Holy wells and springs

Watery places have always held a certain amount of fascination, especially natural springs and wells and, over thousands of years, have become sacred places of pilgrimage and sacrifice where the Gods who dwell beneath the depths ultimately decide the fate of man.

Both Bronze and Iron Age man saw water as having supernatural powers, whilst its mysterious depths were gateways to the underworld. As such, many offerings were made to appease the Gods as evidenced by archaeological finds of jewellery, plaques, coins and both human and animal remains. No doubt these places were the origin of today's wishing wells!

Discover more about these strange watery places in 'Mrs Darley's Pagan Whispers'

Well Dressing

The origins of well dressing have been lost in the mists of time, however it has been suggested that it is a continuation of the Celtic practice of making offerings to the Gods, in exchange for answering a request or providing a blessing.

In Tissington in Derbyshire the wells are still dressed to this day, a tradition which stems back to 1350. At this time the plague had swept through Derbyshire, killing 50% of the population, however the people of Tissington remained healthy, a fact attributed to the pure well water and from that time the wells were dressed as a form of thanksgiving.

Wells of Fertility

Wells have been used by the native people of these islands for thousands of years and many are dedicated to the once Irish Goddess Bride or the now Christianised, St Bridget. They have been used for a myriad of reasons, although many would visit Bride's sacred wells for a specific purpose; that of fertility.

As late as 1860, it was recorded that a group of women were seen dancing around St Bridget's well in Grampian, Scotland, whilst an old crone stood in the centre and sprinkled the dancers with water with which to sweep away their bareness. Another story from the same well tells of brides visiting the well the day before their wedding to ensure they would be fertile and bare children.

Holy Wells

The Bronze and Iron Age people saw water as having supernatural powers, whilst its mysterious, dark depths were seen as the entrance to the underworld. People felt compelled to make offerings to the Deities, which they believed inhabited these sacred places, a fact that has been evidenced by many archaeological finds. Items such as jewellery, plaques, coins and animal and human remains have all been discovered in these watery places where springs mysteriously burst forth from the land and were no doubt the wishing wells of early man.

Springs and wells were also seen as places of healing, of communing with the Gods, of worship, of purification and divination. There was however, a darker side to some requests thrown into the waters as findings from the Celtic/Roman shrine of Sulis Minerva in Bath show, for here lay plaques that not only had for healing but many were inscribed with curses and hexes.

Perhaps little changes within the human psyche over millennia after all?