St Plegmund's Well at Plemstall

By Sarah Griffiths on Feb 3, 09 11:22 AM in Before 1500

Plegmund, a Mercian, was born in the ninth century and became a monastic hermit.

During this time he lived on an island surrounded by marshes at Plemstall near Chester. He rose to prominence when he was summoned to court to teach King Alfred on his accession.

This led directly to his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury in 890. Pope Formosas consecrated Plegmund in Rome and the new archbishop was tasked with strengthening the church's authority and eliminating paganism.

Plegmund recognised that, primarily as a result of Viking raids, there were a number of free bishoprics and forced Edward the Elder (Alfred's successor) to comply with his request to fill as many positions as possible.

Accordingly, he reorganised the Diocese of Winchester and created the bishoprics of Wells, Sherborne, Ramsbury and Crediton, thus ensuring that there was a bishop in each region of Wessex. Plegmund travelled to Rome in 908 to ask for Pope Sergius III's approval for these plans and was the first archbishop of Canterbury to do so for nearly 100 years.

In addition to reforming the structure of the Church, Plegmund was also a notable scholar and was involved in translating many religious texts, such as Gregory the Great's Cura Pastoralis. He died on August 2, 923 at Canterbury and was buried in the cathedral. He was later canonised and the day of his death became his feast day.

The only evidence of St Plegmund's life in Cheshire is a holy well which is situated in St Peter's churchyard at Plemstall.