Tag: Isle of Man

St. Maughold’s Well, Ramsey, Isle of Man

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Holy Well:  OS Grid Reference – SC 49624 91926

Also Known as:

  1. Chibber Maghal
  2. Chibbyr Vaghal
  3. Chibbyr y Vashtee

Archaeology & History

St. Maughold’s Well—also called Chibbyr Vaghal—is found on the northeast side of the headland on the cliff face about a hundred feet above the sea, a quarter mile from the St. Maughold’s church.  It was a pilgrimage site which people visited on the dates of November 15 and July 31.

“…Beneath the head, under some moss clad rocks, is a deep spring, formerly much celebrated for its supposed medicinal virtues.”
– George Jefferson, 1840

St Maughold’s on 1870 map
‘Well’ on the 1836 map

Its medicinal properties are of great repute and was resorted to by many on account of its sanctity by crowds of pilgrims.  The well was traditionally visited on the first Sunday in August, being the first Sunday after the Saint ‘s principal feast day, July 31 (significant in the Celtic calendar), but the devotions here have their origins in pre-christian times.  The principal benefit at the well was a cure for sore eyes.  After bathing the eyes or drinking the water it was/is customary to drop a coin, pin or button into it.  Alternatively, a piece of cloth which had been used for bathing the eyes would be left by the well or on a nearby bush.  As the cloth rotted, the ailment would be cured; while anyone who picked up the rags would himself receive the complaint associated with the offering; and to receive the full benefit of the well’s curative powers it should be visited on that first Sunday in August, and “while books were open in the church” — or in pre-reformation days, whilst Mass was being offered.

“…Where the spring gushes forth the rock has been hollowed into a small basin, and over it has been erected a simple shed of rough unhewn blocks of the rock immediately at hand. Hither the Saint is said to have resorted; nor is it altogether improbable that nearly fourteen hundred years ago at this very font he administered the baptismal rite. Certainly it was for many ages in great repute for its medicinal properties, and was resorted to on account of its sanctity by crowds of pilgrims from all parts. Nor is it yet forgotten.”
– J.G. Cumming, 1848

“…A drink of its water, taken after resting in the saint’s chair close by, is supposed to be an unfailing cure for barrenness in women.”
– A.W. Moore, 1890

Folklore

At Maughold churchyard above the well, ghostly whispers are said to be heard by the steps in the churchyard.  This is interesting as when excavations were done here, the labourers found bones buried beneath the same steps.  They were dug and exposed during the day and one worker who stayed in the church heard distant sounds, whispers and murmuring all around the church.  When the bones were reinterred, the haunting stopped. (Bord & Bord 1985)

References:

  1. Bord, Janet & Colin, Sacred Waters: Holy Wells and Water Lore in Britain and Ireland, Granada: London 1985.
  2. Cumming, J.G., The Isle of Man: Its History, Physical and Ecclesiastical, J. van Voorst: London 1848.
  3. Hall, John, “Earth Mysteries of the Isle of Man,” in Earth, no.17, 1990.
  4. Moore, A.W., The Surnames and Place-Names of the Isle of Man, Elliot Stock: London 1890.
  5. Jefferson, George, Jefferson’s Isle of Man, G. Jefferson: Douglas 1840.
  6. Radcliffe, William & Constance, A History of Kirk Maughold, Manx Museum: Douglas 1979.

© John Hall, 1990

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. 

Ballakelly, Santon, Isle of Man

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Cup-Marked Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SC 32144 71990

Also Known as:

  1. Oatland

Archaeology & History

This carving is one that was found inside the remains of a chambered cairn and so, as with all things petroglyphic, it deserves its very own site profile.  It’s been mentioned before—in fact many times before, from the legendary J.T. Blight (1868) to our modern researchers—although it was curiously absent in Ron Morris’ (1989) otherwise excellent survey.  When Mr Blight described the tomb, he told us that,

“Its outer ring, of which but three or four stones are left, was about 45 feet in diameter; the inner one 15 feet, with a kistvaen in its midst.  As on the external face of one of the uprights of the inner circle there are rows of cup carvings … it may be presumed that this was always exposed to view.”

Position of cups in the tomb
E.L. Barnwell’s 1868 sketch

The same year, Barnwell (1868) mentioned the same carvings—albeit briefly—telling us “that one of the stones has several rows of the curious cups.”  The design faced to the north, which is the traditional direction relating to Death in most northern hemisphere cultures.

As you can see, this design is similar to other petroglyphs that some students have suggested have a numeric nature (see the Idol Stone on Ilkley Moor for example).  You can understand why!  The basic linearity of the cups, in rows, certainly gives that impression and indeed it’s not unreasonable to make such an assumption—but, as always, we simply don’t know.  A similar design was found on a stone at Ballagawne in the parish of Kirk Arbory, but the cups were much deeper and deemed as being a medieval game played on stone, known as Nine Man’s Morris.  The original function of the game may have been divinatory.

References:

  1. Barnwell, E.L., “Notes on the Stone Monuments in the Isle of Man,” in J.G.,Cumming (ed.) Antiquitates Manniae, London 1868.
  2. Blight, J.T., “Stone Circles and Megalithic Remains,” in Gentleman’s Magazine 1868.
  3. Cubbon, A. M., Prehistoric Sites in the Isle of Man, Manx Museum: Douglas 1971.
  4. Cumming, J.G. (ed.), Antiquitates Manniae, Manx Society: London 1868.
  5. Gale, J. & Darvill, T., “A Survey of the Ballakelly Chambered Tomb,” in Darvill, & T. Billown (eds.), Neolithic Landscape Project, Isle of Man, 1997, Bournemouth University 1998.
  6. Henshall, A. S., “Manx Megaliths Again: An Attempt at Structural Analysis,” in P. Davey (ed.), Man and Environment in the Isle of Man, BAR: Oxford 1978.
  7. Kermode, P.M.C., “The Ancient Monuments of the Isle of Man,” in Archaeologia Cambrensis, volume 84, 1929.
  8. Kermode, P.M.C. & Herdman, W.A., Manks Antiquities, University of Liverpool 1914.
  9. Simpson, James, Archaic Sculpturings of Cups, Circles, etc., Upon Stones and Rocks in Scotland, England and other Countries, Edmonston & Douglas: Edinburgh 1867.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Keill Vreeshey, Crosby, Isle of Man

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Standing Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SC 3316 8014

Archaeology & History

Keeill Carved Stone (Shaw 1877)

Seemingly destroyed, this carved standing stone was first described in Shaw’s Tourist Guide to the Isle of Man (1877), where he says it stood by the wall of the chapel, telling how it was “one of several stones inscribed with various designs and inscriptions.”

Hope that I’m wrong, but it seems like we’ve lost some more good old cup-and-ring art…

References:

  1. Shaw, N., Tourist Guide to the Isle of Man, 1877.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian