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Ancestral Geographies of the Neolithic, Edmonds, Bender

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Old Wives' Well - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in Yorkshire (North)

Submitted by vagabondnma on Wednesday, 14 March 2007  Page Views: 11047

Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Old Wives' Well
Country: England County: Yorkshire (North) Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Stape  Nearest Village: Pickering
Map Ref: SE7943894057
Latitude: 54.335898N  Longitude: 0.779777W
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
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
3 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.
5 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

mooonwitch would like to visit

Nemloddolmen visited on 4th Jul 2023 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 4 Moss currently covering the inscription, but someones added some windchimes to the tree above for an aire of magic.

Anne T visited on 1st Oct 2016 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Old Wives' Well, just south of Mauley Cross, near Stape, North Yorkshire: With this well only 223 metres south of the Mauley Cross, we decided to walk down the narrow metalled road ((Keys Beck Road) to the well. Again, Chrispy’s directions were spot on. This time, the rally cars were back, appearing every minute or so and we had to ensure we were visible to the drivers at all times (sometimes difficult with the bracken at the sides of the road being so high). Walking southwards back down towards Stape Village, reaching the first passing place on the left hand side of the road, a small track leads through the grass. About 20-30 metres into the wood we glimpsed a wooden rail which partially surrounds the well, then the well itself came into site.
With a simple stone built ‘hood’ over it, into which there is writing carved into the lintel, this is a very enigmatic spot. The well basin was full of water and a small tickle cut its way through the peat floor of the wood, heading south west down hill towards the road.
There were plenty of old ribbons and scarves (even a sock!) tied to the trees around the well.
According to the Pastscape Record for this monument, number 60532, the lettering on the lintel reads: "Nattie Fonten L M Natalis" (Roman governor of 3 provinces 120AD).

chrispy visited on 26th Apr 2011 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 4 This is a lovely peaceful site just off the road and hidden from view by a few trees. There is no sign to the well but look for a 'passing place' along the side of the road and park there otherwise continue along the road until you come to a wide forest road and Mauley Cross, park there and walk back over. there is a grass path to the well, however it is uneven and would be difficult to push a wheelchair along, especailly as the path and in front of the well is often squelchy. I have visited the site a lot in the last few years and I have found (and left) offerings there

kelpie have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.67 Ambience: 3.67 Access: 4.33

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by vagabondnma : A close-up of the well. The inscription (grafitti?) on the capstone is not easily visible). (Vote or comment on this photo)
The Old Wives' Well is an ancient spring of unknown date. However, the Roman Road runs just a few dozen metres or so away up hill from it - which makes you think it was probably used back then.

Until recently, surrounding trees were decorated in colourful ribbons etc...but there are none here today. There is an inscription on the capstone but it is not easy to make out and is probably fairly recent. Mauley Cross is not far away. See Pastscape Monument 60532 record for further details. (updated 2nd October 2016)
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Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by cavers35 : Old Wives Well looking wonderful covered in Moss (Vote or comment on this photo)

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by Nemloddolmen : Well is holding water well, but moss currently covering the inscription. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by johndhunter : Old Wives Well at SE79438 94057, December 2011. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by Antonine : The well with clooties, 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by Antonine : Looking down, 2011 (Vote or comment on this photo)

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by Antonine : On the lintel are the words ‘NATTIE FONTEIN’ which could be Medieval Latin for ‘Natalis Fontana’ - Winter Solstice spring. The Roman festival ‘Dies Natalis Sol Invictus’ - day of the birth of the unconquered sun, took place on December 25th and the well was probably in use then, and ‘Fons Natalis’ is a Celtic water nymph. The well may even date back to the Bronze Age, with ‘the...

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by Bungie : Delighted to find this old well is still visited as a special place.

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by Anne T : Close up of the relatively modern lintel in the cover of the well. According to Pastscape (Monument 60532) the inscription reads 'Nattie Fonten L M Natalis' - Roman governer of three provinces 120 AD, but "may be a garbled version of an earlier inscription".

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by Anne T : Standing behind the well looking at the small stream of water which runs from the well basin down hill through the forest towards the road. It's a lovely, peaceful spot (despite the rally cars going past every minute or so!) on the day we visited.

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by Anne T : The Old Wives' Well from the front. The well basin was full of water. There were many ribbons, scarves (even a sock!) tied to the trees around, but none of them recent.

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by chrispy : Approach to Old Wives' Well

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by chrispy : Offerings in a tree behind the well.

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by chrispy : Old Wives' Well.

Old Wives' Well
Old Wives' Well submitted by vagabondnma : Old Wives' Well. The path to the left of it leads up to the Roman Road.

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 379m NNE 26° Mauley Cross* Ancient Cross (SE796944)
 1.5km WNW 284° Leaf Howe* Barrow Cemetery (SE780944)
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 3.7km ESE 114° Levisham Moor South RB2* Round Barrow(s) (SE8280792608)
 3.7km ESE 106° Levisham Moor Cross Dyke South* Misc. Earthwork (SE8298893126)
 3.8km E 100° Levisham Moor Cross Dyke North* Misc. Earthwork (SE8322293450)
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 3.9km NNE 19° Wheeldale Roman Road* Misc. Earthwork (SE8064697796)
 4.0km ESE 108° Sheephouse Rigg RB1* Round Barrow(s) (SE8328192848)
 4.1km ESE 115° Pigtrough Rigg Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement (SE8319492354)
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 4.2km N 11° Wheeldale Moor East* Round Barrow(s) (SE8015098224)
 4.3km ESE 117° Levisham Moor South RB1* Round Barrow(s) (SE8329592214)
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 4.3km NNE 27° Hunt House Crag Settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement (SE8135097885)
 4.3km SSW 203° Cawthorn Cart Burial Misc. Earthwork (SE778901)
 4.3km SSW 194° Cawthorne Square Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SE78458987)
 4.4km NW 318° Black Moor Marker Stone 1* Marker Stone (SE7640997278)
 4.4km NNE 21° Skivick Crag Round Cairn* Round Cairn (SE8097298225)
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 4.5km SSW 201° Cawthorne Banks Tumulus* Cairn (SE779898)
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"Old Wives' Well" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
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Re: Old Wives' Well by johndhunter on Tuesday, 03 January 2023
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A more accurate map reference for this well is SE 79438 94057. Also more information about the well HERE
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Re: Old Wives' Well by kelpie on Wednesday, 11 April 2007
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The inscription reads "NATTIE FONTEN" and is probably a corruption of Fons Natalis
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