<< Our Photo Pages >> St Margaret's Well (Edinburgh) - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in Scotland in Midlothian
Submitted by vicky on Monday, 29 March 2004 Page Views: 14626
Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: St Margaret's Well (Edinburgh)Country: Scotland County: Midlothian Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Edinburgh
Map Ref: NT2713373712 Landranger Map Number: 66
Latitude: 55.950891N Longitude: 3.168436W
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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I have visited· I would like to visit
TimPrevett visited on 23rd Jun 2021 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Nicely presented well, be sure to take a peep through the grill and look at the interior, especially the ceiling
Anne T visited on 20th Feb 2017 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 5 St Margaret's Well, Holyrood, Edinburgh: Located just off Queen’s Drive in Holyrood, near Dynamic Earth, and 400 metres from St. Anthony’s Well, this well house can be seen from the road.
I had to photo-shop out the pile of rubbish that had gathered at the base of the well (disgusting!). There was a good flow of water out of the pipe inside the well house, although it was impossible to get a photograph of this there was a black heavy metal grill covering it.
I came across a reference on Pixyledpublications telling me “the spring itself is a holy well, called The Well of the Holy Rood or St. David’s Well and dates from 1198, the well head was re-erected from St. Margaret’s Well at Restalrig ….. legend has it that King David after mass decided to go hunting in the area and was thrown from his horse by a giant stag which then carried the king, stopping at the spring. In thanks for his deliverance, he built the Abbey of Holyrood there …. (the well house) has an internal width of six feet by five feet in height with a central pier with a carved head which is provided with a spout.”
The well house bears a plaque which reads: “This unique Well House dates from the late 15th Century. It originally stood at Restalrig, close to the Church, and its design is a miniature copy of St. Triduana’s Aisle there. In 1860 it was removed from its first site, which was then encroached upon by a railway depot, and was reconstructed in its present position near a natural spring.”
feorag have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.5 Ambience: 3.5 Access: 5
This holy well is recorded as Canmore ID 52167, extracts from which read: "Queen's Park was the site of a temporary smallpox hospital in 1894 ... In 1852, St Margaret's Well, a holy well (Walker 1883) is described as a spring well, enclosed by an ancient vault over which part of the railway workshops had been built. In 1860, this well-house was rebuilt in its present position. It is a miniature Gothic cell of the 15th century, evidently based on, and therefore later than, St Triduana's Well at Restalrig ... St Margaret's well-house is set into the natural hillslope immediately below the modern track that provides vehicular access to Hunter's Bog. It is is fronted by a curvilinear stone facade surmounted by iron railings."
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