<< Our Photo Pages >> Hermit's Well (East Sussex) - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in East Sussex
Submitted by holywell on Saturday, 16 February 2008 Page Views: 14645
Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Hermit's Well (East Sussex) Alternative Name: Holy well/Wishing wellCountry: England
NOTE: This site is 0.845 km away from the location you searched for.
County: East Sussex Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Village: High Hurstwood
Map Ref: TQ495250
Latitude: 51.004967N Longitude: 0.129445E
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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The well itself is a little overgrown and boggy but the old stones can still be seen to the north of the Hermitage. The well is thought to have curative properties locally.
The site is a private residence, hence I have given only an approximate map reference.
The well lies in the grounds of a series of caves. The age of these caves is not known but the house has been built into them. There is a fire place in one part suggesting that it may have been indeed a hermitage. The Hermit's well lies at the end of the more formal part of the grounds, a far distance from the cave. Very little appears to have been recorded about the well. Until I contacted the owner, she only knew the site as the 'Wishing Well', and that it was where the hermit baptised his converts. Its use as a baptismal site is not referred to by the only other source of information:
‘The well in the orchard in front (and north) of this cell. Half way down the orchard (also called the Vineyard) is the Wishing Well, ten feet in diameter...with steining of rough stone with a few blocks apparently worked, and a gap or opening on the east side, probably the former approach or "dipping place"’.(Hope 1893, p.167)
The site is now considerably overgrown and lies in a small copse. Small saplings have encroached upon the edge of the well. Worked stones can still be seen around the edge of the well, and she informed me that probing it revealed a stone bottom. Sadly, the contents are very murky and black.
The spring water formed a marshy stream which ran down into the paddock, forming four pools. There is a mesolithic site nearby suggesting an ancient origin for the site.
It must be stressed that The Hermitage and wishing well lie on private land, and uninvited guests are not welcomed. However, the owner is proud of the estate she has acquired and hopes to open the site for future Garden Open Days. More details can be read at the Living Spring Journal, from which I have taken the extracts with permission.
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