Holy Well (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – NN 9677 5199
Also Known as:
Fuaran Chad
St. Cedd’s Well
Archaeology & History
All trace of this once renowned holy well seems to have gone. It was located, according to the local historian James Kennedy (1927) “on the terrace behind the Church”; although Charles Stewart (1880) earlier told that it was found on the hillside above the church. On our recent visit here, the level piece of land just above the River Tay, “on the terrace behind the Church” as Kennedy told, had no notable spring of water upon it—but we didn’t check the slope above the road to see if there was anything there. By all accounts it’s long since gone.
There’s also slight confusion regarding the dedication of this well. Kennedy, once more, ascribed it to have been St Cedd’s Well, the brother of St Chad, and not Chad himself who was venerated here. But this wasn’t the view of MacKinlay (1893) or Knight (1933) in their major studies. But let’s leave that element to the hagiologists for the time being!
Tradition told that the spirit of the waters was deeply offended when the annual market in Logierait—dedicated to St Chad/Ched on his saint’s day of August 22—was stopped. As a result the waters removed themselves and fell back to Earth. This curious motif is found at a number of wells in other parts of the country.
References:
Kennedy, James, Folklore and Reminiscences of Strathtay and Grandtully, Munro Press: Perth 1927.
Knight, G.A.F., Archaeological Light on the Early Christianizing of Scotland – volume 2, James Clarke: London 1933.
MacKinlay, James M., Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs, William Hodge: Glasgow 1893.
MacKinlay, James M., Influence of the Pre-Reformation Church on Scottish Place-Names, William Blackwood: Edinburgh 1904.
Mitchell, Hugh, Pitlochry District: Its Topography, Archaeology and History, L. Mackay: Pitlochry 1923.
Various ways to get here, but it’s probably easiest if you’re coming via Aberfeldy. From here, go over the river bridge to Castle Menzies and Weem, but turn right once you’ve crossed the bridge and follow the road parallel to the river for just over 3 miles (4.9km) where you’ll reach a tiny road on your left, going uphill. You can park the car 150 yards up, on your right – then walk uphill (don’t drive any further). Walk up the road for just over half-a-mile (0.95km) and take the right turn; go along here for 300 yards where the pond appears and keep walking along the same road for another 250 yards till you reach a cottage by a small crossroads. From here, walk up (left) for another 300 yards where, near the top of the field, a large boulder sits close to the fence. You’ve arrived!.
Archaeology & History
Drumchanachan carving
On the way back down from a bimble to the beautiful and haunted Loch Derculich, Naomi and I stumbled upon this large stone just off the track below Lurgan farmhouse and found there to be a number of cup-marks on its sloping upper surface. Naomi was really truly excited! 🙂
On its northwestern surface there’s is a distinct scattering of cup-marks: one in particular near the middle of the stone that’s been deepened in more recent times, as if it was ready to be blown-up and destroyed but, once realised it was a stone of the fairy folk, the operation was terminated and the stone left here to live! Thankfully…
Close-up of cupsDeep lines of cups
It’s a pretty basic design, consisting of at least eleven cup-marks, mainly running in a line upwards along its westernmost side, following the edge of a natural ridged contour. Of the two topmost cups, one of them may have a carved line running to it with a faint semi-circle then emerging from the line around the edge of the cup. But it’s faint—if it’s real—and the daylight was fading when we came here so this and any other design elements that may exist weren’t too easy to see. Hopefully I’ll get back up here pretty soon and see if there’s anything else hiding beneath the aged shadows.
It’s a wonderful arena above Edradynate, with countless other ancient sites peppered across the landscape hereby…
William Borlase (1769), in his revised classic on the megaliths & antiquities of Cornwall, wrote:
“Since we are now considering these Stone-monuments, there is a very singular Monument in the Parish of Madern (Cornwall) which in this place, will naturally offer itself to our enquiry. In the Tenement of Lanyon stand three Stones-erect on a triangular Plan. The shape, size, distance and bearing, will best be discerned from the plan and elevation of them…
“The length of the area described by the supporters of Lanyon Quoit is seven feet; but it does not ſtand East and West, as at Molfra, but North and South… There is no Kist-vaen, that is, no area marked out by Side Stones, under this Quoit, which is more than 47 feet in girt, nineteen feet long; its thickness in the middle, on the Eastern edge, is sixteen inches, at each end not so much, but at the Western edge this Quoit is two feet thick. The two chief supporters…do not stand at right angles with the front line, as in other Cromlehs, but obliquely, being forced from their original position, as I imagine, by the weight of this Quoit, which is also so high that a man can fit on horseback under it. Under this Quoit I caused to be sunk a pit of four feet and half deep, and found it all black earth that had been moved, and should have sunk still deeper, but that the Gentleman in whose ground it is, told me, that a few years before, the whole cavity had been opened (on account of some dream) to the full depth of six feet, and then the faster appeared, and they dug no deeper; that the cavity was in the shape of a grave, and had been rifled more than once, but that nothing was found more than ordinary. This Cromleh stands on a low bank of earth, not two feet higher than the adjacent soil, about 20 feet wide, and 70 long, running North and South: at the South end has many rough Stones, some pitched on end, in no order; yet not the natural furniture of the surface, but designedly put there; though, by the remains, it is difficult to say what their original poſition was. Wet N. W. there is a high stone about 80 yards distance. By the black earth thrown up in digging here, nothing is to be absolutely concluded, there having happened so many disturbances. By the pit being in the shape of a grave, and six feet deep, it is not improbable that a human body was interred here, and by the length of the bank, and the many disorderly stones at the South end, this should seem to have been a burial place for more than one person.”
William Borlase 1769 ground-planWilliam Borlase 1769 sketch
Antiquarian Notes
William Cotton, in 1827, told that:
“About a mile and a half north of the church, in the parish of Maddern, and close to the road side, is Lanyon Cromleh, so called from the name of the estate on which it stands. The covering stone, which is nearly flat, and of a triangular figure, measures 44 feet 10 inches in circumference, 18 feet 2 inches in its greatest length, and 9 feet in width, and weighs 15 tons. This Quoit, as it is usually called, was originally supported on four upright stones, describing an open area 7 feet in length, north and south, but not forming an enclosed Kistvaen, like Molfra and Chun Cromlehs. During a very violent storm in the year 1815, when the Delhi East Indiaman was wrecked in Mount’s Bay, it fell to the ground, and one of the supporting stones was then broken. It is probable that the earth beneath it, having been frequently loosened by excavations, was washed away by the heavy rains, and caused its downfal. In the year 1824 it was again set up, by subscription among the inhabitants, with the machinery used in replacing the Logging Rock, under the superintendence of Captain Giddy, R.N., whose zealous exertions overcame every difficulty, and merit the thanks of all topographical antiquaries. The Cromleh now stands as firm as ever: in putting it up, a piece was broken off the top stone, at A, (see the plan). It is supported on three upright stones, each 4 feet 10 inches in height, the tops having been made level, and their positions a little altered.
“This view represents Lanyon Cromleh as it now stands, and differs from all the prints I have seen of it, — which have been uniformly copied from Dr. Borlase’s book, and do not, by any means, give a correct representation. The doctor says, in his time a man on horseback could ride under the incumbent stone — now, its height from the ground is only 4 feet 10 inches. The figures 1824, to mark the year when it was re-erected, have been rudely inscribed on one of the supporting stones.
“Dr. Borlase caused an excavation to be made under this Cromleh, as well as under the last mentioned, but without discovering any human bones ; he was led, however, to conclude, by the appearance of the earth, that a body had been interred there.”
Cotton’s 1827 sketch
Antiquarian Notes
James Orchard Halliwell wrote, in 1861:
“At a distance of some five miles from Penzance, on the road from Madron to Morvah, near the road, on the right-hand side, is the Lanyon Quoit or Cromlech, a fine specimen, and perfect in all essential particulars. The best way of reaching it, if walking, is to take the path to the left in the fields after passing the Madron Union, and keep as nearly in a straight line as possible until the cromlech appears. It is situated in a conspicuous situation in the midst of a wild moor, and is interesting in its Titanic grandeur and vast antiquity. The top covering consists of an enormous flab of granite, supported by three upright unhewn blocks of stone, but near there are three fallen stones, one of which at least was certainly at one time one of the supporters. The dimensions of the cap-stone are thus given by Borlase: —
“This quoit is more than forty-seven feet in girt, and nineteen feet long ; its thickness in the middle on the eastern edge is sixteen inches, at each end not so much, but at the western edge it is two feet thick.”
This cromlech is sometimes called by the country people the Giant’s Quoit, and occasionally the Giant’s Table. My measurement made the covering-stone forty-fix feet in circumference, with a thickness varying from ten to eighteen inches. It is not improbable that the stone has been chipped off at one or two of the corners since the time of Borlase. Between the cromlech and the road are the remains of a stone and earth circular barrow about eighteen feet in diameter. There is an odd tradition that the first battle fought in England was decided in the locality of Lanyon Quoit.”
Blight, J.T., A Week at the Land’s End, Longmans Green: London 1861.
Borlase, William, Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the County of Cornwall, Bowyer & Nichols: London 1769.
Borlase, William Copeland, Nænia Cornubiæ, Longmans Green Reader: Truro 1872.
Colquhoun, Ithell, The Living Stones, Cornwall, Peter Owen: London 1957.
Cooke, Ian, Antiquities of West Cornwall – Guide 1, Cornwall Litho: Reduth 2002.
Halliwell, J.O., Rambles in Western Cornwall in the Footsteps of Giants, John Russel Smith: London 1861.
Jewitt, Llewellynn, Grave Mounds and their Contents, Groombridge: London 1870.
Redding, Cyrus, An Illustrated Itinerary of the County of Cornwall, How & Parsons: London 1842.
Russell, Vivien, West Penwith Survey, Cornwall Archaeological Society: Truro 1971.
Straffon, Cheryl, Megalithic Mysteries of Cornwall, Meyn Mamvro: Penzance 2004.
Acknowledgements: Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.
Stone Circle (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – NN 9020 0985
Also Known as:
Blackford Glebe
Brookfield House
Archaeology & History
In the 18th Century there stood, on the slight rise of the land about 150 yards south of Brookfield House, one of those “circles of stones…in the glebe”, of the sort that “are supposed to have been places of Druidical worship,” wrote John Stevenson. (1792) Sadly, sometime in the 19th Century, the entire site was uprooted and destroyed, leaving no trace of the place. Not good…. 🙁
References:
Stevenson, John, “Parish of Blackford,” in The Statistical Account of Scotland – volume 3, (edited by, John Sinclair) William Creech: Edinburgh 1792.
Found on the south-side of the stream a few hundred yards northeast of the aptly-named ‘Holywell Farm’ and highlighted on the early Ordnance Survey maps of the region, this once important sacred site is today, according to local folk, little more than an overgrown muddy patch, visited by very few and hard to see underfoot. It was described, albeit briefly in Leonard Jacks’ (1882) beautiful work, where he told that, “About a mile from the house is to be seen a holy well, a place of interest, which is undoubtedly connected with the past history of the place.”
In medieval times, the manor of Winkburn was the seat of the religious Order of the Knights Hospitallers, otherwise known as the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, to whom Bob Morrell (1988) professed this well to have been dedicated. He described there being a small structure around the water source, wondering whether it may have been a bath of sorts to convey water to the nearby house, but remains of this can no longer be seen. It would seem that a good ground survey of the site is required, at the end of Winter when all the vegetation has fallen back, to see if the waters can be recovered and the Holy Well brought back to life for local people. Fingers crossed! 🙂
Folklore
The water from St. John’s Well was said to be good for sore eyes. The religious celebration day of St. John is traditionally around June 24, usually overlaying earlier summer solstice celebrations.
References:
Jacks, Leonard, The Great Houses of Nottinghamshire and the County Families, W. & A.S. Bradshaw: Nottingham 1882.
Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, Allen & Stenton, F.M., The Place-Names of Nottinghamshire, Cambridge University Press 1940.
Morrell, Robert, Nottinghamshire Holy Wells and Springs, Nottingham 1988.
Acknowledgements:Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.
Highlighted on the early Ordnance Survey map of the region by the appropriately named ‘Holywell Farm’, this once important sacred water source would seem to be little more than a muddy patch nowadays. Not good. Its cold waters were reputedly good for curing skin diseases such as scurvy, along with aiding in the affliction of rheumatism.
Local folklore attributed the site to have once fed some Roman baths, but this idea seems to have been a diluted version of it once, historically, supplying some baths a few hundred yards east, albeit in the 19th century and not way way back in Caesar’s days! Of course, the waters of the well would have been used in ancient times, but we have no archaeology or unbroken traditions telling us such things. It was last known to be used as a local water supply in the 1920s. The fact that the spot where it used to run free is still sometimes boggy means that it could be re-animated with a bit of effort from local people.
References:
Morrell, Robert, Nottinghamshire Holy Wells and Springs, Nottingham 1988.
Acknowledgements:Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.
From the Cow & Calf car-park, walk towards and past the gigantic Calf rock, swerving round the fallen mass of rocks and into the trees at the back. Walk uphill to the Hanging Stones cup and ring stones, then keep heading—down the slope then back up the next one—west, for barely 100 yards until you’re on the level ground again, following the footpath alongside the heather. Barely 50 yards along, keep your eyes peeled in the heather for a low flat rock just a few yards in. Forage around and you’ll find it.
Archaeology & History
You’ll no doubt be seeing this carving after you’ve visited the impressive Hanging Stones petroglyphs 150 yards to the east. And you’ll probably be disappointed in its lack of visual grandeur when compared to its more ornate eastern neighbour. But the petroglyph fans among you should give it your attention.
Hedges 1986 sketch
Looking to the SE
When the dawn or evening daylight cuts across the rock, the design looks much better than at sun high, perhaps telling us that the message of the stone coincided with those periods of the day. The gentle folds of the stone itself morph into the carving: evening and morning light cutting subtle shadowy folds across the rock, giving it an organic texture that our aboriginal ancestors told to be a vital essence of stone itself. The two small clusters of cup-marks upon this stone become greater than their basic design when brushed with the shadows and glows of a sunset. And when our aboriginal peoples painted them in ochre and other colours, an even greater mythos emerged—but sadly it is forgotten here….
When looked at with the simplistic eyes of the archaeo-mind, this and its compatriots are little more than a number of marks on lifeless rocks. This stone for example was described in John Hedges’ (1986) survey as being just “two groups of four and five cups and grooves”—nothing more—with naught but an echo in Boughey & Vickerman’s (2003) later work. The carving has neighbours even more basic in the heather close by…
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Wakefield 2003.
Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Hiding away in the Title Deeds of the Willoughby Family of Wollaton, written around 1280 CE, a somewhat lengthy entry on land ownership around the parish of Cossal, showed there once existed a little-known St. Helen’s Well: long since lost it would seem. The account, known as the “Quitclaim (of) William son of Adam le Gaoler,” cited the following information:
“Release by William, son of Adam le Gaoler of Nottingham, and Beatrice (his wife) and Agnes (heirs once of Adam de Cossale in Nottingham) to William de Barre and his wife Dionise [Denyse] of all claims to toft and croft with all its appurtenances, with 10 seliones of arable land with appurtenances in various parcels and sites in town and territory of Cossall; the toft and croft lie between land of Dionise on each side; 3 seliones lie together on Brochisale, 2 lie on Elrinstubbe between land of Robert de Marisco and William Baret, 2 lie on Smalethornchis between land of Henry and Robert son of Adam, 2 lie a square furlong ‘quarentelam’of the spring of St. Elena between land of Stacy le Greyne and Nicholas de Marisco and 1 selione lies on le Westfeld between 2 boundaries.”
A few years later in an early 14th Century Feet of Fines there is another mention of the well, which gave a slightly better description of its whereabouts. It mentions items known as ‘sellions’, which are strips of arable land. The account told of,
“two selions lying together at St Helen’s Well between the land of the church of St Katherine of Cossale on one side, and the land of the said Eustace on the other side, abutting at one end on the croft that Walter Talpe holds, and at the other end upon the north conduit…”
This indicates that the well was close to the village—perhaps even within the village itself. On the early Ordnance Survey maps of Cossall, several wells are shown, and any one of them could be the St. Helen’s Well in question. Does anyone know which one is the forgotten holy well of the village…?
Folklore
St Helen’s feast day is August 18.
References:
Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, Allen & Stenton, F.M., The Place-Names of Nottinghamshire, Cambridge University Press 1940.
Morrell, Robert, Nottinghamshire Holy Wells and Springs, Nottingham 1988.
Acknowledgements:Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.
The precise whereabouts of this holy well—in the aptly-named Holywell Wood—is hard to pin down. It was first recorded in the Dukery Records of 1232 as Holywell Dale and the woodland that owes its name to the site was recorded on the 19th Century Ordnance Survey maps (right). Bob Morrell (1988) added the site to his survey of Nottinghamshire holy wells, but he was unable to locate it and its position remains elusive. One account suggested that it marked the line of an ancient boundary—which would place it on the western side of the present woodland. It’s alternative name, the Allenwell, may suggest a dedication to St. Helen. I add the site here in the hope that a local antiquarian might be able to locate it. Please let us know if you re-discover it!
References:
Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, Allen & Stenton, F.M., The Place-Names of Nottinghamshire, Cambridge University Press 1940.
Harte, Jeremy, English Holy Wells – 3 volumes, Heart of Albion press: Wymeswold 2008
Morrell, Robert, Nottinghamshire Holy Wells and Springs, Nottingham 1988.
Acknowledgements:Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.
This is one of at least fourteen petroglyphs in this parish that have been either lost or destroyed since their initial description in the 19th century. It was described in George Kinihan’s (1884) survey as a “flat irregular stone, sloping slightly towards the east: the cups are seven in number”, in a design similar to that of the constellation of Cassiopeia. When the Archaeological Survey of Ireland looked for the carving in 1990 it could not be located. Corlett (2014) suggests that a collection of rocks in a hollow to the north may conceal this and some of the other carvings in this cluster.
References:
Corlett, Christiaan, Inscribing the Landscape: The Rock Art of South Leinster, Wordwell: Dublin 2014.
Kinihan, George H., “Proceedings: Cup-marked and Inscribed Stones in the Counties of Wicklow and Wexford”, in Journal Royal Society Antiquaries Ireland, (4th series) volume 6, 1884.
