Saint Winefride’s Shrine

Posted on by Stephen Edwards

Holywell, Wales

When we booked a place in Holywell, I had the immediate question, “Why is this place called Holywell?” As it turns out, the town is the site of a Catholic pilgrimage shrine dedicated to Saint Winefride. The story of St. Winifred offers an interesting perspective on the Christian Church in Wales.

Sign from downtown leading to the well. It is a rather steep walk down and back to the well. Also, most signs in Wales/Cymru are in English and Welsh/Cymraeg. The Welsh language has seen a resurgence in recent years as it is taught in most schools in the country. Overall, it is estimated that as of 2025, there are over 850,000 people who speak the language in Wales.

According to legend, in the 7th Century, Gwenffrewi, the daughter of a Welsh nobleman, had a suitor named Caradog. Gwenffrewi decided to become a nun, but Caradog was not a fan of this and tried to seduce Gwenffrewi. She broke free from him and fled to the church in Holywell built by her uncle, Bueno. Caradog did not handle this disappointment well and tracked down Gwenffrewi and decapitated her. Where her head fell (in modern-day Holywell), a healing spring came forward. Thanks to the efforts of her uncle, Saint Bueno, he reattached the head and then invoked the chastisement of heaven, causing Caradog to die on the spot.  Gwenffrewi, better known today as either Winifred or Winefride, recovered fully and only had a white scar encircling her neck where Caradog originally beheaded Gwenffrewi.

According to legend, the well of life opened up immediately where Gwenffrewi’s head hit the ground.
The well is available year-round to pilgrims for either collecting water or for swimming. According to the brochure from the site, bathing is permitted from 11:00 – 11:30, 13:00 – 13:30, and 15:00 to 15:30.

As for Winefride, she served as a nun for eight years in Holywell, eventually moving to Gwytherin, becoming an Abbess, and dying there about 22 years later. After her death, she became very popular, and her relics were moved from Gwytherin to the Shrewsbury Abbey, which became a major pilgrimage location until the Abbey was destroyed by King Henry VIII of England in 1540. From that time, the veneration of St. Winifred/Winefride has returned to Holywell.

There is a chapel on site that you can unlock on request. It does not cost anything to go the the chapel, while there is a nominal fee to go the shrine.

The site today is considered the oldest continually visited pilgrimage site in Great Britain. Today’s pilgrims can bathe in the spring’s waters, participate in services, or drink from the well. Mass is offered in the chapel on-site from Pentecost to the last Sunday in September. It costs £2 to enter the site; families are £3, and seniors and students are £1. The chapel is locked. Overall, it was a great visit to learn about an interesting historical figure and the story behind the town of Holywell’s name.

The stories about some saints are quite wild. In this one, I was not expecting a healing from a beheading. The stain glass window in the shrine features both Saint Winefride and Saint Bueno.
It was fascinating to read the sign on the box. It says, “Religious Water. St. Winefride’s Well is a regulated private water supply. Only filtered water is for use or consumption. To start the flow of shrine water, please hold down the switch and fill your bottles. DO NOT USE WATER FROM THE SHRINE OR THE BATHING AREA AS IT IS TREATED WITH CHLORINE.”

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