St Edith's Well, Stoke Edith

Naked pilgrims taking the healing waters at St Edith’s well are no longer a feature of this sacred site, the well itself a neglected source on a churchyard boundary

Highlights

• ‍‍Holy well of St Edith

The sight of pilgrims undressing to bathe in St Edith’s Well proved too much for Victorian sensibilities. Lady Emily Foley, whose house overlooked the well, had a metal gate installed in the 19th century to stop people using these holy waters, which were believed to have healing properties.

Alas, the holy well might not be the only thing denied to pilgrims these days, since the closure of the church itself was under discussion at the time of publication, and access might prove difficult, or even impossible, in future.

According to medieval tradition, this well appeared in the 10th century when St Edith of Wilton was helping to build the village church. She was fetching water over a long distance to make mortar. After becoming exhausted by her journeys, she miraculously caused a holy well to appear.

St Edith was a nun at Wilton Abbey, which is 75 miles to the south near Salisbury, another site that has slipped from the landscape. She has a second holy well marking her birthplace at Kemsing in Kent, which is also locked. It seems unlikely that she had time to visit Herefordshire, since she died aged just 23. The Water of Life points out that wells on the boundaries of churches are most likely to be baptismal in origin.

And there is no archaeological evidence of a stone church dating back to the 10th century. The current building is 14th century.

A plaque in the church commemorates the well owner, Lady Emily, as a generous benefactor and constant worshipper in the church, who died aged 94 on the memorable date of 1 January 1900. A brief glimpse of the 20th century was probably enough for her delicate soul.

Directions

Well: below St Mary’s Church, Stoke Edith HR1 4HQ

W3W: likely.cage.scorched

GPS: 52.0628N 2.5792W

The church is off the A438, 1 mile west of Tarrington village. The turning is at a crossroads, opposite a road signed to Yarkhill.

Be very careful emerging from this dangerous junction after visiting the church: there is a curved mirror opposite that you need to use.

The well is on private property at the entrance to Stoke Edith House on your left, a large brick arch beyond the gates. Whether the church is to remain open is unknown at the time of going to press.