St Edith's Well, Kemsing

Local pilgrims gather at this well each September to remember their saint, and it is also situated where the London and Winchester branches of the Pilgrims Way converge

This holy well is named after St Edith of Wilton. Although Wilton is self-evidently in Wiltshire, she was born in this little Kentish village in 961. Her life story is rather sad, but she is remembered with affection in Kemsing and was a much-loved Saxon saint.

Nowadays her holy well is marooned in the middle of a triangular road junction next to the village war memorial. It is at least properly cared for, set in a little grass garden. The only disappointment is the lack of access to the water: a metal grille renders it impossible to reach the holy source. This could easily change, as the well is still celebrated by the church on the other side of the road. The congregation holds a procession here on or around 16 September, St Edith’s saint’s day.

Highlights

• Holy well by road (water inaccessible)
• Stained-glass images of St Edith

Should future access be allowed to the water, it is said to be good for eye complaints, and for aiding a large harvest. So if you know a farmer with conjunctivitis, it might be worth making some enquiries around the village: a miracle or two might ease restrictions.

The church, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, commemorates St Edith in two stained-glass windows and a banner by the pulpit. It also helped to introduce a well dressing festival in 2011, which takes place on St Edith’s day. A 20th-century statue of St Edith stands outside the village hall.

Soon after St Edith was born here, she was taken back to Wilton by her mother Wulfthryth, who was a novice at the famous abbey there. Needless to say nuns don’t normally take a career break to have children. She had been forced into the arrangement by King Edgar.

St Edith therefore had royal blood coursing through her veins, but never took advantage of it during her short life. Her mother Wulfthryth became abbess of Wilton in due course, but St Edith repeatedly turned down promotion. She even refused to become queen, after her half-brother St Edward the Martyr was murdered. Perhaps embarrassed by her origins, or perhaps just very humble, she preferred to serve as a simple nun. She died in 984 at the age of just 23.

There is little to see at Wilton, so it is fortunate St Edith has her holy well here in Kent. There is another well dedicated to her at Stoke Edith in Herefordshire.

King Canute was sceptical that any daughter of King Edgar could become a saint, and asked for her tomb to be opened when he visited Wilton in 1020. In a scene described by William of Malmesbury, St Edith’s affronted corpse sat up and slapped the impudent royal across the face.  

Directions

St Edith’s Well, High Street, Kemsing TN15 6NB

W3W: cake.chain.baked

GPS: 51:3060N 0.2292E

The well is in the middle of the village opposite The Bell pub, at the top of St Edith’s Road where it meets the High Street. The church is just along the High Street on the north side of the road.