Welsh Bells, Wells, Stones & Dragons

This selection from Wirt Sikes’s Welsh folklore collection brings together traditions surrounding bells, holy wells, legendary stones and dragons. Its opening chapter records stories of bells said to possess occult powers, including legends associated with Rhayader, St Illtyd and Llandaff.

The following chapters turn to healing wells, offerings and cursing traditions, before examining stones linked with Arthurian lore, cromlechs, Druids and magical properties. Later accounts involve buried treasure, storm spirits, guarded coffers and the dragon driven from Wales by St Samson. Published as an excerpt from British Goblins, the book presents these subjects as Welsh legends, customs and reported beliefs rather than established fact.