Above (TOP) is an old picture of St. Mary’s Well in the village of Cefn which is about two miles southwest of St. Asaph. In his book ‘A Topographical Dictionary of Wales’ published in 1849 the travel writer Samuel Lewis said of Cefn:“This township is situated on the left bank of the river Elwy, and near that river is a beautiful and romantic dingle, in which is a fine spring, called Y Ffynnon Fair, discharging about 100 gallons of water per minute, and strongly impregnated with lime..... Adjoining the well are the ruins of a cruciform chapel, in the decorated and later English styles, parts being overgrown with ivy..... The river Elwy, the banks of which are finely wooded, is here crossed by a majestic bridge, called Pont-yr-Allt-Goch, of one arch, eighty-five feet in span."
The colour photo shows St. Winefride’s Well at Holywell, which is believed to be connected to the well above. Water at St. Winefride’s is said to have healing properties and pilgrimages have been made to the site since the 7th century. The picture is from the following website: http://www.saintwinefrideswell.com/
--
SAT 2nd MAY 2015 UPDATE: This image of St. Mary’s Well, Bodrhyddan near Rhuddlan, has just arrived. Maybe this well is connected to the ones shown above:
--
