Featured: Friendly specialist tours to ancient, mystical and historical sites in the UK and beyond

Friendly specialist tours to ancient, mystical and historical sites in the UK and beyond

Random Image


Rhos y Gelynen Stones

The Henge Monuments of the British Isles: Myth and Archaeology

The Henge Monuments of the British Isles: Myth and Archaeology

Who's Online

There are currently, 239 guests and 0 members online.

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

Sponsors

More Choices

Contribute to our running costs
Webrings
News Feeds
Megalithic Mysteries
Our Online Shop

<< Our Photo Pages >> Taffs Well - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in Wales in South Glamorgan

Submitted by coldrum on Monday, 25 June 2007  Page Views: 11572

Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Taffs Well
Country: Wales County: South Glamorgan Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring

Map Ref: ST1192683638
Latitude: 51.544739N  Longitude: 3.271469W
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
 no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 no data 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.
 4 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
 4

Internal Links:
External Links:

I have visited· I would like to visit

Mungolithic visited on 5th May 2023 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Great but still damaged from storm Dennis

TauCeti visited - their rating: Cond: -1 Amb: 4 Access: 5 I have visited the site half a dozen times passing by during bike rides; have always been fascinated, and thought it a pity that no improvement has been made; time before last I passed by there - last year in June - it was flooded, recently - November 2011 it had been drained; here's a link to a recent photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/33928953@N00/3990026278/in/photostream

geoffstickland have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 1 Ambience: 4 Access: 5

Taffs Well
Taffs Well submitted by geoffstickland : The Victorian well house (Vote or comment on this photo)
Holy Well or Sacred Spring in South Glamorgan

Ancient warm water spring used since Roman times.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Taffs Well
Taffs Well submitted by geoffstickland : The well inside the well house. The well is about 6' in diameter (Vote or comment on this photo)

Taffs Well
Taffs Well submitted by hoya105 : Site in South Glamorgan Wales Peering into the well - you can feel the heat! Great pub next door named after it. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Taffs Well
Taffs Well submitted by hoya105 : Site in South Glamorgan Wales Taff's Well - has hot water bubbling out of it = closed at the moment as it is being renovated and used to supply heating to a local school and sports centre. (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:
ST1183 : View over Taffs Well from Garth Hill by David Martin
by David Martin
©2011(licence)
ST1183 : View downstream from the footbridge at Gwaelod-y-garth by John Lord
by John Lord
©2011(licence)
ST1183 : The well in Taffs Well by Eryl Samuel
by Eryl Samuel
©2008(licence)
ST1183 : Bowling green, Taffs Well Park by Jaggery
by Jaggery
©2011(licence)
ST1183 : Taffs Well thermal spring building by Jaggery
by Jaggery
©2011(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
 1.6km W 264° Garth Hill* Round Barrow(s) (ST103835)
 1.7km SSE 160° Lesser Garth Cave* Cave or Rock Shelter (ST125820)
 2.5km SW 218° Ffynnoncattwg* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST10348165)
 2.8km SSW 201° Llwynda-ddu Hillfort (ST10878100)
 3.4km ESE 104° Wennalt Camp Ancient Village or Settlement (ST15208275)
 3.8km SW 222° Craig-y-Parc Ancient Village or Settlement (ST09298084)
 3.9km SSE 156° Radyr Woods Burnt Mound* Artificial Mound (ST13438003)
 4.4km SSE 154° Pistyll Golau Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST13787962)
 4.4km WSW 249° Cae'rarfau* Chambered Tomb (ST0772582144)
 4.6km NE 46° Gorsedd Stones (Caerphilly)* Modern Stone Circle etc (ST153868)
 5.7km SSW 198° Sant-Y-Nyll Round Barrow(s) (ST10077829)
 6.4km S 181° Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans* Museum (ST117772)
 6.5km S 179° St Fagan's Well Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST11917712)
 6.7km SE 146° St Teilo's Well, Llandaff* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST15567805)
 7.4km NNE 13° The Bryn Cairn (ST13689082)
 7.5km NNW 329° Carreg Siglio* Modern Stone Circle etc (ST082901)
 7.6km NNE 18° Bryn Owen Farm Cairns Cairn (ST144908)
 7.6km WNW 297° Tarren Deusant* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST05208721)
 7.6km NNE 12° The Bryn Earthwork Ring Cairn (ST13619105)
 7.7km NNW 328° Coed-Pen-Maen Common* Ring Cairn (ST07989031)
 8.0km N 6° Waun Deiliaid Ring Cairn (ST12939162)
 8.5km N 349° Carneddi Llwydion* Round Cairn (ST105920)
 8.6km E 87° Graig Llwyn Iron Age Fort* Hillfort (ST205840)
 8.7km N 352° Ffos-yr-Haidal 1, Mynydd Eglwysilan* Rock Art (ST10899224)
 8.8km S 170° Caerau (Cardiff)* Hillfort (ST13377498)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Lesser Garth Cave

Hagbards kulle >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Contribute!

· NEW: I have visited
· I would like to visit
· Submit an Image
· Add a description
· Give accurate position
· Add a comment or news about this site

Build your own Stonehenge! (Model)

Build your own Stonehenge! (Model)

Sponsors

Auto-Translation (Google)

Translate from English into:

"Taffs 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.
Re:Taff's Well's geothermal energy tapped by AngieLake on Thursday, 23 January 2020
(User Info | Send a Message)
Article and photos here in today's news online:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7920213/Primary-school-Britain-powered-geothermal-energy.html
"The ancient spring at Taff's Well will provide energy to a nearby primary school
The only thermal spring in Wales, it will replace the school's current gas system
It is thought the project will save 37 tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions annually."
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Ancient spring spa revival plans by PAB on Wednesday, 21 January 2015
(User Info | Send a Message)
The 'revival plans' reported by Coldrum in 2007 seem to have come to fruition - "Thermal Spring is visitor Hot Spot again."

Details can be read in an update on Taff’s Well, published by Earth Heritage in their latest online magazine. The whole of Issue 43 can be downloaded by visiting http://www.earthheritage.org.uk. The article should be here

[ Reply to This ]

On the Water of Taff's Well by coldrum on Tuesday, 26 June 2007
(User Info | Send a Message)
By J. W. Thomas, F.C.S. Read before the Society, March 20th, 1877. p 48 -52

The water of this well is of a temperature above that of ordinary springs in this neighbourhood, and evolves gases in considerable quantity. These circumstances, together with the fact that the locality is one of the nearest portions of the south crop of the coal basin, led me to examine the water and the gases which issue from it in order to see if any light might be shed upon the nature of the subterranean strata and other points connected with it. Moreover, the water of the well in question, and that of a spring close to it, and supposed by many to be a portion of the well waters, have long since obtained some celebrity - especially the well water-as a curative agent for rheumatism, and these were additional inducements to enter upon the work herein noted.

The well is situated in the parish of Eglwysilan. Previous to the construction of the weir which dams the water of the Taff river for the purpose of supplying water-power to Pentyrch works, the course of the river was some distance west of the well, which at that time was situated in the midst of green fields. It is now, however, bordering on the water of the Taff, and is in fact often covered during high floods. The well is walled with masonry in a circular form of 5 feet 6 inches diameter, and the same depth. It is furnished with holes, by means of which the height of the water can be regulated or run off if necessary. The spring is very powerful, and appears from rough calculation to afford about 800 gallons per hour.

Bubbles of gas rise continually to the surface, giving the water the appearance of being highly aerated. The quantity evolved is probably about 4 1/2 cubic feet per hour.

The water has a temperature of 65 - 66 F, and so far as my knowledge of it extends, there is little variation in either winter or summer. The day upon which I collected the gases was rather cold, and a somewhat cold wind was blowing at that time, but the temperature of the water exercised a very marked influence around the well although the apology for a covering was torn and scattered by the severe floods of the past months. The water is chalybeate in character, rendered obvious to anyone acquainted with the simple colour of oxide of iron which lines the walls of the well, and which is seen in pulpy masses adhering to the sides and forming a s***** on the surface.

Neither the water nor the gases which rise from it emit any smell, and save the oxide of iron referred to, nothing is discoverable which may he considered in any way remarkable, or which can account for the curative properties which it is said to possess. From a preliminary examination I had found that the water was a fairly pure one as far as the total solid matter is concerned, and consequently a very large quantity was necessary in order, by evaporation, to obtain sufficient solid matter for analysis. The method I adopted for collecting the gases was by using a weighted funnel connected by caoutchouc [rubber] tubing to five glass tubes drawn out to fine and thickened ends, and the last tube was joined to a valve of simple construction which I had devised for the purpose. The tubes were filled with the water from the well so as to displace the air, and the gas was afterwards passed through them under pressure regulated by the valve mentioned. The pressure was obtained by weighting a glass funnel with lead and sinking it over an opening in the bottom of the well, through which a good supply of gas was obtained. When the tubes were filled with gas, and the absence of atmospheric air was a known certainty, the gas in the tubes was placed under slight tension by applying suction to the valve mentioned, and finally the tubes were hermetically sealed by the aid of a blowpipe and spirit lamp. The gases which usually rise from waters of this description consist almost entirely of carbonic acid and a very little nitrogen, and in nine out of ten instances this is the case. Th

Read the rest of this post...
[ Reply to This ]

Ancient spring spa revival plans by coldrum on Tuesday, 26 June 2007
(User Info | Send a Message)
An ancient hot spring in the south Wales valleys believed to have healing powers could help transform a village into a spa town.
Renovation proposals are being drawn up for the Taffs Well spring to help regenerate the area.

The water from an underground spring is thought to have been used as a spa bath as long ago as the Roman period.

The 12 ft (3.6m) deep warm water well was at one time used for bathing because of its healing powers.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council wants to revive the fortunes of the well as a way of attracting investment and tourism to the area.

A series of potential redevelopment schemes will go on show to the public as part of a consultation exercise.

It is hoped that the well will become a major visitor draw, as it was in centuries gone by.

Reports say that the well - thought to have Roman masonry attached to it - stood in open fields until it was enclosed during the 1800s.

It was used mainly by local people until word travelled about its mystical healing powers and others made pilgrimages to the village to bathe in the warm water.

However, by the beginning of World War I it had fallen into disrepair and remained so until 1929 when villagers decided to repair it - reopening it in August 1930.

A swimming pool was later built alongside the building that housed the well, utilising its water, but it fell into disuse during the 1950s following a flood.

But the well water's revival powers came into their own once again when used to rescue the village greens from the effect of a drought in 1978. It was then that a campaign was launched to restore it.

Ivor Jenkins, a former councillor for the village, said stories about the well's healing powers included lame people being cured after swimming in the waters.
"There are stories about people who had to rely on crutches getting into the water and when they got out they didn't need to use the crutches anymore," he said.

"I've been in the well myself - that is where I learned to swim.

"The water is crystal clear and lovely and warm with a slight taste of iron to it.

"It is very similar to the water in Bath and I remember it being very popular. I'm really pleased that there are plans to preserve the well."

A public exhibition will take place on 25 October at Taffs Well Rugby Club where developers will be available to talk to about the proposals.

"Taffs Wells spring has been identified as having the potential to contribute to the regeneration of the village," said councillor Robert Bevan, the cabinet member for economic development.

"The economic, cultural and educational benefits are limitless."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/4352640.stm
[ 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.