Visited May 2019

Location	Stogursey, Somerset
Entrance Fee	No
Railway Station Nearby	No
Parking	Road side
Facilities	None
Map

Review

Deep in Somerset is a small village called Stogursey. It is sleepy and quiet, with a few shops and a village church. It also has the remains of a Norman castle, see our review of Stogursey Castle here. You would think this would be enough for a village this size, but Stogursey also has a tiny tourist attraction in the shape of some holy wells, water that flows from an underground stream, and is said to have healing qualities.

In the 18th century the grand arched gateway was built around the wells by the Acland family of the manor of Fairfield, which is nearby.  Lord Egmont, who was the Lord of Stogursey Manor had already built a well house to enclose the wells.

There are three water courses flowing into stone troughs, they have apparently never been known to fail. At one time they were the only source of clean water in the village, so were vital to the villagers. 

The wells are dedicated to St Andrew, who is important in the area as the local church in Stogursey shares this dedication. They can be found on St Andrew's Lane off the high street. At the top of the lane is the remains of the Medieval village cross.

Also worth a visit is the church of St Andrew's, about five minutes  walk away. It is of 12th century origin, and  once served  a small priory of monks who had set up in the village. After the dissolution the priory was closed and the church became the local parish church. There are some fine Norman features, including two fonts. The Verney Chapel is dedicated to the Verney family who were Lords of the manor of nearby Fairfield.

It is interesting that tiny Stogursey has such a large parish church due to it once being a priory, and a Norman castle. There were allegedly altercations between the castle and priory over the years, and also talk of secret tunnels linking the two, but as is quite often the case this has yet to be proven to be anything more than folklore!