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Holy well

Ffynnon Elian

Llanelian-yn-Rhos, Conwy

The most feared cursing well in Wales.

Ffynnon Elian was once a healing well, but by the 1700s it had become famous for curses. For a fee, the well's keeper would write your enemy's name in a book and drop a slate or pin with their initials into the water.

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When
From the 1700s
Where
53.2700, -3.6800
Group
Holy wells & springs

Visiting

The site is on private land. The church in Llanelian is dedicated to St Elian.

Cover of The Ledger of Lost Britain by Cale Mills
Read the full story in the book

The Ledger of Lost Britain

The Romans arrived in AD 43. For most people that is where the history of Britain begins. But by the time the legions landed, people had already been living on these islands for thousands of years. They had hunted, farmed, mined flint, dragged stones across the country, raised a hill by hand, and buried their dead in great tombs. They left no written words. What they left was the ground itself. Every place in this book can be visited, or has been dug up, or is in a museum.

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