St Kentigern's Well

It seems a far cry from the great Cathedral of St Mungo in Glasgow to this small sandstone-surrounded puddle in Caldbeck, an upland village in Cumbria. However, the same man gave his name to both of them in a time when life could be very exciting for a budding Saint.

Even before birth, he had a rocky start. He was born in 518 to a Lothian princess who was cast out by her pagan father when she became a Christian. She was subsequently raped and was then cast away in an open boat by her father (again!). She landed in a Christian community and bore a son, whom she called Kentigern (Great Chief). He became a firm favourite with the people and was more often called Mungo (Little Dear)

After ordination he left for Glasgow and at the age of 25 became its first Bishop. He and local Chieftain Rederich set about conversion of the populus, an unpopular move, as they were summarily chased out by the pagans and landed up at Penrith.

 It’s probable that at that time he visited Caldbeck and the ‘well’ pictured here was actually an outdoor font. The question then seems to be why was it built next to a perfectly good baptismal river?

·         As a canny evangelist, perhaps he realised that total immersion in the icy Cald Beck was a major barrier to conversion and opted for a gentle option head-dunk instead.
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Was it only for infants?

·         Or maybe he just got fed-up of having frost-bite in his nether regions from standing in the water himself every day.

Take your pick, but here, down a short flight of stone steps, it still stands today for the curious ( Debbie and me) to find, and then find-out about, on an otherwise dismal Saturday afternoon.