<< Our Photo Pages >> Gawton's Well - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in Staffordshire

Submitted by HOLYWELL on Sunday, 15 March 2015  Page Views: 38108

Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Gawton's Well
Country: England County: Staffordshire Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Biddulph
Map Ref: SJ89825555
Latitude: 53.097054N  Longitude: 2.15348W
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
 4 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.
 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

Judy6 saranuit PAB Bobbolith cappy would like to visit

elad13 visited on 21st Oct 2023 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3

Ballhc visited on 16th Mar 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3 A lovely calming place to visit; nice to just to spend some time sitting in peace listening to the water running

BrownEdger visited on 9th Jun 2011 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.67 Ambience: 4.67 Access: 3

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett : Got around to visiting here yesterday, and it's brilliant. It's only 16 miles east for me, so returning won't be too much of an issue. Very atmospheric woodland and castle like folly neaby too. I wouldn't be surprised if therein lies a connection with the well. The spring lies within a large circular wall, in varying states of collapse, and within that is an elipse of yew trees - reminiscent of ... (Vote or comment on this photo)
Holy Well recently voted one of the most spiritual sites in Staffordshire. The well lies in a dense woodland easiest found by following the path northwards from the Knypersley Pool. The well is associated with a diseased man who was driven away from his village was cured by the water and lived here as a hermit.

The site is near to a number of prehistoric sites but the present site may owe more to estate improvements. The well fills a circular basin and then a small rectangular bath where people may have bathed in its healing waters and then another stone lined channel before forming a stream.
This site recently voted one of the most spiritual sites in Staffordshire - see this link.

More information can be found on Pastscape Monument No 76077 which says: "Gawton's Well, a natural spring which is now fed by an iron pipe into a stone-lined basin, 4.5m long, 2.5m wide, 0.5m in depth, with a step at one corner. No evidence of antiquity about the site." Earlier reports say that this is "a never-failing and undeviating spring of pure water, to which medicinal virtues were formerly ascribed, for curing the King's Evil."

Note: Tree bark damage and quantity of offerings at Gawton's Well make it 'at risk of becoming a rubbish dump'
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Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett : Got around to visiting here yesterday, and it's brilliant. It's only 16 miles east for me, so returning won't be too much of an issue. Very atmospheric woodland and castle like folly neaby too. I wouldn't be surprised if therein lies a connection with the well. The spring lies within a large circular wall, in varying states of collapse, and within that is an elipse of yew trees - reminiscent ... (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by crissy : This is a photo of the entrance to the Gawton's Well which is situated within Knypersley Resevoir. I find it a very calm and spiritual place to be. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett : Got around to visiting here yesterday, and it's brilliant. It's only 16 miles east for me, so returning won't be too much of an issue. Very atmospheric woodland and castle like folly neaby too. I wouldn't be surprised if therein lies a connection with the well. The spring lies within a large circular wall, in varying states of collapse, and within that is an elipse of yew trees - reminiscent ... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett (Vote or comment on this photo)

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett (1 comment)

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett (1 comment)

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett

Gawton's Well
Gawton's Well submitted by TimPrevett

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"Gawton's Well" | Login/Create an Account | 13 News and Comments
  
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Re: Gawton's Well by Anonymous on Thursday, 24 January 2019
I think we probably have to distinguish between the less-harmful offerings (e.g. one winter I once saw a half-coconut shell that had evidently been filled with fat for the birds; on another occasion I saw some flowers had been carefully placed on a stone), the less-educated but well-meant offerings (e.g. plastic ribbons and non-biodegradable memorials to deceased relatives), and then the outright litter. A sign won't help with the latter, as the perpetrators don't care; however it would help with the people cluttering up this site with non-biodegradable offerings.

I visit this site quite regularly and hadn't noticed much tree-carving, but I had noticed some on my last visit. Maybe a warning that this could kill the trees might make the perpetrator(s) stop and think? It's a real shame when sites get too popular. Everyone always destroys the very qualities that drew them to visit in the first place. I far preferred it when it was a little hidden gem, barely-signposted with an overgrown path, visible only to those who already knew of its existence!

The story behind Gawton's well is supposedly that a man named Gawton, a sometime gamekeeper or groundsman at a nearby hall was infected with plague. I always heard that he selflessly retreated to the well to prevent infecting his employers and coworkers, but I note one account on this page suggests that he was driven out of the village. I prefer the former, more romantic explanation, but the net effect is the same. He lived beneath the nearby stone that now bears his name, and drank from the well. He recovered fully, and this was attributed to the healing powers of the water from the well.

I haven't ever dared drink from the well, but I was reassured by someone in 2003 that it was still safe to drink at that time, and that he had been refreshing himself with the water from the well each visit since his childhood.
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Re: Gawton's Well, March 2015 by ballhc on Monday, 09 March 2015
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I wonder if anyone can help; I visit this site regularly and consider it to be a very calming spiritual place. In recent months, there is an increasing trend for people carving into the bark of the yew trees, they are carving so deep that big pieces of bark have come off; I understand this opens the tree to the risk of infection.

Already some of the trees look to be in an unhealthy state. This growing vandalism possibly comes as a result of changes to signposting making the well a lot easier to find; it was previously quite well tucked away and seemed to be mainly visited by people with spiritual interests (rather than those who wanted to gouge the initials of their latest conquest in the trees). It is also a place where people leave prayers, dedications to the deceased, dream catchers and other offerings; now this too seems to be open to bizarre interpretations, the latest item to be 'offered' is someones shoe hanging from a tree.

This once beautiful, revered beauty spot seems to be at risk of becoming a rubbish dump
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    Re: Gawton's Well, March 2015 by Sunny100 on Monday, 09 March 2015
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    Oh dear that sounds very sad, but fairly typical of a number of sites like this one these days. Its been many years since I was over that way when living in Stoke on Trent. I fondly remember visiting Knypersley every weekend with its beautiful lake and woodland walks and, of course, we have Gawton's Stone, and the source of the Trent or is that the same as Gawton's Well, or part and parcel of the same thing?
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Gawton's Well, March 2015 by ballhc on Monday, 16 March 2015
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      Hi Sunny - I think the head of the river Trent is officially considered to be on Biddulph Moor; it may be that that runs into another area of knypersley where there is a small waterfall before if runs on toward the pool
      [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Gawton's Well, March 2015 by Runemage on Tuesday, 10 March 2015
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    Hello Ballhc, It's dreadful to see wanton destruction by mindless individuals of a place that's special to so many people.
    Is there anything you can do locally to raise awareness? Notify the local paper, vicar, landowner, facebook, twitter etc? Could you ask the Council's Tree Preservation Officer if the Yews are protected and if not would a Preservation Order on them help with regard to current vandalism and damage?
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: Gawton's Well, March 2015 by Andy B on Sunday, 15 March 2015
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    Hello, more details and any photos of this would be appreciated, thanks
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Gawton's Well, March 2015 by ballhc on Sunday, 15 March 2015
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      Hi thanks for the comments - I did send an email to Staffordshire County council about 10 days ago but have had no response so will try again. I also know someone who knows the rangers there so have asked them to let the ranger know. Past experience though - there was a lovely big tree stump by the pool (not at the well) which you could sit on by the water; vandals set fire to it last year. I think the response of the rangers was that there was little they could do about it as they can't be there 24/7

      I will try again asking the rangers if they can at least put a sign asking people not to damage the trees; or may try and make a sign myself. Will get some photos next time I'm there. The shoe mentioned in my earlier message has now been removed - although it's not what I want to see there, I was unsure about removing other peoples items, hence leaving it there; someone else perhaps saw it as rubbish and removed it
      [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Gawton's Well, March 2015 by ballhc on Monday, 16 March 2015
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      Hi, I received a response from the Staffs County council rangers today as follows -

      'Thankyou for your email and your concern regarding the trees at Gawtons Well.

      We too have concerns about this issue. As you say this area of the park seems to be a special place to many people as evidenced by the long standing practice of leaving votive offerings and trinkets in the tree branches. When we saw the first tree carving we had hoped it would be a one off but the trend seems to be developing and most probably it is the same person/s carrying it out. We have been trying to catch them ‘in the act’ during our patrols but I think you are correct in saying that the time has come to try erecting some signage to point out the error of their ways and stop the practice and the possible damage they could be doing. I have held off from doing this in the first instance as in my experience it can often have the opposite effect and encourage more anti-social behaviour, however I will instruct the site Ranger to erect some temporary signage. Should you see anyone in the act of carving into these trees during your visits please contact me immediately'

      Sadly I notice today that someone has also tried to set fire to one of the trees; people are sometimes leaving tea lights there, increasing the fire risk. Vandals did succeed at burning out a large tree stump by Knypersley pool last year - it was a giant thing that groups of us could go and sit on, spoiled by someones vandalism
      [ Reply to This ]

Re: Gawton's Well by crj130 on Sunday, 30 October 2011
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The 'folly' that is mentioned is called the Warder's tower. It was built by James Bateman for his son, an artist, to live in. However it was too isolated for his son, so then it became his gamekeeper's residence and was lived in until the middle of the 20th Century, at one time housing a family of 10 or 11 children. Descendants of the family still remember visiting there when they were children. It used to be larger, but part of the building fell down. The family used to get their water from Gawton's Well. Now the inhabitants are 5 different species of bats, including two maternity roosts. This poses a challenge with the maintenance of this Grade II* Listed building - how to protect it from vandals, stabilise the building in an appropriate manner, share it in harmony with its new residents?
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    Re: Gawton's Well by Anonymous on Sunday, 16 September 2012
    Hi the last family to live in the warders tower are ancestors of mine, my grandmother Ada scarlett was born there along with her brothers and sisters. It is the case that the family had to collect water from gawtons well.
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Re: Gawton's Well by SJP123 on Thursday, 14 May 2009
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I love this spot, it's always had a special atmosphere. I've been visiting here since I was a child on family walks when I used to call it the enchanted wood!:) A lovely tranquil site.
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Re: Gawton's Well by Benjibun on Wednesday, 29 April 2009
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visited today

lovely peaceful site if a little hard to find, and very muddy this time of year - glad I left the dog at home.

only one channel has a well head to speak of, the others emerge from under the silt, there were lots of small rills like this in the area (which i found whilst trying to find the well)

Speaking with an old gent on the way to get directions, I found out that there were well attended pagan rituals held here in his memory,
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Re: Gawton's Well by TimPrevett on Tuesday, 04 November 2008
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Got around to visiting here yesterday, and it's brilliant. It's only 16 miles east for me, so returning won't be too much of an issue. Very atmospheric woodland and castle like folly neaby too. I wouldn't be surprised if therein lies a connection with the well.

The spring lies within a large circular wall, in varying states of collapse, and within that is an elipse of yew trees - reminiscent of the ring of trees in "Nightmare Before Christmas". If this were Wales I'd start thinking this was the ubiquitous "Llan" - the circular enclosure which gave its name to many places in the country,

Three channels emerge within the ring of the wall and yews, the most productive of these is endowed with a series of basins.

A really good find - thanks to Holywell for this, and so close for me.
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