<< Our Photo Pages >> Tamlane's Well (Carterhaugh) - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in Scotland in Scottish Borders
Submitted by Anne T on Thursday, 05 March 2020 Page Views: 3127
Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Tamlane's Well (Carterhaugh) Alternative Name: Tam Lin's Well; Tamlanes WellCountry: Scotland County: Scottish Borders Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Selkirk Nearest Village: Carterhaugh
Map Ref: NT43742681
Latitude: 55.531761N Longitude: 2.892865W
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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I have visited· I would like to visit
Anne T visited on 27th Feb 2020 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Tamlane's Well, Carterhaugh: A delightful spot, next to the single track B7039, parts of which aren’t terribly well defined (and we ended up in a very large farmyard, having taken a wrong turn!). The well is located right by the road, in a small grassy area just to the south of a large set of the Carterhaugh farm buildings/barns, although separated it by a dry stone wall. Whilst the original well was some 2.5m behind the wall, and is now filled in, the well is now presented in a nice way, presumably to allow visitors to access the well, which was really good of the farmers.
There was a steady flow of water into a trough which then drained into a modern manhole about a metre to the south of the well trough.
Recorded as Canmore ID 54304, and featured in Phil Cope's Holy Wells Scotland book (2015, pages 19 and 20), this well has more of a Fairy and Folklore connection, although I'm still trying to research how far the origins of this well can be traced back in time, and if it has any known healing properties.
Canmore tells us that the site of the original well was some 2.5m behind its current location, although is now filled in, presumably because of the huge farm barns and buildings immediately behind the dry stone wall against which this well basin sits.
Located virtually right by the roadside, Canmore tells us the well, and Tamlane (who was the son of Randolph, Earl of Moray), are both referred to in a ballad by Sir Walter Scott: "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, volume 2". Cope also says it is referred to from 'Tam Lin' by Robert Burns, adding: "Tam Lin was a knight who had been captured by the Queen of the Fairies and was being prepared for sacrifice on Hallowe’en, to pay off the little people’s dues to the devil. He is saved by Janet in a fearless act of bravery and love, holding tightly on to her man as his shape is shifted from poisonous snake to wild animal, through iron and through lead, until eventually emerging as ‘a naked knight’ in her arms."
In an email to the Scottish Borders County Archaeologists to try and find out more information said that as wells and springs are difficult to date; the first record usually made of them is by Antiquarians or in the first OS maps. Whilst they may have been venerated over time, the structures associated with them are usually much later.
If anyone else has any more information about this well, I'd be pleased to hear from you. Please post a comment below. Thanks in advance.
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