Saint · Romsley · Famous
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A dove flew to Rome with the name of the killer.
Stand where it happened
Hillside church in open country on Chapel Lane; the well is in a small garden below. Church may be locked. Check opening before you go.
A white dove dropped a letter on the altar in Rome. It said where the boy king lay.
Kenelm was a Mercian boy king, son of Coenwulf, said to have been just seven when he was murdered around 821. His jealous sister Quendryda had her lover Askobert take him hunting on the Clent Hills, where he was beheaded while singing the Te Deum. A white dove carried a scroll to Rome revealing the crime; a pillar of light showed the body, and a spring burst out. A cow is said to have guarded the place, and Quendryda's eyes fell out onto her psalter. The shrine became Kenelmstowe, and the church at Romsley marks the site, with its holy well a few steps downhill.