Saint
Dunsfold Holy Well
Wash your eyes, and see again.
See it clearly
- What's there
- Spring under a small oak canopy
- Legend from
- Local tradition (medieval?)
- Tone
- Curious
Bathe your eyes at the well below Dunsfold church, and the old pilgrims swore you'd see clearly again.
Down a path below the remote church of St Mary and All Saints at Dunsfold, close to the young River Arun, is a holy well. Its water was believed to cure diseases of the eye, and people came on pilgrimage to bathe their eyes in it. Some writers suggest the church was built on a mound near a site that was already sacred before Christianity, with the well part of that older holiness. In 1933 an oak shrine was built over the spring and dedicated by the Bishop of Guildford. William Morris called the church the most beautiful country church in England.