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St Elenud's Chapel and Well

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NPRN96679
Map ReferenceSO02NE
Grid ReferenceSO0576028610
Unitary (Local) AuthorityPowys
Old CountyBrecknockshire
CommunityBrecon
Type Of SiteHOLY WELL
PeriodMedieval
Description
1. The site of Elenud's Chapel and well is situated just over 1km north-east of Brecon, and lies to the north-east of Slwch Tump hillfort (NPRN 92032). The site was scheduled in 1997 and consists of 4 diffuse platforms above a damp hollow, reputed to be the site of St Elenud's oratort and holy well. The stump of a large tree, possibly a Yew, survives on the southb edge of the lower hollow. Theophilus Jones writing in the early 19th century describes the site as '...now completely ruinated and can only be traced by tradition to a spot where a heap of stones and an aged yew tree, with a well at its root, marks the site'.

An exploratory excavation trench measuring 1.0m x 3.5m was opened over the presumed site of the well by Peter Dorling for the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority in June 1999. Around 0.34m below the modern ground surface, a drystone cistern 0.3m x 0.86m, covered by two flagstones, was located.

Paraphrased from Dorling, P. 1999. Excavation at St Elenud's Chapel and Well, June 1999. Brecon Beacons National Park, unpublished report.

2. Dorling notes that excavation results were 'inconclusive' and that the chamber or cistern appeared to be relatively modern. However the photographs and plan of the cistern suggest a relatively traditional, solid construction which could potentially be of an earlier date. The proximity of the larger and complex hillfort of Slwch Tump could suggest a focus of Early Medieval and/or Medieval settlement close to the well and chapel.

T. Driver, RCAHMW, December 2014