St Chad’s dust at Lichfield

St Chad’s bones were moved to Lichfield about the year 700, and his shrine drew so many pilgrims that the village grew into a city. His tomb had a hole in it through which pilgrims took out some of the dust, which was mixed with holy water and given to people and animals to drink. East of the town was St Chad’s Well, where he was said to have stood naked in the water to pray, and he was reckoned the patron saint of healing springs.