Winifred's Well [Hardcover]

John A. Shaffer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2008

Winifred's Well explores a moment when Britain's oldest continuous pilgrimage site was threatened. A 1917 mining incident suddenly diverted the flow of water from the healing well that predates Lourdes by at least seven centuries. The journey to recover this forgotten story of the well and its protectors draws together the author, the heir of an old Welsh family, and even a contemporary Archdruidess-each seeking in a different way. The journey ends at a rarely seen underground lake that lies beneath a mountain in rural Flintshire. Extensively researched, the book interweaves the story of Lady Anna Maria Mostyn with the author's present-day search for the physical and spiritual sources of St. Winifred's Well. Lady Mostyn's crusade to save the well from powerful mining interests at the turn of the twentieth century has a contemporary ring. And the legend of St. Winifred, mingled with elements from the deep Celtic past, offers ground for exploring the primal fascination with powerful watersources that cuts across time and culture. With the resurgence of interest in Celtic spirituality, it is surprising that no book in print has the remarkable well at Holywell as its focus. Winifred's Well unfolds the evocative power of the place as the author came to experience it-through chance meetings, discoveries, recovered documents, and unexpected connections. The book is illustrated with original photographs and historical images from the author's collection.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Cold Tree Press (January 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583852263
• ISBN-13: 978-1583852262
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,365,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All's well that ends in Wales..., March 9, 2008

By 

Laura Shaffer (pittsburgh, pa usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Winifred's Well (Hardcover)

This book will probably be of interest to any fans of Saint Winifred or Welsh history, as it discusses her legend and its legacy in some depth. It would also be a good read for anyone interested in quirky histories in general, being an extremely readable interweaving of ancient legend, centuries of more recent history and spiritual traditions, and a personal travelogue of a spelunking expedition to the modern (underground) site of the well in question.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very exact to the truth of wales, June 2, 2009

By 

L. Lloyd - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Winifred's Well (Hardcover)

Being from Holywell, Strand North Wales I found this book very intersting as I grew up in this area and am very familiar with most of the facts this book is based on so I was very pleased to read it. My wife and I were visiting the well on vacation in March and found out about the book from one of the attendents at the well. So upon completion of the book it was mailed to the attendents at the well to read and share with guests. So I give this book a rating of five stars. Thank You

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book about the Lourdes of Wales, August 29, 2008

By 

V. Finlay (UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Winifred's Well (Hardcover)

A beautifully designed and conceived book about the holy well of St Winifred, once known to everyone as "the Lourdes of Wales". Shaffer's search began in 2004 in a riverside park in Hudson, NY when he found a postcard showing a statue of a saint, "gazing laconically upriver, in the general direction of Albany". It took him to Wales, to discover the story of how in 1904 a family spent much of their fortune trying to protect the well from new drainage plans, and ultimately it took him into the heart of the Halkyn mountain, to a seemingly bottomless lake, from which the well springs. This would be a wonderful gift for anyone who loves sacred places, and wants to know the stories behind and beneath them.