I haven’t visited a large number of holy wells, but I have a fascination with them. I first came across them in a book called “Britain’s Pilgrim Places” (Britain’s Pilgrim Places, Nick Mayhew-Smith & Guy Hayward, 2020, Lifestyle Press/British Pilgrimage Trust 9780954476786), which lists well-known pilgrimage routes and places associated with them. Among them are some holy wells.
recently did an excellent post on holy wells in Ireland, of which there are very many. I can’t possibly compete with that series, but do take a look at his posts.What is a “holy well”? There’s no clear definition, but tradition and history certainly come into it. The very first one I visited came directly from the book I read; I had no idea there was a holy well not 40 minutes from me, with a long tradition of sanctity and where miraculous cures have been recorded.
That well is Ladyewell at Ferneyhalgh, in Lancashire. I previously wrote about the shrine here, but will summarise again. This place, like a number of holy wells, is close to a Roman Road, and undoubtedly has ancient origins.
You will notice in this photo not only that the well is capped with a trapdoor these days (to keep the water pure for piping - you can draw it from a tap nearby) but it is very deep below modern ground level - perhaps an indication of its age. I obviously haven’t seen it underneath but accounts in the past talk about what look like steps into it. Archaeologists are convinced it goes back at least to the Anglo-Saxon period and perhaps to the Roman ocupation in terms of construction.