St Juthware and the Pilgrims Way

The patron saint of Halstock, St Juthware (or Judith), devoted herself to serving God and performing good works. She tended to the needs of pilgrims who visited the village. She may have lived here around AD700 and her remains were eventually taken to Sherborne in the 10th century. As a result of a stepmother’s jealousy, her brother cut off Juthware’s head in a rage. She is supposed to have picked up her head and walked into the church and placed her head on the altar. She was greatly venerated by the church in mediaeval Sherborne and her feast day of July 13th is illustrated in the Sherborne Missal.

The Harrow Way (also spelled ‘Harroway’) is another name for the “Old Way”, an ancient trackway like the Great Ridgeway which it joins beyond Beaminster Down. These are the two oldest roads in Britain, crossing the country from East to West. The whole route was from Dover in Kent to Seaton in Devon. The Harrow Way can be traced through Halstock and Corscombe along Common Lane. Pilgrimage Ridgeways were just that – routes that ran along the top of hills that didn’t require maintenance and offered a view to avoid potental trouble. They appear to have had many purposes, ranging from trading to pilgrimage of varying forms. The Harrow Way may have included pilgrimage to Stonehenge, for example. A pilgrim can be a traveller looking to visit a sacred place for religious reasons. There are pilgrims and pilgrim routes all over the world. With the advent of pilgrims came the concept of caring for pilgrims passing through, trekking from one holy site to another. Hostels developed for pilgrims and churches and monasteries still offer support to pilgrims to this day. 

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