View SE of St Kenelm's Well, Sudeley Hill, Gloucestershire, England, UK, a legendary C9th sacred spring covered by a well house rebuilt in 1887.
View SE of St Kenelm's Well, Sudeley Hill, Gloucestershire, England, UK, covered by a well house built in 1887. Kenelm's legend states this was the final stopping place of his body before reaching Winchcombe Abbey in AD819, on its journey from the site of his murder in the Clent Hills. A spring miraculously arose to refresh & energise the exhausted monks. Chapels were built at the stopping places along the route, including one here for pilgrims attracted by 'the wonderful healing waters.' A chapel built here around 1549 was demolished in 1830. In 1887 architect J D Wyatt re-used some of the remains to build this well house for Lord Chandos of Sudeley Castle. The pedimented niche holds a crowned & enthroned figure (Kenelm was the son of Coenwulf, king of Mercia) holding a sword & an orb. A square pool deep takes up most of the floor inside the house. From 1887-1930 the well house acted as a pumping station to carry water to Winchcombe village. An underground pump controls the water flow. The C19th iron railings surrounding the well house, & included in its Grade II Listing Building status, have been replaced by wooden rails.
Size: 3710px × 4907px
Location: St Kenelm's Well, Sudeley Hill, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1887, 19th, 9th, abbey, anglo-saxon, ashlar, britain, castle, century, chandos, christian, conduit, cynhelm, door, doorway, early, england, english, estate, finials, gable, gloucestershire, great, head, healing, hill, holy, house, iron, kenelm, kenelms, kingdom, legend, limestone, lord, martyr, medieval, mercia, miraculous, murdered, niche, pediment, pilgrimage, plank, prince, pump, pumping, railings, rebuilt, reconstructed, roof, sacred, saintly, site, spring, st, statue, stone, stud, sudeley, sudely, uk, united, victorian, western, winchcombe, wyatt
