<< Our Photo Pages >> Saxon Well - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in Devon
Submitted by AngieLake on Friday, 18 November 2005 Page Views: 11808
Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: Saxon WellCountry: England
NOTE: This site is 0.67 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Devon Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Ashburton Nearest Village: Widecombe
Map Ref: SX718768
Latitude: 50.576831N Longitude: 3.811947W
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 |
9 photos by 4 photographers
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AngieLake hamish cazzyjane DartmoorDog have visited here
Set just off the Ponsworthy road in the village of Widecombe in the Moor, on Dartmoor, (the site page set-up would only allow me to write Widecombe in the Moo!) this little well is worth a visit.
Widecombe is a pleasant little place to stop for a browse. In summer it can be rather over-run with visitors (when you may also balk at the fact that many of those quaint cottage exteriors disguise yet another boring souvenir shop), and of course in early September, on the famous Widecombe Fair Day, the place is inundated. The church, with its very high tower, is an interesting diversion and well-worth a visit for its legend of the day the Devil popped by!
To find the well on foot:
Park in either of the carparks before or after the Green (the eastern one is always open and has loos), and walk along, keeping the church and National Trust visitor centre on your left, with the Green and the Old Inn on your right. Go a little way further downhill passing the Post Office on your right, and you will see a very narrow path at right-angles to the road on the same side, and the south-facing well against a wall. The channel running downhill away from the well is obvious in the verge by the road. If you haven't time to park and browse, just follow those instructions in your car, and park as near to the post office as possible; if you go too far along, that road gets really narrow.
Described on one website as:
"A very pretty small granite structure........ A plentiful supply of clear water always flows from this well into a stone channel and away alongside the road. In appearance it is the typical idea of an ancient well but little is known about its history; what information exists is confused by the folklore of Tom Cobley and Widecombe Fair! Nevertheless any record of Devon's holy wells would not be complete without this one, which has a Grade 2 listing in the Devon Sites and Monuments Register."
Another website describes it as:
"One of the most picturesque wells in Devon......... known variously as 'Holy', 'Wishing', and most commonly 'Saxon Well' - implying considerable antiquity. The water is reputed to have never run dry and was noted for eyes. .......... it is considerably more attractive than many of Widecombe's other modern 'attractions'."
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Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
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