About
St. Chad was a 7th-century bishop who evangelized in a few different locations across England but who today is associated with Lichfield in Staffordshire. He settled in the area in 669, near a spring he used to baptize converts in; he also built an oratory at the location.
St. Chad passed away in 672, and he was later interred in Lichfield Cathedral. After his death, the spring became a pilgrimage site. In fact, Lichfield was at one end of a pilgrimage route running all the way to Chester.
Several different structures have been built over the site of the spring. In the 19th century, a medieval structure was replaced with a stone structure that had a distinctive arched entrance. That was replaced in 1949 with the current wood structure, which consists of four wooden beams holding up a pyramid-shaped roof covered with branches.
Visitors can still see the spring within the square basin, although it is now basically a small pool filled with algae—too small and too unsanitary to baptize people.
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Know Before You Go
St. Chad’s Well is located in the cemetery next to St. Chad’s Church on the east side of Lichfield.
Access to the cemetery and well is restricted. While the paths into the cemetery are flat, the well sits in a grassy area that makes it difficult to reach for people in wheelchairs.
The well and the church are within a 15-minute walk of the city center, as well as the Lichfield Bus Station and both of the city’s train stations. Street parking is available.
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Published
September 6, 2023
