<< Our Photo Pages >> Galilee Well - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in County Durham
Submitted by durhamnature on Monday, 24 September 2012 Page Views: 3829
Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Galilee WellCountry: England County: County Durham Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Durham City
Map Ref: NZ27274215
Latitude: 54.773533N Longitude: 1.577615W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Anne T visited on 30th Apr 2017 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 Galilee Well, Durham Cathedral: We arrived at the Cathedral only to find large marquees on the lawn outside, lots and lots of heavy duty cable laid neatly across the lawn. The west walls had been cordoned off with iron railing with filming equipment piled behind.
We decided to go to the café for tea and a sandwich then asked the guides at the desk where the well was and if we could access it. The lady who replied told us “there’s a really big event on at the cathedral; it’s only just been put on the web site. Even we aren’t allowed to go down there.” Helpful.
I remembered years ago walking up to the cathedral from the bridge on Silver Street, an old entrance tucked between two buildings, labelled the old Pilgrims Way up to the cathedral. We walked down into the town, found the entrance and followed the steps up the hill only to find out the path has been blocked off part way through. Retracing our steps, we found the riverside footpath which runs between Café Rouge and Geek Squad/9 altars café on the southern side of the river, at NZ 27282 42419. This path, high above the river, leads directly to the bottom of the west walls and the Galilee Well.
There is no information on this well on Pastscape, or in the cathedral notes for the Gaililee Chapel which must be immediately the other side of these enormous walls.
As the footpath is relatively narrow and has a steep drop down to the river Wear below, it was interesting to get a full face on photograph. The drop from the well into the water below is at least a couple of metres. There was no water flow at the time of our visit. Whilst standing on the path, I noticed a shelf of flat stones poking out of the bank very slightly. Whilst looking back up at the well from St. Cuthbert’s Well below, I noticed what looked like a cast iron bowl poking out of the sheer cliff. Is this associated with the Galilee Well? A pretty inaccessible place!
There is some information on the wells in Durham on the 'Ancient, Healing and Holy Wells of County Durham' by Laurence Hunt which we found useful in giving directions and information.
Well underneath the Galilee Chapel, Durham Cathedral. The well is partly under the chapel and partly under a metal grill on the footpath alongside the west walls of the cathedral. It has a stone surround and a low archway. There is a drop of about 2 metres to muddy water.
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