The Kendal Cross

Trip No.178  Entry No.1  Date Added: 21st Jun 2022
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 21st Jun 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: The Kendal Cross: located on a window sill in the Lady Chapel (east end of south aisle) in the Parish Church of Kendal, Holy Trinity.

The fragment was sited in strong sunlight at the time of our visit, so difficult to photograph.

Such a huge church, apparently the widest in Cumbria, and also the oldest in Kendal, with the site older than the building, as 'evidenced by the 8th/9th century cross shaft'.

A replica of the cross sits outside the western end of the church, on the green between the western entrance gates and the church.

Brow Well (Ruthwell)

Trip No.177  Entry No.1  Date Added: 6th Jun 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 6th Jun 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Brow Well (Ruthwell): Having escaped the noisy builders across the road, we decided on the spur of the moment to visit the Brow Well, as it’s only about half an hour’s drive away. We bombed off up the M6, turned off onto the A75 at Gretna, turned off down a side road which turned left at NY 13732 69544 (note: HUGE mistake – too many large, enormous pot holes – continue on down to the B725!), only to find the cottage next to the well was blasting out music at huge volume. Boo hoo.

In addition, the area around the well had been turned into a building site, meaning the entrance to the small parking area was blocked off, so we pulled into a gateway a few metres from the well.

The well was almost dry, very muddy, and not very nice to visit at all. So disappointed after all the photographs I’ve seen on the internet. We found out from the couple we were speaking to at Kingholm (Lady’s Well) that the bridge by the well had recently collapsed and had just been replaced.

The information board tells us:
“Healing powers of water.
Brow Well is a chalybeate spring with natural iron-salt rich water believed to cure a multitude of ills and was popular with the residents of Dumfries at the time of Burns. From early times spring water was believed to have healing qualities and many locations in Scotland were renowned for their holy or healing wells. In the 17th century spas with mineral rich waters became fashionable locations to visit in the pursuit of health and beauty. Later sea-bathing emerged as part of a growing activity and built on popular traditions that saw seawater as having healing powers.”
That Robbie burns bathed in the well in 1796 but died 3 days later isn't a hugely great advert for the healing properties of this chalybeate well!

Finglandrigg Spa Well (Chalybeate)

Trip No.176  Entry No.2  Date Added: 6th Jun 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 4th Jun 2022. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: Finglandrigg Spa Well: A very pleasant walk through this nature reserve, although the well is not where the published map says it is. In the end, we walked round and round, then tried to find a spot with a phone signal so we could find a rough grid reference, which we acquired from the Old Cumbria Gazetteer. Some 50m from the published path, down a grassy 'lane'. Ruined, but ticked this one off the list. Am trying to trace what properties this water had, and added the nearby Toddel Well to my list of places to visit in the near future.

Hyssop Holme Well (Carlisle)

Trip No.176  Entry No.1  Date Added: 6th Jun 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 4th Jun 2022. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Hyssop Holme Well (Carlisle): A very pleasant, short walk down slope to this well house, the sound of wood on willow from the nearby Cricket Ground accompanying our steps. Am trying to trace the Antiquarian history books which mention this site, as I'm trying to ascertain if the well predates the 1817 date on the keystone, and why the water was regarded as a spa in days gone by, and what properties the water had.

Homeacres Holy Well (Stanwix)

Trip No.114  Entry No.2  Date Added: 5th Jun 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 9th Jan 2019. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: Homeacres Holy Well, Rickerby Park, Carlisle: We just about had time to stop off and find this well on our way home. Parking by the lawn tennis club just down the road, we walked to see what we thought was the stump of an old cross at approx. NY 40142 56900, but it turned out to be the stump of an old tree trunk which had been carved into what looked like an old boundary marker.

We headed off north east until we reached the junction of Well Lane and the B6264 (Brampton Road), then walked down the road leading to the car park in Rickerby Park. Reaching the junction with the footpath leading almost due west at NY 40510 57081, we walked past a marshy/boggy area which had wooden boarding at one end and a sign saying ‘deep water’.

Walking through the gate across the footpath, we peered deep into the undergrowth and eventually spotted what looked like a railway sleeper running about 6-8ft horizontally across the bank with a black void underneath. We tried to walk across the grassy area to the fence to get nearer to take a photograph, but the land was very waterlogged and we retreated.

Going back up towards Brampton Road, just past the cattle grid, there are faint traces of a footpath which runs down towards the well. Andrew made it down to the well and took some photographs. Having hurt my shoulder, I decided to stay on (this very busy) road. Andrew said there were also traces of another footpath running towards the well from the southern side of Brampton Road, just opposite Well Lane, but we would have had to climb over the metal railing to access it; the path was just visible, but very overgrown.

The well still had water in it. A couple of passers by on the lower path looked us with curiosity, one man asking us what we were looking at. When we told him a holy well, he looked at us in disbelief. I thought the nearby 'Well Lane' might have been a clue, although we initially thought the well was located down Well Lane and not in the park.

St Cuthbert's Stone and Well (Waverbridge)

Date Added: 4th Jun 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2020. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: St Cuthbert's Stone & Well: We were making our first (and only for a long time) essential trip out, and passed within 400m of this well, so screeched to a halt at the entrance to the track (Watergate Lonning) at its junction with the B5302 at NY 21277 49139, and took our daily exercise walking down slope towards the well.

There is some sign of the well - in the field as an un-mown area of grass and in the hedge-line under the tree are remnants of a stone structure between the tree roots and along the bank of the ditch. All along the left hand side of the track (eastern side) is a drainage ditch, which we presume took the water from the fields, then when you get to the well, the water from the well joins the ditch. The well was dry at the time of our visit.

The stone was marked on the OS map, but was several fields away, with no gates in sight, so with time pressing, I photographed the well and we set off for our destination. So very odd to be out-and-about after months at home, but lots of other cars on the road, and difficult to rejoin the main road due to the high speed traffic.

Fairy Well (Aikton)

Date Added: 4th Jun 2022
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 14th Jun 2020. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 1 Access 5

Log Text: Fairy Well (Aikton): just after lockdown rules were relaxed marginally, and it was possible to travel short distances for reasons other than work or exercise, we needed to travel very near to Aikton, so took a short detour to try and find this well. There were plenty of walkers and other cars, but, as defined by lockdown law, no shops open, and no well to find!

Actually, not quite true, as peering down into the ditch, some water was visible bubbling up from the ground, running along a ditch to the south side of the hedge running along the northern edge of the field, but it was very difficult to find.

The gate into the field was open, so we looked along the other side of the hedge - all we could see were huge lumps of stone and concrete, which had been dumped along the ditch-line. Apart from a large lump of stone by the field gate, which looked as if it had simple architectural carving on it.

Dumfries Museum

Trip No.174  Entry No.1  Date Added: 25th May 2022
Site Type: Museum Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 25th May 2022. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Dumfries Museum: We parked on Whitesands, and walked over the Nith by the Old Bridge, to the NW, then turned left to the Robbie Burns House, then up the hill to the Museum and Camera Obscura.

We lived in Dumfries and Lockerbie between 1992 and 2002, but for some reason had never visited the museum, despite going to many other historic sites, and what an oversight!

Armed with Guy Points' book "A Gazetteer of Anglo Saxon, Anglo Scandinavian & Anglo Norse sites in Cumbria, Dumfriesshire and Wigtownshire, we had a wonderful afternoon in the basement of the tower. Treasures indeed, much appreciated after the dearth of things of visit during the two years of lockdown.

Staff at the museum were incredibly helpful. I've been given the details of someone at the Council (press officer for the museum?) to apply for permission to upload some photographs, and hopefully she'll get back to me shortly.

Moor Divock Cairn

Date Added: 18th May 2022
Site Type: Cairn Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2022. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Moor Divock Cairn - Query: We, too, found this feature, just to the right hand side of the main bridleway/footpath leading towards White Raise Cairn. I photographed it, just in case it was documented on what used to be Pastscape, or Historic England. Some 70m to the north west of Moor Divock 3/Askham Fell Cairn and Stone Row, we debated long and hard as to whether this is part of an old quarry, a shooting butt, or part of a robbed cairn (we know Canon Greenwell carried out extensive excavations around here in the 1880s).

Cop Stone

Trip No.173  Entry No.3  Date Added: 17th May 2022
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: The Cop Stone, Askham Fell: Our second visit to this area, which has a wealth of archaeological sites, and reminds me very much of Dartmoor (in places). The weather was gloriously hot, and with many other walkers on the moor, we joined the row of cars parked by the side of the road at around NY 49586 21586.

Nothing much has changed about the Cop Stone since our last visit in 2014, although I was amazed at the number of people who just walked straight on by, without stopping. I had forgotten that the Cop Stone lies on the South Eastern border of a ring cairn, which has been described and illustrated by W. Waistell Taylor in his 1885 Antiquarian paper "Prehistoric Remains on Moordivock". Most of the stones in the ring are largely hidden, or just peeping above, the turf.

Askham Fell Cairn Stone Row

Trip No.173  Entry No.4  Date Added: 16th May 2022
Site Type: Stone Row / Alignment Country: England (Cumbria)
Visited: Yes on 14th May 2022. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Askham Fell Cairn and stone row: Using M. Waistell Taylor's Antiquarian paper from 1885, plus Sandy Gerrard's notes from the Stone Rows of Great Britain, we parked at the end of a row of cars at the junction of the single track road and the footpath which runs across it, near the Cop Stone. We set off with our trusty GPS to walk up to this amazing cairn to find the associated stone row.

We've visited this area before (28th June 2014), but more recently, Sandy G has been along to this area and surveyed the 2 verified stone rows in this area. We were unable to join him on this survey, but we're curious to find out more.

Thankfully we had Sandy G's diagram of the 4 small stones in this row (I thought they were just part of the kerb). Andrew very gracefully modelled the location of the smaller 2 stones using my walking poles.

Given the number of walkers around, I was amazed how many people were sticking to the paths and bridleways, rather than look at the archaeology. So much to see in such a concentrated area.

Bloch Well (Langholm)

Trip No.172  Entry No.1  Date Added: 31st Aug 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)
Visited: Yes on 26th Aug 2021. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Bloch Well (Langholm): Described as a "dubious holy well" by J.R. Walker in 1883, now completely ruined. Not been able to find out anything much about this well, apart from its' brief Canmore entry, and a mention that the well is sulphurous, although there was no smell of sulphur at the time of our visit.

Hetherington (Wark)

Date Added: 30th Aug 2021
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 25th May 2017. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Hetherington (Wark): Homestead, built on top of an Iron Age Settlement. Lovely spot, and well worth exploring.

Hetherington (Wark)

Trip No.171  Entry No.2  Date Added: 30th Aug 2021
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 15th Aug 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Hetherington (Wark): Our second visit to this site, the first being on 25th May 2017, but I forgotten all about it! A lovely site, and pleasant to explore on a sunny afternoon. Didn't realise that this site has been excavated twice, once in 1957, and again in 1972-73, so must try and find the excavation reports, if they are available.

Crag Well (Bellingham)

Trip No.171  Entry No.3  Date Added: 30th Aug 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Northumberland)
Visited: Yes on 15th Aug 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Crag Well, Bellingham: Not been able to find out anything much about this well, apart from reading a blog which since seems to have disappeared. Is there a tradition of church services being held next to this well, as the blog said? Will keep researching, but a very pretty spot, well worth visiting.

All Saints (Bradbourne)

Trip No.170  Entry No.7  Date Added: 12th Aug 2021
Site Type: Ancient Cross Country: England (Derbyshire)
Visited: Yes on 16th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: All Saints, Bradbourne: Our last visit of this holiday. We had a very 'interesting' journey to Bradbourne, as the police had closed off the main road and routed all traffic down some very minor, single track roads, in which traffic was trying to move in both directions, and not succeeding, which was very frustrating.

There is a large parking area outside the church, although the actual entrance to the churchyard was a bit tricky to find, as there were a number of entrances to different driveways, and we ended up walking down one of these by accident.

The first cross is just inside the churchyard, to your right as you enter from the south. The sundial is just a little further to the north-north-east.

We missed the second cross within the churchyard, as we didn't have access to the HE website at the time of our visit, and whilst looking around, thought it was just another grave marker, so I didn't photograph it.

Loved the carving on the door into the south side of the tower.

Whilst there, a couple of other visitors were very keen for us to see the grave of actor Alan Bates ("Who?" I asked, to much disgust on their part), so we did wander round to find it, out of curiosity.

Hands Well

Trip No.170  Entry No.6  Date Added: 12th Aug 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Derbyshire)
Visited: Yes on 16th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Hands Well, Tissington: The sixth, and final, well marked on the Tissington village leaflet map, and looked like a large, stone cotton-reel. As we approached it, some people were dipping their hands into the water. There was no flow of water into the basin, although the water appeared fresh and clear.

Children's Well

Trip No.170  Entry No.5  Date Added: 12th Aug 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Derbyshire)
Visited: Yes on 16th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Children's Well, Tissington: The fifth well we visited in the village, and easy to spot. Not recorded on HE or HERR. The basin within the well head was slightly muddy and dry, but looking over the dry stone wall, there is a boggy area of ground, which is where the water appears to rise, and a stone trough just behind the well head, which was full of water.

Coffin Well

Trip No.170  Entry No.4  Date Added: 11th Aug 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Derbyshire)
Visited: Yes on 16th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 5

Log Text: Coffin Well, Tissington: Finding this well was pretty tricky, as even with the leaflet showing the location of all the wells in Tissington, we walked up and down, and down and up a lane called 'The Foot'. Eventually, I realised that whoever was in the cottage had parked their car right across the front of the well, with the front passenger tyre almost in the well itself. I had to do contortions, avoiding the bonnet of the car, to get any photograph at all.

Presumably the main part of the well is behind the garden wall, in the private garden. The gate to the cottage had a sign which said 'no entry' or 'strictly private', and I was reluctant to knock on the front door and seek permission.

Not impressed by the parking, and no sign to say this was the well.

Town Well

Trip No.170  Entry No.3  Date Added: 11th Aug 2021
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: England (Derbyshire)
Visited: Yes on 16th Jul 2021. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Town Well, Tissington: Our third well out of the six in the village. From Yew Tree Well, we headed east along The Green, past the pond (which had very cute young ducklings being taught to swim by their parents). The well is just to your left hand side at the far side of the green.