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The Henge Monuments of the British Isles: Myth and Archaeology

The Henge Monuments of the British Isles: Myth and Archaeology

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<< Our Photo Pages >> King Arthur's Well (Walltown Gap) - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in Northumberland

Submitted by Anne T on Friday, 12 July 2019  Page Views: 2601

Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: King Arthur's Well (Walltown Gap) Alternative Name: King Arthur's Well (Hadrian's Wall); King's Well (Walltown Crags)
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 1.775 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Northumberland Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Haltwhistle  Nearest Village: Greenhead
Map Ref: NY68066664
Latitude: 54.993311N  Longitude: 2.500745W
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
1 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 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
5

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Anne T visited on 8th Jul 2019 - their rating: Cond: 1 Amb: 4 Access: 4 King Arthur's Well, Walltown Crags: Whilst this well may now be destroyed or lost, the scenery here is fantastic, and it was well worth coming out to look. We were unable to find this holy well, despite having the GPS to guide us to the spot. However, we did see signs of reeds and tall grasses where the water might have pooled and flowed. On the way up to the nick in the crags where the well is located, there is water emerging from the hillside at NY 68041 66551, which runs in a small stream down the slope, feeding two drinking troughs in the field below. We did visit after a period of prolonged dry weather, so wondered if the water emerges from higher up the hill after wet weather.

King Arthur's Well (Walltown Gap)
King Arthur's Well (Walltown Gap) submitted by Anne T : Standing next to the modern footpath up to the top of the crags and turret 44b, the well would have been at the bottom left of the photograph. No sign of it now, and we spent ages looking. J. Collingwood Bruce in his book "The Roman Wall" (1863, page 155) says that "the true story of the well, like its water, is now lost", so I'm left wondering when the water stopped flowing. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Holy Well or Sacred Spring in Northumberland

This holy well is marked on the OS maps of the area, and is recorded as Pastscape Monument No. 13922. In 1946 the well was "surrounded by masonry". By 1966, the entry had been updated to say: "the well is now covered with a cast iron lid set in concrete", and this was confirmed again in 1989.

J. Collingwood Bruce in his 1863 book "The Roman Wall" (page 155, 10th reprint 1947) says: "Close behind the Wall in the middle of the gap is a spring, surrounded by masonry, now much disordered, called the King's Well; the inhabitants name it King Arthur's Well. Other accounts are given of it. Hutchinson (History of Northumberland, volume 1, page 44) says: 'Travellers are shown a well among the cliffs, where it is said Paulinus baptized King Egbert; but it is more probably it was Edwin, King of Northumberland'. But Edwin was christened at York, and this story at least is untrue. The true story of the well, like its water, is now lost". (If the water was lost in Collingwood Bruce's time in 1863, I'm left wondering why the need for the cast iron cover - can anyone help??)

We went armed with our GPS and the modern OS map but could not find a cast iron well cover, only an area of reeds and taller, lusher grass, which expanded into an area that was only marginally boggy after a prolonged period of dry weather. We did find a spring emerging downslope at NY 68041 66551, which fed drinking troughs in the fields below.

In 2003, erosion caused by the feet of many walkers on the Hadrian's Wall path, necessitated an upgrade to the footpath, and an excavation took place. Photographs of these excavations at/around the well area can be found at Looking Down on King Arthur's Well 1 and Looking Down on King Arthur's Well 2. Photographs by Oliver Dixon and licensed for re-use under a Creative Commons. Oliver Dixon says: "The opportunity has been taken following the disturbance caused by path construction at this point to excavate the site. What has been found is evidence of a hitherto unknown Roman building - definitely pre-Arthurian and definitely not a well".
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King Arthur's Well (Walltown Gap)
King Arthur's Well (Walltown Gap) submitted by Anne T : This is the spot on the footpath up slope, just east of the farmhouse, at NY 68041 66551, where a spring emerges from the hillside. Is this where the water from King Arthur's Well now flows, instead of its original location at NY 6806 6664? (Vote or comment on this photo)

King Arthur's Well (Walltown Gap)
King Arthur's Well (Walltown Gap) submitted by Anne T : The GPS told us the well would have been located at the bottom right hand side of the photo, where a line of reeds and taller grasses mark what might be a water course - only slightly boggy after a prolonged period of dry weather. (Vote or comment on this photo)

King Arthur's Well (Walltown Gap)
King Arthur's Well (Walltown Gap) submitted by Anne T : This is an image taken from the National Library of Scotland's 1895 OS map for Thirwall and Wall Town, dated 1895, and licensed for re-use under Creative Commons. Link: https://maps.nls.uk/copyright.html. The location of King Arthur's Well is marked by the red arrow, although if it exists is well hidden under turf and reeds. The blue arrow marks the location NY 68041 66551, where a spring emerges ... (Vote or comment on this photo)

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
NY6866 : Course of Hadrian's Wall at Walltown by Alan Reid
by Alan Reid
©2017(licence)
NY6866 : Marshy ground near King Arthur's Well by Andrew Curtis
by Andrew Curtis
©2015(licence)
NY6866 : Excavations at King Arthur's Well by Oliver Dixon
by Oliver Dixon
©2008(licence)
NY6866 : The Pennine way drops down steeply to Walltown farm. by steven ruffles
by steven ruffles
©2014(licence)
NY6866 : Excavations at "King Arthur's Well" by Oliver Dixon
by Oliver Dixon
©2008(licence)

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