St Cybi's Well

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a holy well, situated in a valley below Llangybi church, alongside a stream which feeds into the Afon Erch. A holy well is a well or natural spring possessing religious or otherwise ritualistic significance, probably dating to the medieval or post-medieval period. A group of structures have been constructed around the well, constructed of stone and thought to date from the 18th century, with some rebuilding of the cottage walls in the 19th century, they consist of:

1) A well chamber with walls to eaves height which was probably never roofed. It has rounded corners on the W end, the walls are about 1.1m thick, slightly corbelled and have seat niches internally. There is a blocked doorway through to the cottage. The pool is sub-rectangular with steps into the water at the E end, and one narrow step at the W.

2) A second well chamber at the rear. The pool in this chamber is smaller and almost square.

3) A cottage attached to the E end of the main well chamber. The lower part is supposed to be of the same age as the well chamber, but in the 19th century an upper floor was added. It is roofless and the upper level is ruined. There is one almost square room on the ground floor, with two window openings, one blocked, and two doors, one blocked. There is also a fairly large fireplace. The upper floor had a smaller fireplace and there are two surviving window openings.

4) A small, square latrine building, also roofless but with a small window either side, astride the outflow stream from the well.

In addition, there are stone causeways leading from the bridge over the river to the area in front of the well chamber and cottage, from this to the latrine, and around the W end of the main well chamber to the second chamber behind. The bridge is of huge stone slabs, similar in style to the causeway.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of the organisation and practice of Christianity. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. A holy well may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can be further enhanced by their group value.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.