the church and placed her head back on her body. He led the others in prayer and she was raised to life again. A white scar was seen around her neck in witness to her martyrdom . Caradoc received the biblical punishment as the earth swallowed him up and he was never seen again.

When she was completely recovered, St Beuno made Winifred an abbess-leader of the new settlement at Gwytherin. He had discovered there a very ancient site and wished her and the holy brethren to serve God there.She died and was buried there.

Benedictines from Shrewsbury Abbey

In 1138 , Shrewsbury Abbey,a Benedicine abbey decided to come to Gwytherin and remove the bones (relics)to their own house. Most of her bones were destroyed by Protestant zealots during the time of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I but a pious person saved one finger for his own relic.This was later given back. Shrewsbury Cathedral had part of it, and the Catholic Chapel at Holywell was given the other.Both places have shrines on St Winifride's trail.

Holywell is greatly loved in Wales. It was not destroyed so many precious artifacts were hdden there, to prevent theft by various Protestant factions as abbeys and monasteries were demolished elsewhere in Britain.In particular it was a stronghold of the Jesuits supporting the recusant (secret) Catholics in penal times and many covert priests found sustenance and support there as multitudes flocked there all the way through penal times.

Celtic Holywell

In the 7th century St Beuno built the first little mud and wattle or wooden church next to the well, which would have been used for baptisms in accordance with the custom of Celtic Catholics (Universal Christians) After the Canquest, the Norman lady gave the church to St Werburgh's Abbey in Chester (1093)but by then it was probably a finer church of stone, built with alms from the many pilgrims.In the fifteenth century it was said to be falling down , and so was rebuilt by Lady Margeret of Richmond , Henry VIII grandmother.The present well chapel (now buing refurbished) was a final testament to piety and taste for pilgrimage in the Middle Ages.1115 Bradshaw wrote:

Erle Richarde intended all the dying to the best to visit Saynte Winifride , in heart desirous upon his journey went (myn autour sayeth thus) devoutly to Holywell in pilgrimage for his great merite and gostly (spiritual) advantage'.(Quoted from the Guide book by Christopher David.

The Well had a long association with Basinwek Abbey. There was a castle there originally and a House of Poor Knights Templar, whose duty it was to protect pilgrims coming to the Well. 1131AD monks from Sevigny in France had founded a Cistercian monastery at Basingwerk which remained, being on good terms with the Welsh under Owain Gwynedd. On excavating the abbey remains (also destroyed under the auspices of Henry VIII) a Saxon cell was discovered and this indicates a much earlier religious settlement from the 7th century, and some feel this may have been another foundation by St Beuno. Indeed a castle was built on the hill over Holywell in 1209 to protect the Well because the monks of Chester Abbey (now Chester Cathedral-Anglican) complained that the church at Holywell had been lost and had cost £100.The Welsh King Dafydd ap Llewelly gave the Well back to Basingwerk -closer and more Welsh friendly than the English Benedictines at Chester and nothing remains now-except the name 'Bryn y Castell'. More of the history anon.

Arrival at Holywell

We arrived on that February night, with satnav, but unfortunately many roads were being repaired and all arterial roads leading to them and so were reliant to signs saying ' Don't use satnav use this diversion!so having got lost a few times we made it to Holywell when it was very dark, but found the Convent at Ave Maria House and the Pilgrimage Centre close to the Well. We were greeted by two of the Bridgettine Nuns the portress and a 'greeter' who took us to out rooms. At £35 for B and B we thought the standard of the house was excellent. It has recently been refurbished and the rooms bright and neutral with beautiful modern shower rooms all finished to an excellent standard. The bes were comfortable and a Bible and 'History of St Bridget' in every room.
We spent a warm and comfortable night.A lift is even provided for someone like me with a damaged knee!


The Refectory was beautifully appointed, with flowers on the table and white tablecloths and we were treated to English breakfast and toast and cereal by very cheerful nuns. My husband said it did not feel right to have nuns waiting on your table, but hospitality is a charism of the Benedictines and actually in Wales as well. I can remember members of my mother's generation 'waiting' on visitors-even family, before eating themselves! Sadly it was this hospitality which led to Winifride's demise.

Gwytherin

Our first port of call was the village of Gwytherin, as it was furthest away from Holywell. We drove through wonderful hills, valleys and old Celtic earthworks to arrive here, our ears popping opposite the Lion Inn, the house opposite the Church.Now the jouney had taken but one hour and 5 mins from Holywell.(LL22822 satnav) A55,A547,A548.A544, B5382,B5384)

The Church

As we arrived, there was brilliant sunshine and a walker was doing up his shoes on the bench outside the Lion. He was walking over the top today he said, having just breakfasted he wanted to sit in the sun while he waited for his friends.This is a Welsh speaking area but there are many tourists here.

Archdeacon Thomas reported there was a ''Clas' foundation here in Celtic times and this would tie in with what we know about the Royal nature of Winifride's/Gwenfrewi's
family. Only Royal families could endow clas foundations.However the earliest dedicatee was St Eleri, an even earlier Welsh saint but when the Normans rebuilt the church on the same site, they dedicated it to St James.IT was some time before they came to grips with the Welsh culture,finding the language impossible. There is a knoll to the south of the Church which was dedicated to St Winifride (called the Penbryn Chapel) and recent research suggested the earliest 'llan' here included this chapel. I guess it might have been the original 'Capel y bedd' or grave chapel of the Virgin. This is still to be observed in North Wales, how many graves in Christian Churchyards resemble cromlechs, though dedicated to God and carrying the bones of the departed saint.

It appeared in the Pope's Taxatio in 1254 (Ecclesia de Gwytherin et Nanclyn)The Chapel had its own enclosure for a while (probably as the site had become a place of pilgrimage) There is a report from 1852 (Glynne) that the church was a simple one 'with a roof of the usual Welsh Construction'. There was some stained glass and a later report of 1858 says there were two wooden chests, of one which was a portion of the coffin of St Winifride, an octagonal font. There are also four ancient yews in the churchyard (still there today) . There is a round headed priest's door which had been blocked and a dormer window to light the gallery. By the 1860's it was run down and rebuilt according to its original specifications in 1867-9.Two mediaeval grave stones were uncovered at this time.

In 1990 the church was rededicated after de-consecration in 1982 and 8 years of disuse.Archesologists came with geophysics to find the chapel site in the field to the South of the Church. This is certainly where legend has it. In the recent ITV Cadfael series in the episode 'A Morbid Taste for Bones'it is certainly the location and the uncovering of the grave site is reenacted. This episode is now on DVD. The geophysics team could not find it.In 1729 the site was incorporated withing the Gwytherin Churchyard again, and it is possible that being a 'Chapel' area, Protestants had removed every trace of the 'Capel y Bedd'during the time of the dictator Cromwell.The ground drops to a natural hollow before rising to the site of the Penbryn Chapel.

Now there is a neat church, with excellently kept graveyard. It has a neve and chancel in one chamber a south porch and a north vestry. There is a small bell turret centrally set over the nave in line with the porch and it faces East as you would expect-towards Jerusalem.


The Church Interior

We were not allowed inside the church for reasons I shall explain in a minute.But from a description, the walls are whitewashed . The floor of the nave is tiled. Interestingly there are two steps up to the sanctuary (no Chancel) which has a grave slab and another in the north wall, possibly the original site of the Easter Sepulchre.(Place where the Crucifix and veils etc for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil were kept)These were also desecrated and destroyed by Elizabeth's officers.

Churchyard Items

In keeping with the site of the Church and Chapel being on an earlier site-possibly Druid place of meeting or 'initiation', there are four aligned stones, standing next to each other. One you can still read as a Latin incription 'Vinnemaglus , son of Senemaglus over an even older Ogham (celtic tree alphabet incription).(These are dated to the 5th or early 6th centuries)These are less than three metres apart.

There are four ancient yew trees.


Gwytherin lies in a valley that serves as the confluence of the River Afon Cledwen with the many streams that flow down from the hillsides.

Gwytherin Church-The Plight of the Gwytherin Christians in 2009

In the churchyard I met Sue who still acts as a church warden to the church. She told me, although the church had a loyal congregation of 8 (regular worshippers) more at Christmas and Easter that the Church in Wales had closed it down to be sold! I was very surprised as it had only just been rededicated and repaired with I guess lottery money. She told me that the Welsh Chapel on the hill had closed down through lack of members and the church had actually been sold to two local men who wanted to open it up again for worship for the community once a month. She said all eight had stopped going to Church and the brothers had been refused planning permission by Conway Council (??) I think they were hoping it would be sold to a private buyer, but no explanation was given. I think this is ridiculous. The village is overrun with tourists in the summer and pilgrims, doing the Winifred Trail.Moreover the locals are convinced that some of the remains of St Winifred remained there.I also was sorry I could not go in-as I do to say the rosary in all these pilgrimage sites, and had to content myself with sitting on a cromlech (I know-but no bench) and saying the Glorious mysteries for a women who reputedly spent 30 years of her life in this place in the service of God.You can hear my conversation with Sue on the podcast I am releasing in the next few days.

Let us hope that the intercession of Gwenfrewi/Winifride for the people of her settlement will have a good outcome, as they have appealed the decision by the council. Everyone should visit this special village.

My next post will concern where we went that afternoon-the Cathedral Church of St Asaph (now Anglican)founded by St Kentigern in AD 560!

Remembering the Holy Wells of Gwent and connected with our saints

Good Morning!

Friendship Blessing of Early Britons

May there always be work for your hands to do
May your purse always hold a coin or two
May the sun always shine on your windowpane
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain
May the hand of a friend always be near you
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you

Holy wells were and are very important to the people in Wales and Monmouthshire and these wells existed in quite large numbers. Druids regarded wells, springs, lakes and rivers as the abodes of gods. No doubt a range of ceremonies were associated with them and they remained part of the local culture.

In the year 601AD Pope Gregory instructed missionaries to destroy the idols of Britain but to purify existing temples. Ancient sites, including wells, gradually came to be associated with the early missionary saints, such as those we have been hearing about. Many of the wells were roofed and had small chapels with niches for statues of saints but over the centuries the upheavals in the religious life of Britain led to the desecration and destruction of many old shrines and most old well chapels disappeared, but can be seen at St Cleer near Davidstow in Cornwall and at Madron Well near St Buryan in Cornwall.

Our Lady of Penrhys

Ffynnon Fair Penrhys was a south Wales well belonging to Llantarnam Abbey at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries. In 1538 Thomas Cromwell, vicar-general to King Henry VIII, ordered that the effigy of the Virgin Mary be removed "as secretly as may be" and the "Image and her apparel" were sent to London to be burned. The country folk were not easily swayed by the reformers and intellectuals of London, however, and pilgrimages to holy wells continued. The statue has been replaced.

St Cybi’s Well (Picture on the right hand side of the blog

Next to the Church originally founded by St Cybi at Llangibby (Llangybi) a Cronish saint. This well has recently been refurbished .

St Tewdrig’s Well (Picture on the Right hand Side of the Blog)

The Well at Mathern where St Tewdrig died. There is also a legend connected with it/

St Anna’s Well (Picture at the bottom of this blog)(The Virtuous)

Saint Anna’s Well is to be found at Trellech, near Monmouth (also Brislington) Anna is a Chrstian name after the Mother of the Virgin Mary.
St. Anna Born c.AD 445) was a younger daughter, the King of Gwerthefyriwg - what is now Gwent, where she grew up. She married, , Cynyr Ceinfarfog They had six children and eldest was the famous Arthurian warrior, Cai (Kay) and another was St Non, mother of St David.(Th last picture of the wells is St Non's in Menevia, West Wales-patron and deicatee of Lantarnam abbey-Llan sant-Non)) After Myrddin or Merlin had made and agreement with Uther that his son should be brought up in secret, the family got a foster-son, the future High-King Arthur. (Arthrwys)
Anna is the mother of St. Samson, who was also from Gwent. Some time after Arthur's ascendancy to the British throne, Cynyr seems to have passed away and Prince Amon Ddu of Brittany asked Anna to marry him. After they married, Amon moved to Anna's Dyfed home and became a high-ranking official at the Talgarth in the Court of Brychan. They had three children, Samson, Tydecho or Treddin and Tegfedd, all of whom entered a religious life. Samson became an influential bishop at Dol in Brittany and eventually persuaded his parents to also enter the church. Treddin founded a Monastry at Tre-Vethin- a corruption of Tre Treddin (the dwelling of Treddin). Tegfedd also founded a monastery at Llandegveth and was martyred there by Saxons. (see my account of the church) Amon became a monk at Ynys Byr (Caldey Island), whilst Anna moved back to her native Gwent. The 'Virtuous' Holy Well at Trellech was dedicated to her; but she is better known for founding churches further east in what is now Gloucestershire, at Oxenhall and Siston. St Samson visited her at the former and dedicated both her foundations. The holy well of St. Anne in the Woods at Brislington may also be named after her.

St. Winifred's WellNorth Wales

This well at Holywell near Flint has survived with associated buildings intact. I am including it, because it was closely connected with Monmouth Priory, who sent an ancient crucifix and vestments and pyx to Holywell for safekeeping during the excesses of the zealots. The Well and Chapel were granted by the Countess of Chester to the monastery of St. Werburg in 1093. Later, possession reverted to the Welsh lords and in 1240 Dafydd ap Llewelyn granted it to Basingwerk Abbey. Kings Richard I and Edward IV are said to have made pilgrimages there and in 1439 the Countess of Warwick presented her "russet velvet gown" to the chapel (an early example of the present trend in which famous people donate garments for the benefit of favourite charities). Richard III paid for a priest at the well. The present architectural remains resulted from the generosity of Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of the future King Henry VII. It is possible that she prayed there for his success and when he was victorious at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, the Tudor dynasty came to the throne. And this may be why the Well and chapel were not destroyed during the Reformation.

St Maughan’s Well (St Maughams near Monmouth)

After St Mawgan.(near Monmouth)a friend of Cadoc and Brioc (mentioned in Tecla post)and like them also known in Brittany.The church in the Vale on St Mawgan in Pyday (Lanherne) in Cornwall is a successor of a Celtic monastery dedicated or founded by St Mawgan(Morgan) It is divided only by a wall from Arundel House where Catholic worship was maintained and now Carmelite nuns have stayed there for the last two hundred years and maintained the monastic life of Cornwall. At St Maugham’s Church near Monmouth, during the time of persecution in the 17 and 18th centuries, Catholics were taken to this well at the dead of night and here they washed their loved ones and laid them out before taking them up to be buried at night in the local churchyards, when their brave priests would say their Requiem Mass, Two Jesuit priests are even buried in the Churchyard.

St Tecla’s Well (Llandegla near Ruthin)

The ritual for this healing is in my post in April’s post on St Tecla.

St Materiana’s Well at Minster in Boscastle, Cornwall
-photo at bottom of Blog

St Issui’s Well of Pater Ishow at Partrishaw (Picture in a January post?

Llanyronwy Well (Rockfield near Monmouth)by Rockfield
Dedicated to St Cenhadlon/ Churchwife of Arthfael ab Ithel,daughter of St Brioc/Braivel and granddaughter of Llwyarch ab Tudor. (or the Tudor family)Rockfield was called Corn Cenhedlon originally-her meadow.. Corn is a well known place name for a meadow of a river or brook, which is where the church stands.A range of meadows high up in the muntains there near Monmouth there are meadows still called the Cyrn Meadows. She was a saint, having put her settlement there, although her husband was a petty chieftain of Gwent/ Bishop Matthew Prichard is buried beneath the sanctuary at Rockfield , who was Vicar Apostolic for the whole of the Western area during the times of persecution.

Newport

There were wells at Eveswell and Baneswell One of these could have been the St Woolos (Gwynlliw’s) Well the story of which is given in his Life (Vita) compiled by a monk of St Peter’s abbey, Gloucester.Whilst two areas of Newport are known by this name-can anyone locate them? Another Well has recently been restored at Bassaleg, whilst called a spring and horse trough it may well have been St Gwlady’s well.


St Sannan's Well in Bedwellty (in gardens of a former pub, near the church.

These photographs are copyright to Al Evans.
It appears the earlier well had a Mediaeval style cover - but now the area has been cleared and a stone bench put near. A new wicker style cover put over the well, and it has been cleaned up.He is not sure, whether the inhabitants of the house are responsible for maintaining it or whether the landlord did it before the pub was sold-we are finding out!Al suggests it is time for well-dressing! What a great tradition! We should get some Derbyshire people down to revive this beautiful custom.






Links with the Past, however....

Some of the wells retained their ancient associations despite the religious and social upheavals of the centuries. Francis Jones notes the way in which wells often figure in the Lives of the Saints written down by monks from handed on accounts. The theme of a saint's battle with dark forces at the site of a well is commonly encountered. Giants, demons and other manifestations of evil were overcome by saintly figures with God’s help and the Lives confirm that even after the many hundreds of years in which Christianity had been the state religion, the wells were sometimes still associated with the ancient Druid culture.

If anyone has photos or interesting information about old wells of Christian significance in Monmouthshire,or South Hereford please can you email me at maryinmonmouth@googlemail.com ? I can then share them here and we can save them for posterity/


Haut de la Garenne

It is a rather horrible irony that Haut de la Garenne is French for ‘top of the warren’ –a warren being the home of rabbits. . The building is situated on Mont de la Garenne, a hill overlooking Mont Orgueil where rabbits were hunted. This varenne of the King was a perquisite of the Crown. No other news yet. Nor has the name of the arrestd person been given.


Where are you little Maddy?

Kate and Gerry McCann have said that if the police fail to find their missing daughter Madeleine they will carry on the search alone.
They told the Daily Mirror that they had been kept in the dark about thousands of leads which have been received by police. Gerry McCann said: 'We've got little bits of the jigsaw and huge gaps. We are saying, "You may have told the Portuguese police, but tell us". We need to know and we want to know. We will follow up every lead.'Thousands of leads came in through Crimestoppers and Leicestershire police. We have not had access to that information and we want it.'
He added: 'We aren't taking the law into our own hands... our investigation is independent.' The couple have launched what they described as a 'last chance' effort to find their daughter Kate and Gerry spoke of the 'torture upon torture' piled upon them during the last 12 months. They also acknowledged they could not keep up the intensity of their search and that the interest in their plight was bound to wane

It was on the 3rd of May last year, that Madeleine was snatched from her bed. The general concensus is that she is very much alive, and there has been rumour that she is now called Sarah Kandy from a poster who posted it on a web site.

<Madeleine McCann-Burglary in Pria di Luz from Martin Brunt on sky

‘I don't suppose it will distract them from their endeavours this weekend, but two of Kate and Gerry McCanns' closest friends in Praia da Luz have been burgled ahead of the Madeleine anniversary.

Anglican vicar Haynes Hubbard and his wife Susan have had a computer that contains personal and confidential email exchanges between the two couples.
The laptop also held notes on which Father Hubbard was basing his sermon about Madeleine at the weekendMrs Hubbard is concerned, too, about private telephone numbers stored on a mobile that was also stolen.

The Hubbards became great friends and comforters of the McCanns in the days after Madeleine's disappearance and have kept in touch since Gerry and Kate returned to the UK.’