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 After Conwy Castle, George Gallagher suggested we go to the Tweedmill Shop, and went shopping for souvenirs. We did, and as you can tell, there is only one picture... well we were busy shopping!! ha ha |
 Pwllgwyn Hotel
Saturday, May 13th, 2006 After leaving the Tweedmill shop, we went to our planned dinner at the Pwllgwyn Hotel, in Afonwen. |
 Carol Gallagher, Mayor Phillip, George Gallagher. |
 Becky, Queenie, Koth, Janet, Joan, Merle, Susan, Olive, Cada, Susan, George Gallagher at the end of that side of the table. Can you tell by Joyce and my's face that we are getting a bit tired??? |
 Mayor Phillip, Becky, George, Susan Grove, Cada, back of Mary Alice's head, Joyce Gail Stewarts shoulder. |
 Amy Humphries, Mary Alice Shaw, Joyce Gail Stewart, top of Olive Tighe's head, Back of Cada Grove's head. |
 Queenie [Joyce], Koth [Bob] Quigley and Janet Beard on the edge of the picture |
 Back of Amy's and Dick's head, side of Cada's face, Olive tighe, and Susan Wright. |
 Sharon Underhill, Betty and Dick McGehee |
 Olive Tighe and Ida Cann |
 Cada Grove and Olive Tighe. |
 Susan Wright, Merle Millheim, Joan Bretz, Janet Beard |
 Vi Grooms-Alban, Linda Shabo, Sharon Underhill, Betty McGehee. |
 Ida, Vi, Linda, Sharon, Betty, Dick, Mary Alice, Joyce Gail, Phillip, some I can't see, Joan, Janet, Bob, Joyce. All having a good ole time! |
 We were to go to the Piccadilly Pub, to meet and chat with the town’s people Saturday night. I apologize for not attending, and as there are no pictures I do not know if any one went, it was quite late when we left the restaurant and their pub closes earlier than ours do in America. If no one went to the Piccadilly Pub, I would like to extend an apology to the pub for not attending as we had for the Royal Oak the night before, but I believe we just ran out of steam. I am glad that Mayor Phillip had taken the WGS members with out host families to the Piccadilly Pub for lunch our first day, as I would have felt really bad if we did not balance our business between all establishments. Plus if I hadn't been so tired I surely would have been there!!! ha ha. |
St. Winefride's Well
Sunday, May 14th, 2006
Again I am not going to do a lot of commentary on the pictures because I believe the property tells it's own story. But I will give a brief history of it here:
The Well Chapel of St. Winefride was built at the beginning of the sixteenth century. It is a fine example of late-perpendicular architecture and has a unique splendor as a well chapel. A place of pilgrimage since the seventh century – the only shrine in Britain that can show an unbroken history of pilgrimage to the present day. ‘…and after the hede of the Vyrgyne was cut of and touchyd the ground, as we afore have said, sprang up a welle of spryngyng water largely enduying unto this day, which heleth al langours and sekenesses as well in men as in bestes, which welle is namd after the name of the Vyrgyne and is called St. Wenefrede’s Welle… [From the first printed version of the “Life of St. Winefride’ by William Caxton 1485].
It may not be the first chapel built over the well, though for centuries there had been one alongside, in the place where the parish church continues to stand. It is here that St. Beuno would have built the first chapel of wood in the 7th century. He no doubt used the well as a baptistery. By the end of the 15th century not only was this parish church re-built of which only the tower remains today but the present well chapel also was constructed.
The Legend, Gwenfrewi or Winefride was the daughter of a local prince named Tewyth and his wife Gwenlo. Her uncle was St. Beuno. One day Caradoc, a chieftain from Hawarden, attempted to seduce Winefride. She ran from him towards the church built by her uncle. Caradoc pursued her and cut off her head. In the place where her head fell a spring of water came up. St. Beuno came out from the church, took up her head and placed it back on her body. He then prayed and raised her to life. A white scar encircled her neck, witness to her martyrdom. Caradoc sank to the ground and was never seen again. Winefride became a nun and after her uncle’s departure for the Monastery of Clynnog Fawr joined a community at Gwytherin where she became the Abbess. She died there and was buried in the local churchyard. [Her relics were removed to Shrewsbury Abbey in 1138.] She has a double title to the crown as a daughter of a local prince and as a saint. Her sanctity is unquestioned, her reputation too deeply embedded in the local traditions of Holy well and Gwytherin. But the story of her head being cut off and her resuscitation to life is a commonplace in Celtic hagiography and inherently unlikely. The legend of the Saint was not written down for 500 years after her death. It is not surprising that for this and other reasons it became embroidered. Originally the amount of water coming from the well was considerably greater than it is now. It poured into a narrow stream and, as has been said, was turning a mill within 30 yards. A tragedy hit Holy well in 1917 when mining operations at Halkyn cut throught the underground stream and caused it to be diverted. It now flows out of Bagillt. The well went completely dry and some hundreds of people were thrown out of work in the valley. The well itself was desolate and the over-simple faith of some pilgrims severely tested. Eventually a spring of water erupting naturally two or three hundred yards away and having its source in the same Halkyn Mountains was diverted and now supplies the well. The quantity of water is, however much reduced. The original was in itself a natural phenomenon and was probably venerated in pre Christian days. The spring became renowned for its healing powers and throughout the centuries and even until today, pilgrims travel here in the thousands from all over the world to bathe in its waters and worship at its shrine that has become known as the Lourdes of Wales.
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