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<< Our Photo Pages >> Stanger Spa - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in Cumbria

Submitted by DavidRaven on Tuesday, 13 December 2005  Page Views: 11285

Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Stanger Spa Alternative Name: St. Anna's Spa
Country: England County: Cumbria Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Cockermouth  Nearest Village: Embleton
Map Ref: NY14122716
Latitude: 54.632232N  Longitude: 3.331911W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
5 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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I have visited· I would like to visit

Anne T visited on 14th Jun 2020 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3 Stanger Spa Well, Embleton: The well is approached by a narrow causeway which runs through a boggy area, terminating at the well house. At the time of our visit, the land around the well was very wet, and in places there were deep puddles of water around the edges of the well house. Whilst there were lots of other walkers in the area, I didn't see anyone else look at the well house. An interesting spot and well worth visiting.

Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by DavidRaven : The roof-less building that houses the Stanger Spa is hidden away in a copse of birch and poplar. The site isn't easy to find, following ill-defined footpaths through pastureland. It's worth the hunt though. A very quiet place, good to spend time there, not doing much. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Holy Well in Cumbria

This site was restored by the Cockermouth and District Civic Trust. According to the Trust, the saline Holy Well enjoyed a reputation as a health-giving spa, people travelling to the site to 'take the waters'.

Bulmer's History & Directory Of Cumberland (1901) says:-

'In a field near the hamlet of Stanger is a spring of water strongly impregnated with mineral salts, and said to be very efficacious in the cure of skin diseases. It is well known as Stanger Spa, and the water sold at 6d. per gallon, but it is now very little frequented.'

[Update September 2022: This well is recorded in Jim Taylor Page's 1990 Publication "Cumbrian Holy Wells" (Gazetteer, page 23). He tells us that at the time of publication this was a chalybeate well, a place of pilgrimage, the "present well house much disintegrated; rarely visited. Page references a publication by Parson and White, page 190, “History, Directory and Gazetteer of the Counties of Cumberland and Westmorland” (1829). This tells us: “STANGER is another hamlet in the township and chapelry of Embleton, situated 2 miles 8. by E. of Cockermouth, near the old road to Keswick. Here is a very strong aperient salt-spring, which is efficacious in all acute diseases of the skin, and is much resorted to in the summer season by invalids from the surrounding country. It is called Stanger spa, and is situated on the farm belonging to Mr. John Rooke.”

This well is also marked as a 'holy well' on the Historic England map search, although it has no specific entry of its own.

The Embleton and District Parish Plan also features this spa well, identifying it as a place of special interest, adding that "The first mention of Embleton is in 1195. The name is thought to derive from ‘Eanbald’s tun’ (Eanbald’s settlement).]
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Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by Anne T : The 1864 25 inch OS map shows the location of the well, marked by the red arrow, south of Stanger Village. The Civic Trust say the well is in Lorton rather than Stanger. Map courtesy of the National Library of Scotland, under the terms of their Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. See Sheet Cumberland LV.9. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by Anne T : Whilst having been refurbished in 1998 (according to the plaque) or 2000 (according to the Trust web site) "the Cockermouth and District Civic Trust restored the Stanger Spa building in Lorton", the well house is still without roof and very 'rustic'. The Civic Trust webpage adds: "This building was once possibly a Holy Well, and in its heyday the saline well gained a reputation as a health resort... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by Anne T : Approaching the well from the narrow 'causeway' through the boggy land. The gate into the field next to the River Eamont is just off shot, to the bottom right of the photo. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by Anne T : The iron gate into the somewhat tumbledown well house. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by Anne T : Standing just inside the iron gate into the spa well, looking eastwards over the well and the plaque which celebrates its refurbishment. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by Anne T : Looking down into the well 'basin', where water bubbles up under the grate. At the time of our visit, there was a lot of standing water along three sides of the well house - presumably water from the well now leeching into the surrounding ground.

Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by Anne T : The plaque on the eastern wall of the well house.

Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by Anne T : Inside Stanger Spa well, looking out westwards through the iron gate towards the narrow 'causeway' leading to the well house.

Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by Anne T : Approaching the well house. The gate to its right leads into a meadow through which the River Cocker runs at its far side. A lovely walk, and the well is an added bonus.

Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by Anne T : The well house, within the clump of trees (centre of photograph) is approached by a narrow causeway of more solid land which runs through a boggy area towards the River Cocker, which runs to the south of the well house.

Stanger Spa
Stanger Spa submitted by DavidRaven : The gate was unlocked. Inside, the mineral well was protected by a rusty metal grille.

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