St Seiriol’s Well, monastery and shrine church, Penmon

Plenty to divert pilgrims in this sacred landscape, with a holy well and shrine‍

Highlights

• Holy well and hermitage of St Seiriol
• Church with former shrine
• Ruins of Penmon Priory

St Seiriol’s Well certainly looks the part of an enchanted sanctuary. A rocky crag, an ancient monastic enclosure, and a rustic wellhouse create an atmosphere soaked in medieval spirituality. For good measure, the oldest Christian building in Wales can be traced on the ground, a circular hermitage where St Seiriol himself lived in the 6th century.

The well is rectangular and large enough for immersion, a foot of clear fresh water in the basin. Stone seats are set around three sides of the tiny brick wellhouse, to prepare for bathing. The brick wellhouse was built around 1750, but the niche at the back must be pre-Reformation, since it was designed to house a statue.

These holy waters still have an important ritual function in island life. They are used to bless Anglesey’s team for the Island Games, an athletics competition held every two years around the world. You can cross yourself in the well’s clear flow and sit in peaceful contemplation of a living relic from the dawn of Celtic Christianity.

The foundations of what might be St Seiriol’s small stone shelter are just outside the well door, huddled under the cliff. His brothers are said to have rebuilt his original shelter, believing it was much too humble for such a great saint. St Seiriol’s reaction is not recorded.

This well and hermitage complex is a minute’s walk from Penmon Priory. The priory buildings are dominated by a 13th-century refectory, now a hollow shell that looms over the road. Part of the neighbouring church dates back to the mid-12th century. It is still in use as the parish church, usually open daily to visitors.

Inside are two stone 10th-century crosses, both damaged but with detailed interlace patterns. The church used to house St Seiriol’s medieval shrine – a crypt chamber where pilgrims queued for the saint’s intercessions, according to Celtic Sites and their Saints. A window in the south transept has a stained glass image of the saint, a fragment from a larger medieval window. The first church here was wooden and burned down by Danish raiders in 971.

St Seiriol was originally buried a mile from his former home, on Puffin Island to the east of Anglesey. You can see the island in the distance as you drive to the well, and view it close-up from Penmon Point, but you can’t land there because it is private and a bird sanctuary. Its Welsh name still remembers the local saint: Ynys Seiriol. St Seiriol is remembered on 1 February.

A further story about his meetings with St Cybi is told in the listing for St Cybi's Church, and a pilgrim route, the Anglesey Saints Way, connects the two sites.

On road to Penmon Point, Penmon LL58 8RP (postcode for Penmon Point)‍

W3W: shallower.drilling.shelf

GPS: 53.3057N 4.0569W

The priory ruins are 1½ miles east of Penmon, along a coastal road. Follow signs to Penmon Point from Penmon village, and you will see the tall refectory ruins on your left after a few minutes. The postcode is for Penmon Point, but you will see the refectory before you get there. At the time of research, a toll is charged for parking at the church, and for access beyond to Penmon Point. The church is behind the refectory. The holy well is a minute’s walk from this complex, down a path that starts opposite the huge stone dovecote. There are signs to direct you.