• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.
There are holy wells everywhere, dunno if anyone has bothered trying to catalogue them all except maybe in Cornwall, you can get books on the wells there, there are/were four or five in this (small) town alone, you could live here twenty years and not know about them all unless you did some research.
 
IIRC, I think several surveys of holy and eye wells have been made in various parts of the UK - altho' I think these were done on an amateur basis. Can't remember any specifics off of the top of my head tho'. (I think someone did a survey for Somerset, as I remember seeing a small booklet on such stuff about 10 years ago - I think this was at the library in Bruton).
 
There's reputedly a mediaeval holy well somewhere in Delamere Forest in Cheshire, 'lost' for years now. I've never seen it on my ramblings there but I bet someone knows where it is!

(There was a horrible murder there a few years ago. Someone stretched rope across a path between two trees and a bloke out mountain-biking with his kids rode into it, was flung off and died on the spot. I don't think anyone's been caught for it. There's also an accident blackspot nearby on the main road.)
 
What exactly is a "Holy Well" anyway? We don't have such a thing in America (to my knowledge). On an unrelated note, I've decided to start collecting bits of UK folklore and forteana as I intend to visit there sometime in the near future.
 
is that bits of data or bits of things Sertile?

there's a thread somewhere on cabinets of curiosities somewhere if it's the latter.

Kath
 
AFAIK 'Holy Wells' are wells or springs with an association with a Saint. They may or may not be on a pilgrimage route and have 'healing' properties. Some may be mineral springs or thermal in nature. They may also be believed to have been pagan originally and dedicated to a Saint when Christianity took over. Votive objects have been found within some IIRC
 
Some wells are particularly noted for their healing powers to do with eye or throat ailments. Others are said to be good for those suffering from mental problems. There used to be a custom in some parts of the UK of 'dressing' a well with pictures made from flowers - IIRC, this still goes on in some locations. At others, a strip of cloth is left tied to nearby bracken by any user who takes water from the well for healing purposes. For mental problems, the afflicted person has to sleep next to the well overnight as well as drink from it (I think I also recall at least one well where the person had to be lowered into it for teh cure to take place). And lastly, some wells are associated with healing powers for animals rather than humans.
 
Thanks guys. Sometimes I feel like I miss out on a lot of interesting folklore because I live in the states. I guess hearing about this stuff makes me feel more in touch with my ancestors.
 
Sertile, there are literally hundreds of them, maybe thousands! A number of churches may have been built round or in close proximity to holy wells originally... presumably evolving from a shrine that may have been on the spot in pre-christian times. There are two in the magnificent York Minster: St Peter's Well and Zouche Chapel Well.

And aren't 'wishing wells' meant to be a pre-Christian hangover? Flip in a coin (a memory of an offering to the water deity?) and make a wish (and what's a wish if it's not a sort of prayer). :)

You may also be interested in Well Dressing

http://website.lineone.net/~wtimperley/index.html

this sit says it's unique to Derbyshire, but I think it goes on in neigbouring South Yorkshire, too.
 
Throwing coins into the water dates back to at least the Roman period - and at Bath some people also threw in lead defixio 'curse' tablets. You can see some at the British Museum (they're usually about remarkably mundane things - for example, cursing whoever stole someone's cloak). At Bath, the deity associated with the site was Sulis-Minerva, and admittedly this whole area is a large volcanic spring. But it seems that other wells and springs also sometimes recieved offerings (as has been pointed out). One very good example that springs (pun pun) to mind was a find of a metal shape depicting a 3-aspect woman, a photo of which was in FT some 10 or so years ago IIRC. I'm not sure if this find was dated. However, at other wells and springs, throwing in anything was specifically forbidden, so as not to spoil the water source. Some villages even take their name from a nearby healing well - for example, the hamlet of Eyewell Wales in Somerset (the name of this place seems to denote that the well was used by pre-Saxon Britons).
 
I'm sure I've said this elsewhere but it seems to me that throwing coins into the water is one of the strongest suggestions that some traditions and activities really do reach back to antiquity, even if many seemingly ancient practices only go back a century or two.
 
not exactly a lost well but...

Pilgrims flock to 'healing' well

About 1,000 pilgrims are expected at a Christian shrine in north Wales which has been attracting visitors since the 7th Century.


Last year, people from as far away as New Zealand came to St Winefride's Well in Holywell, which is said to have healing powers.

The legend of the well tells how a local chieftain beheaded the maiden Winefride after she rejected him.

A spring is then said to have risen from where her head fell.

According to legend, where Winefride's head had fallen, "the stones surrounding the fountain were stained forever with her blood, and the blood falling in the water coloured also the moss that grows there and which has the perfume of frankincense, though some say of violets."

St Winefride's is the only site which has remained an unbroken destination for pilgrims, with the others having been disturbed by Henry VIII.

It is also said to be the finest example in Britain of a medieval holy well, and, of course, it gave the local town its name.

Pilgrims will walk to the shrine from Wells Street on Sunday afternoon, followed by an open-air mass, and a benediction and veneration of a statue of St Winefride.

The well is regarded both as one of the seven wonders of Wales, and as the nation's equivalent of Lourdes.

The well's biggest crisis was in 1917 when it ran dry.

It was a result of tunnelling by a lead mining company which drained the water into the river Dee, but supplies were restored later that year when another underground stream was diverted.


BBCi News 27/06/04
 
In the small village where I was raised there was an ancient and delapidated Tythe Barn a couple of fields across from the house, next to it was an area of marshy ground where a spring rose. Up until about the 40's, water from this spring was taken up to the church and used in baptisms. There was no legend of it being a ' Holy Well ' so far as I am aware, but it was obviously significant in the minds of locals of having some special properties hence its water being taken and used in the church.
 
Near where I grew up, there is a small village called Knapwell, where you can still see the remnants of what were once dense woodland areas. In the middle ages, there was a manor house and you can still see the ditch/moat that surrounded it, now very overgrown. In these woods, (and it must be how the village got it's name) is a natural well, but the colour of the water is red, due to the ferric oxide in the earth. Apparently, in the middle ages the waters of this well were considered medicinal.

Although now owned by the National Trust, its a very much neglected little spot, and hardly anyone who lives outside of the village knows of its existance.

I've been trying to find out more about its history, but there's nothing on the internet. It must have had, at one time some sort of sacred role, but there are no records.

I wondered if there were any other 'red wells' in the UK.
 
Glastonbury has the red well of Chalice Well Gardens.

Wouldn't water with that much iron in it actually be toxic?
 
Hippisliy-Coxe's '' Haunted Britain '' mentions a lot of wells, once I've thrown some more coffee in my eyes I'll have a little look through and see if it mentions any 'red' wells.......well after a quick squint, I can't find any so far, it mainly deals with the ' cures' and ' offerings ', interesting nonetheless, I'll browse more later.
 
From the print version of the Wolverhampton Express & Star, Tuesday, February 8, 2005:

A wicker doll tied above a Black Country landmark has left locals puzzled. It is thought that the Sand Well, in the heart of Sandwell Valley, may have been targeted for a pagan or cult ritual.
Yesterday the doll was found hanging from the branch of a tree which was over the top of the well.
Inside the well were a number of candles that appeared to have been used in the ceremony. Imbolc is seen as one of cornerstones of the Celtic calendar and it centres around the lighting of fires. The Imbolc ceremony took place February 1 & 2.

The article also has a photo of the wicker doll, which I will endeavour to scan and attach if I get time.

Sandwell Valley has already appeared in FT as being the centre of a croc flap two or three years ago and I believe is mentioned on a thread on here.
 
Site of pagan well to be restored

Site of pagan well to be restored
One of Wales' oldest wells, thought to be a pagan site rededicated by early Christians, is to be restored.
Ffynnon Rhedyw in Llanllyfni, near Caernarfon, is believed to be older than nearby St Rhedyw's church, which dates from 600AD.

Gwynedd Archaeological Trust hopes the project will set a precedent for similar projects around Wales.

A public meeting will be held at Llanllyfni Memorial Hall on 17 November (1830 GMT) to show villagers the plans.

"This site is an interesting example of a class of little-understood monuments which are numerous across Wales, but which are often overlooked," said David Thompson, the trust's head of heritage management.

"We hope it will set a precedent for future, similar, projects which seek to record and present local heritage," he added.

The well's restoration is one part of plans by the community group Menter Llyfni, which hopes to create a network of footpaths in the area to commemorate important people or events from the past.

Pagan site

Ffynnon Rhedyw's footpath would run from the church, through the cemetery, to the well site on nearby land.

A notice board will provide information on the well's background.

Llanllyfni Church is dedicated to Saint Rhedyw. No early written history exists, but there is a strong tradition that either he was born in the area or that he founded the first Christian church there.

St Rhedyw's feast day is 6 July, when Llanllyfni Fair is still held each year.

"Llanllyfni was an important pagan site, and pilgrims used to stop here on the way to Bardsey island," said Menter Llyfni chairman O P Huws.


"I only discovered where exactly the well was about two years ago. It was very moving seeing the water come up from the ground," he said.

Mr Huws thinks the well will be an attraction both locally and to the many tourists who visit the region.

"It is very exciting that we have secured the funds to, at least, begin the restoration of this site," he added.

Resident Julie Williams, 33, whose Glanaber Terrace home is close to the village church, said: "I think it's a lovely idea to create a footpath and refurbish the well.

"It's especially interesting for the children in the village to know more about the history of the place."

The village of Llanllyfni itself has many other less ancient wells.

Mrs Williams' parents' home in the village was originally a bakery which used water for the baking from its own well. The original village well, Y Pistyll Bach (small spring) was situated over the road from their house.

"Later on the route from Ffynnon Rhedyw could be extended to include these other smaller wells, to preserve the village history for future generations," said Mrs Williams.




Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/w ... 439484.stm

Published: 2005/11/16 13:16:02 GMT
 
'Magical' St Ann's Well in Nottingham to be excavated
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-no ... e-16654628

A spired structure was on the site of St Ann's Well from 1856 to 1887

Related Stories

Pub dig over buried elephant tale
John Player archive to go online

A site of historical significance in Nottingham is to be excavated by a team of archaeologists.

St Ann's Well, a spring once thought to have magical healing powers, lent its name to the city's St Ann's area.

Remains, if any exist, could be under The Gardeners pub which has been demolished to make way for housing.

Gordon Young, archaeologist for Nottingham City Council, considers the site to be of huge local, if not national, significance.

'Big party'
Mr Young said: "It think it is potentially a very important site, and historically it's not just me that thought it was important.

"On Black Monday, which is Easter Monday, the people of Nottingham used to walk to St Ann's Well and have a big party up there, but we don't know why they did it.

"In the middle of St Ann's housing estate is a site that once had great significance.

"It would surprise people that something like that is under the car park of The Gardeners pub."

Mr Young added that, despite its name, St Ann's Well was not a typical well.

"We need to get away from the idea of thinking it was a well of the type you put a bucket into to get water out."


The Gardeners pub site is to be turned into housing once the dig has been completed
Last year developers submitted a planning application to build houses on the site of the derelict pub, at the junction of Wells Road and Kildare Road.

The application was deferred after ward councillors said they wanted the importance of the site to be acknowledged.

Nottingham City Council has now granted outline planning permission on the condition that an excavation is carried out before housing is built.

An archaeological desk-based assessment, produced by the University of Leicester ahead of the excavation, said St Ann's Well was a medieval healing spring.

'Pleasure ground'
It was recorded in 1301 as The Brodewell and in other historical references it was called the Owswell or Robin Hood's Well.

The spring was appropriated by monks who built a chapel adjacent to the well and dedicated the site to St Ann, the assessment said.


The Gardeners pub was demolished this month
There are 17th Century records of an annual Easter procession to the well made by the Mayor of Nottingham, aldermen and local officials, accompanied by musicians.

The spring gradually took on more of a secular appeal, the assessment said, becoming "a sort of pleasure ground and public house for the amusement of the local population" by the 19th Century.

A Gothic-like spired structure stood on the site from 1856 to 1887, when it was demolished to make way for the Nottingham Suburban Railway which remained in use until 1954.

The site is expected to be excavated later this year.
 
Re: not exactly a lost well but...

TheQuixote said:
Pilgrims flock to 'healing' well

About 1,000 pilgrims are expected at a Christian shrine in north Wales which has been attracting visitors since the 7th Century.


Last year, people from as far away as New Zealand came to St Winefride's Well in Holywell, which is said to have healing powers.

The legend of the well tells how a local chieftain beheaded the maiden Winefride after she rejected him.

A spring is then said to have risen from where her head fell.

According to legend, where Winefride's head had fallen, "the stones surrounding the fountain were stained forever with her blood, and the blood falling in the water coloured also the moss that grows there and which has the perfume of frankincense, though some say of violets."

St Winefride's is the only site which has remained an unbroken destination for pilgrims, with the others having been disturbed by Henry VIII.

It is also said to be the finest example in Britain of a medieval holy well, and, of course, it gave the local town its name.

Pilgrims will walk to the shrine from Wells Street on Sunday afternoon, followed by an open-air mass, and a benediction and veneration of a statue of St Winefride.

The well is regarded both as one of the seven wonders of Wales, and as the nation's equivalent of Lourdes.

The well's biggest crisis was in 1917 when it ran dry.

It was a result of tunnelling by a lead mining company which drained the water into the river Dee, but supplies were restored later that year when another underground stream was diverted.


BBCi News 27/06/04

I visited this well yesterday, en route to somewhere else. It was well worth the 80p I was charged! :D

St Winifride's Well website

The spring itself is quite beautiful to see, bubbling up from a pebbly riverbed under a stone chapel-type building. There's a museum with a couple of alleged martyr skeletons on display and you can bathe in the holy pool to ease your condition, should you wish. Looked cold to me though.

My colleagues, ladies like me of a certain age, immediately tried to splash the holy water onto themselves. This is quite hard to do as it's all fenced off and you'd have to lie flat on the stone surround to reach it. Which they all did, including one with quite severe knee problems. As you can probably guess, I didn't bother. :lol:

It all felt much more pagan than Christian to me and I was content to watch the lovely moving water.

Earlier this year we watched a TV series about British holy water sites and the presenter bathed in this very one. He said it was FREEZING just before he submerged himself, to get the full benefit, y'know. Wish I could remember the name of the series so I could look on youtube.

Anyway, just thought I'd better report my visit!

Hooo - edit - here's the TV programme about it, with a bone-chillingly cold-looking clip. :shock:
 
I'd not heard of this one before:
Visit London's Australia House for visas and drinkable water from 900-year-old 'holy well'
Serving up ancient holy water from well underneath diplomatic mission in centre of London is unlikely but tests reportedly show it is safe to drink
Helen Davidson
Sunday 10 January 2016 06.21 GMT


London’s Australia House usually dishes out travel documents and advice but could also in theory provide entirely drinkable water from an ancient well underneath, according to laboratory tests.
The “holy well” – a spring hidden below the basement of Australia’s diplomatic mission on the Strand – is believed to be about 900 years old and is accessible only through a manhole cover in a restricted area.

The Australian high commissioner to Britain, former foreign minister Alexander Downer, escorted ABC news to the spring, and scientific testing of a sample determined it was clean enough to drink safely.
“These wells were of great significance, particularly back in the middle ages,” Downer told the ABC in a story due to air on Sunday night.
“They were used for ceremonial purposes and plays were performed around the well. And as a result of that, this part of London evolved as an area where theatres were built.”

Whether staff today would be willing to provide a refreshing cup of water to people as they wait in the queue is, however, unlikely.
Australia House is home to the country’s high commission, migration and passport services, and a number of government agencies including Austrade and defence.

Downer said the well’s water came from the Fleet river, now covered by roads. There are thought to be about 20 wells in London, with Australia House’s the most accessible. Researcher David Furlong said the first known potential mention of the spring was by a medieval monk in the late 1100s.

Australia’s diplomatic mission has operated out of Australia House since 1918, and is on the Commonwealth heritage list. Its interior featured in the Harry Potter movies as Gringott’s bank.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...d-drinkable-water-from-900-year-old-holy-well

More here, with video and pictures:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-10/holy-well-lies-underneath-australia-house-in-london/7061722
 
Last edited:
Downer said the well’s water came from the Fleet river, now covered by roads.

I have never associate the words "Fleet River" and "safe to drink". How times change!
 
The Fleet River stinks, yes. There must be some sewage in there.
 
I treated myself to an excellent book from Amazon a couple of years ago -
Britain's Holiest Places by Nick Mayhew Smith. It has everything you would ever want to know about Christian and pre-Christian sites with a spiritual vibe about them. One of the last I visited was this miraculous well a few miles from home:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunsfold

I did splash a few drops of water on my eyes and still don't need glasses!
 
I treated myself to an excellent book from Amazon a couple of years ago -
Britain's Holiest Places by Nick Mayhew Smith. It has everything you would ever want to know about Christian and pre-Christian sites with a spiritual vibe about them. One of the last I visited was this miraculous well a few miles from home:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunsfold

I did splash a few drops of water on my eyes and still don't need glasses!
What, are you claiming it cured you of poor eyesight?
 
Back
Top