Mystery of Sligo man who had his name carved in wall of St Winefride’s National Shrine at Holywell

The quest for the identity of a pilgrim who had his name carved into the wall of a Catholic national shrine has been causing quite a stir online.

St Winefride’s National Shrine and Well in Holywell, north Wales has been an international destination for pilgrims since the 7th century, with hundreds of miraculous cures recorded as result of visits to the site, and through the intercession of St Winefride.

Now, as part of a project to document and examine all of the known cures that have occured at the shrine, diocesan archivist Joseph Kelly has begun to record and detail the many inscriptions that have been carved into the walls of the shrine over the centuries.

“As well as the documentary records, the many messages and names carved into the walls are a remarkable record of the history of this unique place of healing and reconciliation,” said Mr Kelly.

“Some of the earliest signatures and symbols date back as far as the 1500s, and it’s incredible to think that these were carved by the actual individuals who visited, and often to record their miraculous cure.”

One of the more prominent signatures is that of a James Cuff, from Sligo in the west of Ireland, which is accompanied with a date of 1849.

“This signature is especially interesting as it is not only on a prominent pillar just by the outer bathing pool, but it was certainly not hastily scratched in like so many others,” said Mr Kelly.

“It has clearly been carved by someone who knew about typography, though they seem to have seriously underestimated the space available!”

Pictures of the inscription have been posted online, and Mr Kelly has also contacted the Sligo History and Heritage Facebook group, whose experts have also been trying hard to confirm anyone called James Cuff from Sligo in the right time period, but with no exact match so far. There is also no record of a James Cuff at Holywell in the British Newspaper Archive.

“It really has become something of a mystery and challenge,” said Mr Kelly. “There has been a huge amount of interest, but so far no-one seems to have been able to identify James, which is shame because his visit to the shrine at Holywell was clearly significant and we’d like to give him his place in history.”

If you do have any information that might help identify James Cuff of Sligo, who visited Holywell National Shrine & Well in July 1849, please contact Joseph Kelly at the RC Diocece of Wrexham: [email protected]