The Shrine of our Lady and the Martyrs, Broughton, Fernyhalgh

Fernyhalgh’s holy well dedicated to St Mary has been a place of pilgrimage for nearly a millennium and is visited by the Lancashire Monastic Way

‍Highlights

• Holy well dedicated to the Blessed Virgin
• Reliquary room
• Shrine and pilgrimage centre

The source of Fernyhalgh’s holiness is curious and elusive, a place to experience rather than analyse. It is said to be one of the most important Catholic shrines in the country, but I met Catholic priests and a well-traveled nun on my journey across Britain who had never heard of it.

This shrine is genuinely popular. The day I visited, a colourful gathering of Indian families mingled with an earnest group of young American monks. I half wonder if Fernyhalgh exists in a parallel universe. It is only a couple of miles from the M6 but notoriously hard to find. Fortunately, it is real enough once you get there, with a car park and other amenities to welcome visitors. The complex is run by the Catholic Church and consists of a holy well, a garden given over to contemplative walks, several shrine chapels, and the central Ladyewell House, which has a huge collection of relics.

The relics alone make this a place of pilgrimage – but the holy well is the focus of this busy devotional space. It arises in a grotto at the front of the complex, on the right as you enter. Down in the grotto is a statue of the Blessed Virgin, but the well chamber itself is covered over, with a trapdoor. Up at ground level, there is a spout and a button: press the button and holy water issues forth for 20 seconds, enough time to fill a bottle.

The first contemporary reference to any sort of worship in the area dates from the 14th century, and the first reference to an actual chapel is from the 15th. Neither document mentions a holy well. Perhaps this is why Fernyhalgh feels so elusive: mystery shrouds its origins.

There is one very late record of the shrine’s early history, written down in the 18th century. It tells of a sailor, Fergus Maguire, who was crossing the Irish Sea in a storm. He promised to found a shrine if he reached land safely, which he duly did. This legend dates the founding of the shrine to around 1100, but adds that Fergus discovered an older, disused shrine by his well with a statue of the Blessed Virgin.

So it could date from Saxon times. Orthodox Christians hold services at this site, and they tend to focus on places in Britain dating from before the Norman Conquest.

The shrine is also popular with the Keralan Indian Catholic community in Britain, which explains the scenes I encountered. Anglicans too make regular pilgrimages to Ladyewell. Miracle cures have been ascribed to the holy water in recent years. The well used to be an open pool but was paved over in the 20th century.

An early date for this holy well is partly supported by archaeological evidence, excavations revealing steps into a chamber deep enough for the early immersion form of baptism. Roman and Saxon remains have been found in the vicinity and are displayed in Ladyewell House. The house has other exhibits and early photographs of the shrine complex, and a large reliquary room with dozens of saints and a fragment of the True Cross. The illustrated guidebook A History of Our Lady of Fernyhalgh and the Martyrs by Ann Gladwin gives an excellent summary of the site’s history.

As you drive down the lane towards the shrine chapel, you pass the local Catholic church of St Mary’s, built in 1795. This serves both the local parish and pilgrim groups visiting the shrine, with a beautiful reredos – the painted screen behind the altar – and stained-glass windows.

Directions‍

Ladyewell House, Fernyhalgh Lane, Fulwood, Preston PR2 5RR‍

www.ladyewellshrine.co.uk‍

W3W: trend.think.reward

GPS: 53.7969N 2.6754W

Ladyewell House is open in the summer Tues–Sat 10 am–5 pm; winter Weds–Sat 10 am–3:30 pm. The website has directions, and if your own map shows lanes approaching Fernyhalgh from the south, it is inaccurate: these paths are only suitable for pedestrians. To drive here, approach Preston on the M6. Turn off at Junction 32 onto the M55, and immediately take the first exit, following the A6 to Preston. After leaving this roundabout, stay in the left-hand lane. After 100m, this lane bears off left, signed to Ribbleton. At the next roundabout, go right, for Longridge and Ribbleton. At the next roundabout, after 0.6 miles, take the first exit to Haighton and Ladyewell. Continue along here for ¾ mile, passing over the motorway, and Ladyewell is signposted on the right. After 1/3 mile you will see the Catholic church on your left. You can walk from this church or drive the remaining 1/3 mile to the shrine, which also has a car park.