<< Our Photo Pages >> Puddock's Well - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in Devon
Submitted by AngieLake on Sunday, 26 April 2015 Page Views: 4502
Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Puddock's Well Alternative Name: The Celtic SpringCountry: England
NOTE: This site is 0.651 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Devon Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: North Tawton Nearest Village: Bow/Nymet Tracey
Map Ref: SS731006
Latitude: 50.791036N Longitude: 3.801774W
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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External Links:
Angie Lake and friend Peter Green, who instigated the search in Oct. 2010, visited this well on 22nd April 2015 as part of their investigations into the site of a possible major Celtic Sanctuary in the mid-Devon area around the 'nymet' villages.
(As mentioned previously on Megalithic Portal pages [Copplestone Cross, for instance], ‘nymet’ comes from the word ‘nemeton’, ‘a sacred grove’, and there are many villages or hamlets in this area whose names include ‘nymet’. Bishop Putta is referred to on the Copplestone Cross site page info, too.)
Terry Faull writes in his book ‘Secrets of the Hidden Source. In Search of Devon’s Ancient and Holy Wells.’ [Pub. by Halsgrove, 2004]:
“Puddock’s Well. Grid Reference: SS731006.
Good public access; the well is in a depression below where the road widens slightly and near the parish church towards Walson Barton. The spring is underneath an ancient oak tree [I think] below the level of the road, and the cistern which catches the water is concealed by a flimsy corrugated iron cover (beware and do not stand on it as it is often covered by leaves).
The name of the well is a mystery; possibly a Celtic priest Puttoc or even Petroc; puttock in Old English meant marshy ground, or a buzzard. The road broadens here to take account of the site of the well and it is most likely that this place has some connection with the sacred grove tradition of the area.” “Traditional uses: Lost.”
In her book, ‘Exploring Green Lanes and the stories they tell, North & North-West Devon’, (Route 50, Bow) Valerie Belsey writes:
“This walk contains just two short sections of green lane, but the history surrounding them is turbulent. They have survived despite all the clashes between early Romans, Christians and Celts in the area. The main direction of communications is in an east-west direction.”
Itemising places en route, she adds:
“… (4) Back on the minor road, seek out the holy well of Puddock, named after Bishop Putta of Devon who was murdered at Copplestone in 974. You will find it at the foot of a gnarled ash tree at SS731006. A Roman garrison was kept in the fort in this district to keep an eye on the insurgent tribes of Dumnonia living in their sacred ‘nymets’ and guarding their holy wells.”
Personal communication from a well-known Westcountry dowser and published author on the subject [regarding his dowsed Iron Age trade route]:
“Interestingly enough, this is the site of the well that I told you about, known locally as the "Celtic Spring" (the road widens here)” ….
and…:
“I was told of, and saw for myself, the Celtic Spring (SS732006) by the Church Warden who lived at Nymet Barton then. This looked rather neglected at the time, and also had a covering of corrugated iron.”
Angie adds: Regarding the ancient tree above it, I took it for granted it was an Oak tree after reading Terry Faull's article, but Valerie Belsey says it is an Ash. Someone might be able to confirm this from photos. When we were there recently the leaves weren't out properly and I didn't think to check it. A lot of Holly around, and also creeping Ivy.
'Condition' was a hard one to judge as it was covered over, but am assuming it isn't 'destroyed'.
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