Wells, Holy and Otherwise
Faces of the Dead
Location: Cerne Abbas (Dorset) - St Austin's Well, aka St Augustine's Well, aka Silver Well
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Easter Day (faces) (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Anyone looking into the waters of the well in the early hours of Easter morning will see the faces of those fated to die within a year. Women who drink the water and pray to St Catherine will soon be married.
White Lady
Location: Charmouth (Dorset) - Charmouth Lodge
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s?
Further Comments: The white lady who haunted this building was said to have been murdered and disposed of down a well that is now located under the dining room. The lodge is also haunted by a monk in a brown habit, who may be the cause of the disembodied footsteps occasionally heard travelling around the building.
Monk's Footsteps
Location: Chichester (Sussex) - Graylingwell Hospital, the well contained on the grounds
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown (footsteps), figure seen 1980s
Further Comments: The grounds around the well are reportedly haunted by the sounds of a monk walking around in his sandals. During the 1980s a builder was closing the area where he was working, ensuring no one was on site and locking all doors and windows. As he walked out of the area, he spotted a figure walking within.
Distort Girl
Location: Chieveley (Berkshire) - Village well
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This girl killed herself in the well after she discovered both her lover and her father had been killed in a Civil War battle. The shade can still be heard crying.
Canon
Location: Cholderton (Wiltshire) - Cholderton House and well
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1900s
Further Comments: His body found in the well, it was ruled by the powers-that-be the Canon had accidentally slipped and drowned. For years afterwards, the house and well were haunted by sounds of someone moving around.
Party
Location: Cockden (Lancashire) - Hey Well
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The little people were said to use this area as a meeting ground.
The Future
Location: Colan (Cornwall) - Our Lady of Nantes Well (aka Our Lady of Nant's Well)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Palm Sunday (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The future could be perceived by casting a palm cross into the water of the well on Palm Sunday.
Charlotte in White Robe
Location: Colchester (Essex) - Charlotte's Well, Berechurch Hall (demolished 1952)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1977, winter
Further Comments: Located in a hidden part of the grounds, Charlotte's Well was built for a woman after which it took its name. Charlotte is said to have loved the well so much that she could never leave and is said to have been seen since her death around the bathing pool. She may have last been seen walking around a wooded area in a white dress during the winter of 1977, although there are stories that a phantom woman still appears in the area. A phantom coach is also said to ride around the area.
Dying of Thirst
Location: Corgaff (Aberdeenshire) - The Well in the Grey Wood, between Corgaff and Glengairn
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A well in this area was cursed - if a person drinking from the well failed to leave a pin, they would die of thirst.
Kettle Gold
Location: Corgarff (Moray) - Well at the base of a steep hill (unsure if still present)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Early nineteenth century
Further Comments: This well was fed from three springs, one curing deafness, the second blindness, the third lameness, although the price of removing an ailment was gold. An entity administered the area, storing donations in a kettle which was buried under what was known as the Kettle Stone. Anyone who tried to remove the stone and steal the gold would die a terrible death soon after.
Flooded Well
Location: Cork (County Cork) - Lake in Cork Lough Park
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Lake still present
Further Comments: A legend says that this area was once owned by a king. A water well used by the local population was placed out of bounds, the king stating only his daughter could use it. However, one evening as the princess drew water for a royal party, the waters of the well flooded over, drowning the family and covering their castle. Some nights the party can still be heard continuing under the lough.
White Lady
Location: Detchant (Northumberland) - Well (once used for cattle, current state unknown)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early nineteenth century
Further Comments: This site was another Northumberland well said to be home to a phantom white lady.
Disease Cure
Location: Didsbury (Lancashire) - Well in churchyard (may no longer be present)
Type: Other
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: A well here was said to cure disease. People would also leave pins close to it for luck.
Female Spirit
Location: Dollar (Clackmannanshire) - Maiden Well, Glenqueich (north of Castle Campbell)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Taking the form of a spirit, but considered to be fairy in nature, a beautiful woman would occasionally manifest, formed from the mist of the well. One person who summoned the entity was grabbed by her and dragged to the bottom of the well.
Healing Wells
Location: Drummore (Dumfries and Galloway) - Chapel Wells, sea water wells
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: Children were once bathed in the waters of the wells to cure ills.
St Withburga's Well
Location: East Dereham (Norfolk) - St Nicholas's Church
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This holy well formed after the saint's body was stolen by monks acting on the orders of the Abbot of Ely.
Monk
Location: Edington (Wiltshire) - Between Monk's Well and the church
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century?
Further Comments: An elderly monk has been spotted in this area. One witness noticed something was amiss when his dog did not bark at the figure, as the creature insisted on barking at anyone else.
Wishing
Location: Fatfield (Durham) - Worm Well close to Worm Hill
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Hill still present
Further Comments: Crooked pins would be left here in the hope of a wish being granted.
Blood
Location: Finchampstead (Berkshire) - Holy Well
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Saint Oswald is said to have spent time at this well, which was said to flow with blood during times of national crisis.
Well Dweller
Location: Fornham All Saints (Suffolk) - Well in the village (exact location unknown)
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: An old story, most likely told to prevent children playing too close to the well, said a mermaid waited in the water at the bottom. She was ready to drown children who touched the water's edge.
Murdered Victims
Location: Gilsland (Northumberland) - Pond close to Mumps Hall, former inn, aka Mumps's Ha (site unlikely to exist)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Meg Teasdale, a former landlady, was believed to have drugged and murdered several guests, disposing of the bodies in the local pond. A glowing ball of light which would occasionally manifest over the water was thought to be a spirit of the dead.
Holy Grail
Location: Glastonbury (Somerset) - Chalice Well
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Well still present
Further Comments: After the death of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea brought the Grail to England and buried it so the waters that feed the well wash over the object.
First Church in Britain
Location: Glastonbury (Somerset) - Wirrall Hill (sometimes known as Wearyall Hill) and abbey
Type: Legend
Date / Time: AD63 (ish)
Further Comments: The abbey, of which only the ruins remain, was built on top of the first Christian church in the UK. A holy well located here once cured the sick. Monks based here in the twelfth century claimed to have discovered the bones of King Arthur on the site, though little evidence exists to back this claim up.
Magic Well
Location: Gorslas (West Glamorgan) - Llyn Llech Owen
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This lake now covers the location of a magic well which would never run dry on the proviso that it was always covered up with a rock after use. One man forgot to do so, and the water flooded the local area.
No Running from Fate
Location: Great Ayton (Yorkshire) - Roseberry Topping (hill)
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A Northumbrian princess was told on a certain day her son would drown. To prevent the death, the princess took her son and climbed to the top of this hill, which stands over three hundred metres tall, and is far away from rivers and the sea. Tired after the ascent, the princess fell asleep. Her son wandered away and discovered a small spring on the side of the hill. By the time the princess awoke and found her son, he had drowned in the spring's water.
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