St Catherine's Well, Sugnall

Dedication: Saint Catherine

Location: Sugnall Park

Coordinates: 52.872361N, -2.3060493W

Grid reference: SJ794305

Status: dry

Heritage designation: Grade II listed building

St Catherine's Well is located within the grounds of Sugnall Park, near Eccleshall. Although the current Sugnall Hall was built rather recently, the well-house likely had links to the Old Sugnall Hall, which was constructed in the late 18th century. The current sandstone well-house was in fact built in around 1770, possibly just as a folly, like the Park's Gothic temple, which was built at the same time. Unfortunately there are no records of the well existing before the 18th century, and it was never named (although it was marked as a well) on Ordnance Survey maps; this does not, however, rule out the possibility that it was a holy well before the construction of the well-house. It seems that it dried up at some point during the 19th century.

Today, although the well is dry, the structure is in very good condition and is easily accessible on one of the permissive paths that have been created on the Sugnall Estate. When I visited in the November of 2024, the mud and silt inside the well-house was still damp, and it appeared that the spring, instead of filling the basin in the well-house, still flowed out of the undergrowth only a few metres from the structure, creating a small stream. This is probably due to changes in the water table.

The sandstone well-house from a distance	Mud and silt in the well-house
The gate that provides access to St Catherine's Well	A rather blurry image of the stream that runs from the well-house

Access:

The well is located beside a permissive footpath that leads through the Sugnall Estate.