St Anthony’s Well was most probably dedicated to St Anthony of Egypt, also known as St Anthony the Great and St Anthony the Abbot, who was a very popular saint in Britain in the Middle Ages. The well is of uncertain date, possibly medieval – the existing stonework was certainly in place by the early 19th century, though the enclosure was built in the early 1990s. Nicholas Carlisle’s description dates to 1811: ‘Here is a Well, called St. Anthony’s, walled with stone and mortar; and over it is a Niche, where it is supposed a figure of the Saint was placed: great cures are said to have been performed by the water of this Well formerly, but it has not been much resorted to of late years.’ This suggests its heyday was in the 18th century and possibly earlier. The well is now a Grade II listed building, and is kept in good condition.
Although the well is today known as St Anthony’s Well, it was in the late 19th century known as Ffynnon Shon Antwn, and on a map of 1811 drawn by Thomas Budgen it is named as Ffynnon St Anthony. D.G. Williams, who recorded the name Ffynnon Shon Antwn, also gave the name as Ffynnon St Antwn. It is unusual to see ‘St’ included in the name of a holy well, but clearly it was the fashion here 100 or so years ago.
The water was believed to have healing powers, and pilgrims probably once bathed in it; maybe they were trying to cure skin diseases, since St Anthony the Abbot was renowned for the cure of erysipelas, or St Anthony’s Fire, characterised by red patches on the skin. But its use as a healing well had diminished by 1800, as noted by Carlisle (see above), and it became more popular as a wishing well; young people would throw in a pin as an offering when they made a wish. D.G. Williams noted that it was love-sick youngsters who used the well as a wishing well with regard to matters of the heart, and that thousands of pins were left there. Today sea-shells from the beach are being left as offerings.
In 2024 The Way of St Anthony’s Well was created, a Pilgrim Way for the Diocese of Menevia from the Cathedral of St Joseph in Swansea to St Anthony’s Well in Llansteffan.
Location: SN34600993. The well is south of Llansteffan, close to the shore at Scotts Bay, and can be reached by walking along the beach or along a lane past Llansteffan Castle.
Sources: Well history: Jones (1954), 163; Carlisle (1811), Llan Stephan; T.L.D. Jones Parry, ‘Holy Wells’ letter in Archaeologia Cambrensis, vol. 1 (1846), 466; D.G. Williams, Casgliad o Lên Gwerin Sir Gaerfyrddin (1895; reissued 1996 by Cyngor Sir Caerfyrddin), 83.
Wishing well: Jonathan Caredig Davies, Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales (Aberystwyth, 1911), 302; Williams (1895 op.cit), 83.
Pilgrim Way: www.pilgrimways.org.uk.
