"A saint who raised the dead, a stone bearing his fingerprints, a well that healed for centuries"
St. Beuno shrine and well, Clynnog Fawr
Clynnog Fawr, Gwynedd, United Kingdom
In Clynnog Fawr, on the pilgrim road to Bardsey Island, stands one of the great churches of North Wales. St Beuno founded his community here in 616 AD. He was a healer of extraordinary reputation, a man said to have restored his niece Winifred to life after her beheading. The church preserves a stone bearing what tradition calls his finger imprints. A holy well, a short walk from the nave, was sought for centuries by the sick. This was a place where pilgrims stopped, where the broken came to be made whole.
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Quick Facts
Location
Clynnog Fawr, Gwynedd, United Kingdom
Coordinates
52.9594, -4.3689
Last Updated
Jan 24, 2026
Learn More
St Beuno founded his clas here in 616 AD, making Clynnog Fawr one of the oldest Christian sites in North Wales. Beuno was considered the greatest North Welsh saint, connected to the miracle at Holywell. The church was a major stop on the pilgrimage route to Bardsey Island.
Origin Story
Beuno was born into the royal family of Powys in the late 6th century. He became a monk and founded several churches across Wales before establishing his clas at Clynnog Fawr in 616 AD. He died around 640.
The most famous story associated with Beuno is his role in the miracle of St Winifred. According to tradition, his niece Winifred rejected the advances of a chieftain named Caradog. When she fled toward her uncle's church, Caradog pursued and struck off her head. Beuno emerged, placed the head back on her body, and prayed. Winifred rose, restored to life but bearing a red scar. A healing spring burst from the ground where her head had fallen. This well at Holywell remains Britain's oldest continuous pilgrimage site.
Beuno himself was associated with miracles of healing and with power over nature. He was said to have walked on water and to have performed numerous cures. Such stories reflect the extraordinary impression he left on his community.
Key Figures
St Beuno
Founder of the clas, greatest saint of North Wales
St Winifred (Gwenfrewi)
Niece of Beuno, restored to life by his prayer
Spiritual Lineage
The clas at Clynnog Fawr was one of the significant Celtic Christian communities of early medieval Wales. With the Norman reorganization of the Welsh church, it became a parish church. The present building dates mainly to the 15th-16th centuries. Today it is part of the Church in Wales and serves as both parish church and pilgrimage site on the North Wales Pilgrim's Way to Bardsey.
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