St Mary the Virgin Church and holy well, Stevington

A pilgrim landscape surrounds Stevington’s holy well, with landmarks recognizable in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, and is also on the Way of Our Lady of Guadalupe‍

Highlights

• Holy well, site of medieval hospital

A community of nuns used the holy water from Stevington’s well to treat the sick. They also provided accommodation in their nearby hospital for those seriously ill or requiring long-term treatment. This medieval healing center was closed at the Reformation, and by the 19th century, the well was being used for farm animals. The monastic buildings have long since disappeared, but the well is now tended again by the parish, set in a little nature reserve.

Pilgrimage to this blessed spot was cheerfully revived by the local community in 2012, and a well dressing ceremony with floral decoration (pictured) resanctified this holy source.

The pilgrim hospital was set up by the nuns of Harrold Priory, who were given land next to this church in the 12th century. Their priory was 3 miles north-west of Stevington and also disappeared after the Dissolution.

Stevington’s parish church remains. It sits on limestone bedrock, just 10m from the holy well. The water emerges at the foot of a short bluff, the source now set in a stone surround with a shallow pool of water running over gravel. It was no doubt deeper once, offering immersion for those who came to bathe. The church has Saxon stonework in the base of its tower and was clearly built on this site because of the holy well. The water could have had a dual baptism/healing role during its early years, though there is no evidence of its function until later. The church has ruined chapels on either side of the chancel, which also fell into disuse after the Reformation.

The former hospital is a reminder of why people visited holy wells. As a place of miracles, they were dismissed by reformers as superstition, and their use banned. But they also provide a source of pure water for bathing, which would clean infections, and minerals such as iron content might help eye ailments. And finally, they offered hope and comfort to the sick – clearly better than nothing. Whether or not one believes in their miraculous properties, holy wells were popular for good reason in the days before modern healthcare. They certainly beat leeches.

The village also has a link to the author John Bunyan, who lived in Bedford, 5 miles to the south-east. He preached in Stevington and used the village cross as the setting for a scene in his book The Pilgrim’s Progress, written in 1676. The cross is thought to be the place where the book’s hero, Christian, loses the burden from his back.

Other sites to be seen in Bedford town itself include St Paul’s Church, where Bunyan and John Wesley (a century later) both preached. Bunyan wrote his book while serving a 12-year sentence in Bedford Gaol for his non-conformist beliefs.‍

St Mary the Virgin Church, Church Road, Stevington MK43 7SW

www.stmarysstevington.org.uk

W3W: free.acquaint.clay

GPS: 52.1723N 0.5529W‍

Directions:‍

The church is on the north side of Stevington, at the end of Church Road. It is usually locked, with local keyholders listed in the porch. To find the well, leave the churchyard gate and follow the wall round to the left. You pass a small well chamber after a few steps, and the larger well itself after about 50m. Stevington’s village cross is at the start of Church Road in the middle of the road junction.‍

St Paul’s Church in Bedford is on St Paul’s Square, Bedford MK40 1SQ. Its website is: www.stpaulschurchbedford.org.uk