Saint · Old Linslade

The well the bishop banned

Medieval pilgrims flock to a little well at Linslade with their offerings. In 1299 the bishop puts a stop to it, and the vicar has some explaining to do.

Open on the map: directions, what's there today and read-aloud →

Saint

The Banned Well

So many pilgrims came that the bishop shut it down.

Stand where it happened

What's there: A small marker near the canal; the well is lost
Legend from: 1299
Tone: Curious

Holy wells

Before you go

Only a small concrete marker near the canal shows roughly where the well was; the well itself is lost.

Site of the holy well, Old Linslade
Near Old Linslade Road
The pin is approximate.
Date1299

Near the canal at Old Linslade was a holy well so popular with medieval pilgrims that the bishop had it banned.

In the early Middle Ages pilgrims came to a holy well at Old Linslade, bringing offerings to its waters. The cult grew so lucrative that in 1299 Oliver Sutton, Bishop of Lincoln, banned the pilgrimages and summoned the vicar, Hugh de Hargrave, for encouraging them so he could pocket the offerings. The well itself has gone, but its site, on the west bank of what is now the Grand Union Canal, is roughly marked by a small concrete obelisk labelled with the word water, and it still appears on old Ordnance Survey maps.

One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.

Sources

Bedfordshire Archives: Linslade Holy Well