Outside the remarkable medieval church of St. Lawrence, Gumfreston bubble a series of holy wells, fed by ancient springs that are places of pilgrimage in their own right.
Local tradition also places the church on the pilgrim routes across South Wales to the great shrine of St David, and perhaps beyond that linking up the route from St. David’s to other pilgrimage routes into Europe.
People came to the wells, and over time the place acquired a significance that seems to have drawn together different beliefs and ways of understanding the world.
And perhaps this is why the church itself feels so extraordinary - rooted somewhere between the primeval and the Christian, as if the two have become inextricably bound together. Its cambered walls seem to echo the organic forms of the landscape - almost grotto-like, as though the building had grown out of the wells rather than placed beside them.
Connect with me on: Bluesky / Instagram / Facebook / X / Tumblr / Flickr / Vimeo / Pixelfed / Pinterest
Member discussion