Seiriol was an early 6th-century saint, who created a cell at
Penmon Priory on
Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
, off the coast of north
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. He later moved to Ynys Seiriol (
Puffin Island).
Narrative
Seiriol was a son of King
Owain Danwyn Owain Danwyn ( fl. 440) was a king of Rhos in Gwynedd, Wales, in the mid-5th century. He was the son of Einion Yrth and the father of Cynlas Goch, probably the Cuneglasus excoriated by Gildas. Very little is known of his life. Graham Phillips an ...
of
Rhos,
[James, Chancellor John Williams. "Seiriol", ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'', 1959]
/ref> and younger brother of King Cynlas of Rhos and King Einion of Llŷn. His cell at Penmon is said to have been rebuilt by his brothers, as they didn't think his humble residence was good enough. St Seiriol's Well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
(Ffynnon Seiriol) lies in a small chamber adjoining its remains. Both are protected by Cadw
(, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...
, the publicly funded body responsible for the historic monuments of Wales. Adjacent to them are the church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
and ruins of a monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
also dating back to Seiriol's day.
According to legend, he and Saint Cybi
Saint Cuby (in Cornish) or Saint Cybi (in Welsh) was a 6th-century Cornish bishop, saint and, briefly, king, who worked largely in Cornwall and North Wales: his biography is recorded in two slightly variant medieval 'lives'.
Life in Cornwall ...
were good friends,[ and would meet weekly near ]Llanerchymedd
Llannerch-y-medd, is a small village, community and post town on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. The Royal Mail postcode is LL71, and it has a population of 1,360, of whom more than 70% is Welsh speaking.
The village is situated near the centre ...
, at the Clorach wells. Saint Cybi would walk from Holyhead
Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...
, facing the rising sun in the morning and setting sun in the evening. Saint Cybi was known as ''Cybi Felyn'' (''Cybi the Tanned''), as he was tanned during his journey. Seiriol, travelling in the opposite direction, from Penmon, would have his back to the sun.Thus, he was known as ''Seiriol Wyn'' (''Seiriol the Fair''). Rhyd-y-Saint railway station
Rhyd-y-Saint railway station was situated on the Red Wharf Bay branch line between Holland Arms railway station and Benllech, the second station after the line branched from the main Anglesey Central Railway. Legend has it that the station's na ...
(''English: Ford of the Saints railway station'') on the Red Wharf Bay branch line
The Red Wharf Bay branch line was a standard gauge railway line in Anglesey, Wales, a branch off the Anglesey Central Railway. It opened fully in 1909, but closed to passengers in September 1930.Richards, Melville: An Atlas of Anglesey, page 99 ...
near Pentraeth
Pentraeth (; ) is a village and community on the island of Anglesey (''Ynys Môn''), North Wales, at . The Royal Mail postcode begins LL75. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 1,178. The village itself having a population of ...
was named so, since Seiriol and Cybi are said to have met there.
St Seiriol's Well is a small rectangular pool set in a well chamber to the north of Penmon Priory church.
In his old age, Seiriol retired to Ynys Lannog which subsequently became known (in Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
) as Ynys Seiriol. Later it would be known to the Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
s as Priestholm, and is known as Puffin Island in English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
since the 19th century.
Veneration
Saint Seiriol is commemorated 1 February in both the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
and on 2 January in the Orthodox Church
Orthodox Church may refer to:
* Eastern Orthodox Church
* Oriental Orthodox Churches
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
* State church of the Roman Empire
* True Orthodox church
See also
* Orthodox (di ...
(whether of Eastern or Western Old or new Rite). The Diocese of Sourozh of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland (Moscow Patriarchate) holds an annual pilgrimage to the Holy Well of St. Seiriol in Penmon, most recently on July 23, 2022.
Trams on the Great Orme Tramway
The Great Orme Tramway ( cy, Tramffordd y Gogarth) is a cable-hauled gauge tramway in Llandudno in north Wales. Open seasonally from late March to late October, it takes over 200,000 passengers each year from Llandudno Victoria Station to just b ...
are named after local saints, #6 being Seiriol. The Liverpool and North Wales Steamship Company
The Liverpool and North Wales Steamship Company (LNWSC) was a pleasure cruise company based in Liverpool.
Foundation
In 1890, the Glasgow-based Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company had formed the New North Wales Steamship Company (NNWS ...
steamer St Seiriol ran excursions to the Isle of Man."St Seiriol", Simplon
/ref> It served as an Auxiliary minesweeper during WWI.
St Seiriol is depicted in a Venetian Glass mosaic by Gary Drostle
Gary Drostle (born 1961) is a British artist specialising in public art, sculpture and mosaic as well as mural painting and drawing. He was also President of the British Association for Modern Mosaic, a lecturer at The Chicago Mosaic School. ...
at the western end of The Celtic Gateway
The Celtic Gateway ( cy, Porth Celtaidd) is a stainless steel pedestrian and cycle bridge located in Anglesey, Wales. Opened on 19 October 2006 by Andrew Davies AM to better connect Holyhead's railway station and ferry terminal with the town ...
footbridge in Holyhead.
References
Sources
Seiriol
on National Library of Wales ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography
The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...
''
External links
Mosaic of St. Seriol at Holyhead
{{authority control
People from Anglesey
Welsh royalty
Welsh Roman Catholic saints
Medieval Welsh saints
6th-century Christian saints