Featured: Explore Scotland (and everywhere else) with our Megalithic Portal iPhone app

Explore Scotland (and everywhere else) with our Megalithic Portal iPhone app

Random Image


Zafra Dolmen 2

A New Dimension to Ancient Measures - from many years of research and fieldwork

A New Dimension to Ancient Measures - from many years of research and fieldwork

Who's Online

There are currently, 372 guests and 2 members online.

You are a guest. To join in, please register for free by clicking here

Sponsors

<< Our Photo Pages >> St Decumen's Well - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in Somerset

Submitted by holywell on Tuesday, 12 September 2006  Page Views: 11138

Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: St Decumen's Well
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 3.186 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Somerset Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
 Nearest Village: Watchet
Map Ref: ST064426
Latitude: 51.174950N  Longitude: 3.34032W
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.
5 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.
5 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
3

Internal Links:
External Links:

I have visited· I would like to visit

bishop_pam visited on 23rd Feb 2024 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 4

St Decumen's Well
St Decumen's Well submitted by HOLYWELL : St. Decumen's Well found signposted from the church. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Holy Well or Sacred Spring in Somerset.
St Decumen was a missionary Celtic Christian who on his cloak and accompanied by his trusty cow, reached the coast of Somerset from Wales. However his missionary teachings were not welcome to the old heathen leaders, and so they plotted to remove him. Thus he was attacked whilst in prayer and summarily decapitated (other authorities say it was by pagan robbers).

However his decapitation did not stop his missionary zeal and he picked up his head and washed in the nearby stream. After which he replaced it back on his own body and carried on. Others say that the spring itself arose where the head fell. A common motif.
In 1914 the structure surrounding the well consisted of : "great stones set on end, having a third forming a roof on top of them. As the water runs down sharply sloping field it flows into a number of stone basins, one below another".
Today the structure appears to have repaired and the side walls consist of a number of slates, however the cover is still one large piece. The water still flows into three stone basins, although they are a little clogged with sediment. A series of steps (somewhat eroded) reach the well. A great deal of clear water remains in the well, and according to Horne, it was still sought after in 1914, although it would appear that bar a few coins, there is now no evidence of this.
Tofind this side take the road to Watchet off the A39 and then take the church road on the left. Park at the church and take the side lane to the well (it is signposted). A white gate leads down to the well. It is a delightful site.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


St Decumen's Well
St Decumen's Well submitted by hamstermoon : A view of the very nicely restored garden at Decumen's Well. (Vote or comment on this photo)

St Decumen's Well
St Decumen's Well submitted by hamstermoon : The water finally flows out of the garden into a larger pool behind a fence and then down the hill to join the Washford River. (Vote or comment on this photo)

St Decumen's Well
St Decumen's Well submitted by hamstermoon : Another view of the well showing the path of the water through various basins down the hill. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

 St Decumen's Well
St Decumen's Well submitted by hamstermoon : Site in The water inside the well is very clear and runs freely. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
ST0642 : Watchet, Somerset by ChurchCrawler
by ChurchCrawler
©2005(licence)
ST0642 : St. Decuman's Church, viewed from between Snailholt and Kentsford by Stephen Wilks
by Stephen Wilks
©2010(licence)
ST0642 : Fields around Wachet by Ashley Dace
by Ashley Dace
©2011(licence)
ST0642 : Old stone cross, St. Decuman's churchyard by Rose and Trev Clough
by Rose and Trev Clough
©2011(licence)
ST0642 : The cross in St Decuman's churchyard by Neil Owen
by Neil Owen
©2020(licence)

The above images may not be of the site on this page, they are loaded from Geograph.
Please Submit an Image of this site or go out and take one for us!


Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive OS map

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.1km NE 39° Watchet Market House Museum* Museum (ST0710043439)
 1.4km SE 132° Battlegore* Round Barrow(s) (ST07454162)
 3.5km SW 216° St Pancras Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST043398)
 5.6km SE 136° Curdon Camp Hillfort (ST102385)
 6.2km ESE 104° Beacon Hill Platform Cairn* Barrow Cemetery (ST12434101)
 6.3km ESE 120° Trendle Ring* Ancient Village or Settlement (ST118394)
 7.1km ESE 116° Thorncombe Barrow* Cairn (ST12733942)
 7.2km SW 223° Langridge Wood Cist* Burial Chamber or Dolmen (ST01403740)
 7.6km W 266° Bat's Castle* Hillfort (SS988422)
 7.6km ESE 116° Thorncombe Hill Cairns* Barrow Cemetery (ST13183914)
 7.9km SW 233° Druids Combe wood boundary stone Marker Stone (SS99923799)
 8.0km W 278° St. Leonard's Well (Dunster)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SS9850443867)
 8.0km ESE 102° Holford Standing Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (ST142408)
 8.2km ESE 116° Halsway Tumuli* Barrow Cemetery (ST137389)
 8.8km S 175° Elworthy Barrows hillfort* Hillfort (ST070338)
 9.0km ESE 119° Hurley Beacon Tumulus* Cairn (ST14223808)
 9.1km SSW 202° Huish Champflower Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (ST0286234167)
 9.3km ESE 117° Black Hill Tumuli* Barrow Cemetery (ST14653819)
 9.5km SSW 210° Naked Boy stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (ST01493447)
 9.7km SW 216° Wiveliscombe Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (ST00553486)
 9.9km ESE 116° Wilmots Pool Cairn* Cairn (ST15303813)
 10.2km ESE 109° Dowsborough Castle* Hillfort (ST160392)
 10.2km ESE 123° Fire Beacon Cairn* Cairn (ST14913697)
 10.3km SW 226° Leather Barrow Round Barrow(s) (SS98903553)
 10.5km ESE 120° West Hill Platform Cairn* Cairn (ST15423717)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Jenny's Well

St Thomas's Well (Wymondham) >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Understanding the Neolithic

Understanding the Neolithic

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"St Decumen's Well" | Login/Create an Account | 4 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
St Decumen's Well by DavidHarcombe on Saturday, 08 July 2017
(User Info | Send a Message)
This very peaceful place is just below, & less than 50 yards, from St Decumen's church at Watchet. A perfect place to go for a quiet moment, with the imposing church tower standing above it & behind some small bushes in the background.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: St Decumen's Well by hamstermoon on Wednesday, 09 September 2009
(User Info | Send a Message)
BF and I did a visit in August 2007 while on a trip to Exmoor. Recent funding grants have meant that the garden and well have had a good clean up and tidy round. A bit of a hard place to find, but once there its a lovely place to sit and while away a few moments.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: St Decumen's Well by Anonymous on Monday, 06 July 2009
Many of my ancesters are registered as being
born in St.Decumen's. Why is this and what is it. ?
john evans.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: St Decumen's Well by coldrum on Tuesday, 30 June 2009
(User Info | Send a Message)
Pastscape entry:


http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=188497
[ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>

We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.