HOME - ENGLAND - STAFFORDSHIRE

St Modwen's Well, Burton upon Trent

Dedication: Saint Modwen Location: Andressey Coordinates: 52.802238N, -1.6256391W Grid reference: SK253228 Status: capped Heritage designation: none

St Modwen is one of those saints about whom almost nothing is known for certain. There are several separate versions of her life, all of which place her in a different century (varying from the 6th to the 10th), and link her to different saintly figures, who often contradict the century in which the version places her. One common theme throughout all versions of her story, however, is the idea that Modwen originated in Ireland, and initially headed a large nunnery there before travelling to England. Unfortunately, it is at this point that the variants of Modwen's story go off in different directions, with some suggesting that she was invited to England by King Ethelwolf of Wessex, others that she was invited here by King Egbert of Wessex, and yet more accounts claiming that King Alfred the Great himself summoned her to the country. Most stories then claim that she tutored St Edith of Polesworth, and founded Polesworth Abbey for this purpose, although one notable version asserts that Modwen joined Whitby Abbey instead. Another common theme throughout these different tales is the notion that Modwen spent seven years of her life living on Andressey, in a chapel that she dedicated to St Andrew for that purpose, as an anchorite, with some claiming that she died there, and others suggesting that she died in Scotland.

In truth, the historical St Modwen was probably something of a combination of these legends. Francis Arnold-Forster, in the second volume of Studies in Church Dedications (1899), suggested that the inclusion of a character named "Alfred", sometimes as King Alfred, occasionally as a prince, in almost all of the versions of Modwen's life, is actually derived from the saint's "friendship" with King Aldfrid of Northumbria, the nephew of St Oswald, who had been brought up in Ireland before becoming king in the late 7th century. Arnold-Forster noted the possibility that Modwen had moved to England after her Irish nunnery was "pillaged" by a local king; Aldfrid is said to have "received her kindly", and placed her in Whitby Abbey, where she was tasked with caring for his sister, St Elfleda (whose name may have caused confusion with St Edith), the future abbess. However, there is a possibility that Modwen's association with Whitby Abbey simply arose from the misinterpretation of a slightly ambiguous passage found in a 13th century Irish life of St Modwen, which placed her in "a country-place called Streneshalc, near the forest which is called Arden", "Arden", of course, being in Warwickshire. Whilst there is a high chance that "Streneshalc" is a poor rendering of "Streaneshalc", the Saxon name for Whitby, there is a possibility that "Streneshalc" actually refers to "Stramshall", a small hamlet only a few miles from Burton, where it is locally said that St Modwen founded a convent. However, it is worth noting that old forms of "Stramshall" are quite different to today: according to A. D. Mills' Dictionary of English Place Names, it appeared in 1227 as "Strangricheshull", which is probably unlikely to have been corrupted into "Streneshalc".

All that is known for certain about Modwen is that her relics, or what was supposed to be them, had made their way to Burton Abbey by the early 11th century. The idea that she died in Scotland, meaning that her relics would have been transported all the way to Burton, seems rather far-fetched, especially given the fact that she is commonly said to have spent the last seven years of her life on Andressey. It is therefore much more likely that Modwen died on Andressey, was originally interred there on the site of her anchorhold, and was then exhumed and translated to Burton Abbey once it had been constructed. Indeed, in An Historicall Deſcription of the Iſland of Britayne, written in 1577, it was reported that Modwen was "firſte buried in an iland compaſſed a bout with the Riuer of Trent called Andreſey".

Burton Abbey, of the Benedictine order, was founded in 1004 by Wulfric Spot, then Earl of Mercia. Although the Abbey housed St Modwen's relics, the original chapel of St Andrew that the saint had founded on Andressey was preserved (it was, of course, embellished and altered slightly over the centuries). Burton had likely already been a place of pilgrimage, with the shrine on Andressey serving as the focal point of Modwen's regional cult, but the construction of the Abbey undoubtedly boosted Modwen's popularity. Her relics were certainly viewed with great importance within Burton itself, and, according to an article entitled S. Modwen and "The Devill of Drakelowe", published by the Rev. Chas. Kerry in the Journal of the Derbyshire Archaeological and Natural History Society in 1895, there are records of brother John Babe creating a "new hearse or feretory for S. Modwen" (on which her relics would have been carried during processions through the town) in the early 15th century. The Abbey was also evidently benefitting from the saint's shrine and holy well on Andressey: the original, likely wooden, anchorhold was replaced in the early 13th century with a stone construction, which in turn was demolished by Thomas Feylde, the 31st abbot, in the late 15th century, and rebuilt from the foundations.

Although the role that St Modwen's Well played within the local cult is not documented, it would certainly have been used by pilgrims to Burton. Whether it was created by the Abbey in the 11th century to attract more pilgrims, or already existed before that, is not certain, but it is highly probable that St Modwen's Well has been in existence ever since Andressey became a place of pilgrimage. In Flores Historiarum, a Latin chronicle written in the 13th century, the phrase "sanctus Wistanus et sancta Modwenna crebris miraculis claruerunt", meaning "St Wistan and St Modwen became famous for their miracles" is written under the year 1200; these "miracles" may have been effected by either her relics or her holy well, or perhaps both.

During the Reformation, Modwen's relics and the shrine on Andressey were destroyed. When the Abbey was finally dissolved in 1539, it was valued at, according to Dugdale, 267l. 14s. 3d. per annum, equivalent to just over £150,000 today, making it one of the richest foundations in the area. Prior to the Abbey's dissolution, however, the mysterious image of St Modwen, which in all likelihood stood on Andressey, was removed from Burton by Sir William Bassett, Thomas Cromwell's local commissioner. In a letter to Cromwell of an unknown date, he confirmed that he had taken it down and was sending it to London:

It has been theorised that this "ymage" was displayed above St Modwen's Well, but a letter that appeared in the third volume of Ellis' Original Letters (series 3), written by Thomas Thacker to Cromwell regarding the arrival of both the image of St Anne of Buxton and the image of St Modwen in London, implies that this "ymage" was a statue (perhaps similar to the image of St Derfel in Llandderfel, Merionethshire) rather than a painting:

As a statue of some description, it is very likely that the image was either kept in the chapel on Andressey, or within Burton Abbey; the former is more likely.

Regarding St Modwen's Well itself, very little is known of what happened to it during the Reformation. It is probable that it was housed in some sort of medieval structure, perhaps a chapel or other construction, and this would almost certainly have been taken down at some point during the 16th century. Nonetheless, the Reformation evidently did little to diminish its reputation for healing: in 1686 in The Natural History of Staffordshire, Robert Plot included St Modwen's Well in a list of "waters" that, he claimed, "carry with them... ſubtile ſteams whereby they performe unaccountable Cures". Even as late as 1769, St Modwen's Well was still being used for healing purposes, as was reported in the second volume of A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain, written by Daniel Defoe, who noted that the well "is ſaid to cure ſeveral Diſeaſes". If William Molyneux, writing in Burton-On-Trent in 1869, is to be believed, then the well was primarily used to cure "scorbutic diseases", formerly known as the "King's Evil".

However, this had changed by the mid 19th century, by which time, according to Burton and Its Bitter Beer, written by John Stevenson Bushnan in 1853, St Modwen's Well was used to supply water to the local breweries, and was "now worked by steam", with its waters, in the form of beer, being "quaffed from Indus to the Pole".

There is no definitive historical record of the well's exact location, and the Historic Environment Record, which makes a complete mess of both the site's history and even its name, is clearly not a trustworthy authority in this matter. Nevertheless, it is clear that St Modwen's Well was, historically, the now capped and greatly enlarged well at SK2533622808, around 200 metres north east of the site of St Andrew's Chapel. Historical sources are very clear that the holy well was located on the island of Andressey itself, with several simply describing it as "the spring on Andressey". Ordnance Survey maps today only mark one well on the entire island, and historic maps mark, in addition to this, two pumps in St Modwen's Orchard, the site of St Andrew's Chapel; although these pumps may initially appear to be more likely candidates than the large well at SK2533622808, a description of the well given in S. Modwen and "The Devill of Drakelowe", by Rev. Chas. Kerry, suggests otherwise. In his work, Kerry provided an account of the condition of "S. Modwen's Orchard, the site of the original oratory of S. Andrew, now laid out as a public garden with paths, seats, and shady trees", but described St Modwen's Well (which he claimed was located "on the island") separately. If the well had been located within the bounds of St Modwen's Orchard, Kerry would undoubtedly have mentioned it as part of his description of the Orchard, thus ruling out the possibility that either of the two pumps were the holy well. Additionally, there is no evidence that these pumps were fed by a spring at all, as Ordnance Survey maps surveyed after they had been removed show no spring on their site, and when I visited the Orchard in July 2025, I found no physical indication of springs ever having existed there.

I happened to travel to St Modwen's Well on the saint's feast day, the 6th of July, and was unsurprised to find that there was no local knowledge of the holy well's existence. A nearby interpretation board claimed that the spring, which has very clearly been enlarged, covered, and most probably deepened to improve the supply, is now commonly called "Hay Well", but did not mention its historical association with St Modwen, or with Burton Abbey. The now-capped spring was surrounded on all sides by a high wire fence, and plastered with warning signs such as "Danger Fragile Roof", "Danger Deep Water", and "No unauthorised access". It is clear that the spring still supplies Burton's breweries today.

It is worth noting that the Historic Environment Record's claim that the well is dedicated to St Andrew, or has ever been known as "St Andrew's Well", is an error that seems to have stemmed from the site's link to St Andrew's Chapel.

Copyright 2025 britishholywells.co.uk