St Seiriol's Well

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St Seiriol's Well

The St Seiriol's Well ( source ) is close to the Penmon Priory, in Penmon on the eastern tip of the island of Anglesey in Wales . As is often the case with churches from this period, the church was connected to a source . The walls near the fountain are said to have been part of the church or the hermit cell of St Seiriol's in the 6th century. In that case it would be the oldest Christian building in Wales. A small well house built by Richard Bulkeley, 4th Viscount Bulkeley at the beginning of the 18th century surrounds the spring.

St Seiriol lived in the late 6th century and, according to legend, had regular encounters with Saint Cybi of Holyhead at a meeting point in the center of the island . Seiriol, who traveled with his back to the sun in the morning and returned with his face to the east in the afternoon, came to be known as Seiriol the pale, the other as Cybi the tanned. St. Seiriol was buried on the nearby Puffin Island (also Ynys Seiriol).

  • St Seiriol's Well and Burial Site

  • St Seiriol's Well

  • Burial island

  • Puffin Island (also Ynys Seiriol)

  • Penmon Priory

The crystal clear spring is surrounded by a slab floor with stone benches on the sides. It was believed that the water had healing powers. The covered inner chamber around the pool is made of brick and dates from 1710. The lower corridors and the lower anteroom with benches on either side may be a bit older, but no medieval finds have been made in the latest excavations. The so-called "cell" to the left under the cliff is of uncertain date and purpose. Visitors come to throw money into the well in the hope that their wishes will be realized.

Nearby are the Penmon Dovecot and Trwyn Dinmor Quarry.

literature

  • Arthur Gribben: Holy wells and sacred water sources in Britain and Ireland. An annotated bibliography . Garland, London 1992, ISBN 0-8153-0831-0
  • Francis Jones: The Holy Wells of Wales 2003 ISBN 0708311458

Web links

Commons : St Seiriol's Well, Penmon  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 53 ° 18 '22.9 "  N , 4 ° 3' 24.1"  W.