More on The Well...

Several years ago, whilst constructing a small extension at the rear of the premises, I uncovered two things: one was a deep-water well, which was filled with rubble. The well had been capped off sometime in the distant past with a rock weighing over two tons. The other thing I discovered was a wide sandstone wall foundation, which ran in exactly the same orientation as Northop Church, just over the road from the house.

The well is located alongside the ‘old wall foundation’ discovered, in the far corner of what looked liked the remains on a very big building which had stood on this site in the past. I also discovered the remains of foot-worn stone steps up one side of the well, indicating that it had been in regular use at one time and for many years.

I researched wells connected with ecclesiastical sites and found out that refectories for such sites, were built around a water source or well, so that water was readily available for drinking and cooking. Putting two and two together it is a reasonable conclusion that, with the knowledge  Northop Church has been an important religious site in the area since the sixth century, there may well have been a refectory on this site for the monks of the Dark Ages and pilgrimage travellers to the area.

Later, I will tell you about a local house called Mynachlog. This house and its environs is the site of a Dark Ages Monastery and are situated about half a mile from Northop. I featured part of this story into my book Excalibur Reborn.

A former resident of Mynachlog, a Thomas Edwards (1779-1858), wrote on the history of the area and based some of his writings on conversations with the Jones Family who had occupied the site for two centuries previously. There would have been regular traffic between the two sites i.e. Northop Church and Mynachlog … and doubtless those pilgrims to the site too, requiring food and hence the need for a place to eat and make merry.

Thomas Edwards, whom I will tell you more about in the future, also wrote of a very Sacred and Holy well being half a mile to the East of Mynachlog, which essentially is the site of The Old Police Station. This leaves us asking the question, is the well at The Old Police Station the long lost Holy Well of the Chapel - as referred to in my last post. There is a good chance it is, but we will never know for sure. What I do know is that there is a very ancient well on this site, previously unrecorded on all maps and so, lost in time.

In the image of the well, when it was being excavated you can see one of the ancient stone steps leading into the well adjacent to the ladder. Descending the ladder into the bowels of the well wasn't a good place to go if you felt claustrophobic either! The well is now over 30 feet deep but due to safety considerations we failed to excavate right to the bottom of the well and further secrets are doubtless hidden there.

#ancientwell #northop #history #oldpolicestation #eurgain #mynachlog #secrethistory