Ffynnon Gelynin, Llangelynin

Dedication: Saint Celynin

Location: Llangelynin Old Church

Coordinates: 53.24551N, -3.87295W

Grid reference: SH751736

Heritage designation: none

Saint Celynin was one of the sons of Helig ab Glanawg, who is said to have owned a portion of land between Anglesey and Caernarfonshire apparently known as the "Lavan Sands". According to legend, these lands were lost to the ocean in the 6th century, and Helig's sons were forced to turn to the monastic life instead. Unsurprisingly, given the time, all of these sons became saints, including Celynin, who went on to found a church here, as well as in the identically named parish of Llangelynin, in Merionethshire. As a minor saint, it seems that his cult did not spread past these two places, although it appears to have been stronger in his Caernarfonshire parish. Interestingly, his feast day was celebrated on different dates in each of these two parishes, indicating that the Caernarfonshire version of the cult developed in isolation because of Llangelynin's remote location. Indeed, local legend has it that a hut circle to the south of Llangelynin Old Church, is, in fact, the remains of Celynin's 6th century cell; whilst this is a dubious claim, it is possible that this is a surviving medieval tradition.

The earliest reference to Ffynnon Gelynin that I am aware of dates from 1739, and takes the form of the church terrier (an inventory of the church's possessions). According to Sabine Baring-Gould and John Fisher, writing in their Lives of the Saints (1908), this document mentioned that, "in the South West of the Churchyard", there is "a fine Spring-well, and ye House above it is about four yards in breadth and five in length, and in good repair". Although it is tempting to assume that the described well-house was of a medieval date, an undated (but probably 18th century) document referred to by the Royal Commission, in their notes about Llangelynin, records that the date "1622" was once inscribed on a stone "in ye Wall of the House above the Well"; this suggests that this well-house was either built in the early 1600s, or that it was restored then. Perhaps the latter option is the most likely, as the Royal Commission also noted that the stone seats and slabs surrounding the well itself were almost certainly medieval, so it seems that only the upper parts of the structure have been rebuilt.

In a piece published in Archaeologia Cambrensis in the January of 1867, entitled Llangelynin Old Church, Caernarfonshire, Elias Owen claimed that there were once four "crevices", measuring "a few inches in breadth externally, but very much broader within", in the walls of this well-house: one "above the doorway", and one in each of the building's walls, two of which were, by then, "filled with stones". It is probable that these indents in the walls were used by medieval pilgrims to deposit offerings; structures of a similar description can be seen at the Holy Well at Pilleth, Radnorshire, and at Ffynnon Drillo, at Llandrillo yn Rhos in Denbighshire. Owen's description was accompanied by a plan of the structure, with the filled in "crevices" labelled with the letter "A":

It is not clear exactly why the stone seats that surround the spring were, presumably in medieval times, constructed. The well was once believed to possess the power to strengthen and heal, specifically, sick or weak children, who would be bathed in the well in the hope of effecting a cure. According to Elias Owen, children would only be bathed in the water in the early morning or the evening, and would then be "wrapped in a blanket and allowed to sleep". It is said that mothers who brought their ill children to Llangelynin from afar would be accommodated at Cae Ial (marked as "Cae Iol" on Ordnance Survey maps), an old farmhouse that once stood just south of the church, where a spare bed was reputedly always kept ready. This tradition is undoubtedly a medieval survival, as is the traditional use of the well's water for baptisms.

According to a linked tradition, that is perhaps not so old, the clothes of the sick children would be washed in the well after they had been bathed therein: if the clothing floated, the child would definitely recover and be cured, whereas, if the clothing sank, they would undoubtedly die, and the well could do them no good. The earliest mention that I have found of this tradition appears in Sabine Baring-Gould and John Fisher's Lives of the Saints (as previously referenced).

In fact, most probably owing to its remote location, the supposed powers of Ffynnon Gelynin were believed in until at least 1867, when Elias Owen claimed that, "at the present time", the "efficacy of the well is not altogether disbelieved by the neighbouring inhabitants". Nonetheless, the structure was falling into disrepair, and an article that was published in The Penny Post in 1875 noted the rector's desire to "restore this interesting structure", and called for contributions, which would reportedly be "thankfully received by the Rector's wife".

Today, Ffynnon Gelynin is kept in good condition, and it has become something of a (minor) tourist attraction, being located on the North Wales Pilgrim Way. When I visited the site in the May of 2025, an interpretation board had been installed on the eastern wall of the structure, and there was a small quantity of water in the well itself.

Access:

The well is publicly accessible within Llangelynin churchyard.