Lady's Well

The well at Holystone is a fine example and the best preserved well in Northumberland. Its putative longevity of use from the Roman period to modern times, in particular its association with early Christian use and an adjacent medieval nunnery renders this monument of considerable archaeological interest.

The Lady's, or St Ninian's, Holy well is situated on the north west side of the small village of Holystone, immediately north of the well established course of the Roman road from High Rochester Roman fort to the River Aln, and at the opposite end of the village from the site of a medieval Augustinian priory.

The main feature of the well today is a rectangular stone tank with a rounded north east end which measures 13m by 7.8m and is orientated south west to north east. This tank is considered to be of Roman origin located on a halting place along the Roman road. A natural spring feeds the tank, the water being filtered through fine sand at the bottom. In the medieval period the Augustinian nuns who inhabited the priory at Holystone gained possesion of the well and it is thought that the name Lady's Well may have been given at this time.

The well, which had been ruinous for some time, was repaired in 1780 when the stone edging walls were rebuilt and a 15th century stone statue was brought from Alnwick Castle and erected in the centre of the well. A stone table which resembles an altar is situated at the east end of the tank and this may also date from the 18th century repairs. In the second half of the 19th century the statue was removed from the centre of the well to the south west end and a stone cross erected in its place. The statue is situated within the socket hole of a large roughly squared stone of unknown origin and date but not unlike the base of a medieval cross.

The well has served a variety of functions during its long history; in early Christian times the myths surrounding it claim that it was a baptismal well, in the early 18th century it was a healing well but by the early 20th century it was a wishing well into which crooked pins and occasionally coins were thrown. It is today used as the water supply for the village of Holystone.

An ancient myth associated with the well states that in AD 627 Paulinus baptised 3000 Northumbrians at the well; it is now accepted that this myth stemmed from a misreading of the writings of the Venerable Bede, a monk and historian born near Jarrow around AD 673.

The name of St Ninian, Bishop of Whithorn in south western Scotland between AD 500 and AD 550, is also attached to the well although any association is unsubstantiated. The monument is also a listed building Grade I.

The course of a Roman road enters the well enclosure at its north western corner and passes immediately north of the water tank to leave the enclosure at the north eastern corner where it proceeds in a north westerly direction to cross the River Coquet.