St, Nicholas Well

Marked on the 1839 and 1941 eds of the OS 6-inch map and described in gothic lettering on both as St. Nicholas’ Well. It is situated towards the bottom of a steep N-facing slope in a mature deciduous wood. St. Nicholas of Myra, whose feastday falls on the 6th December, was a 4th century bishop in Turkey and a renowned gift-giver, on whom much of the character of Santa Claus is based (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas) (Butler 1990, 175), but there is no record of a pattern.There is now an abandoned concrete reservoir at the location, with no evidence of an ancient well or of veneration. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 20 December, 2012

St. Nicholas’ Well is associated with St. Nicholas of Myra, a 4th-century bishop venerated as a protector and healer, particularly of children and sailors. Traditionally, the well may have been visited for its supposed curative properties, especially for ailments of the chest and digestive system, with offerings or coins sometimes left as tokens of gratitude.