Holy Well (lost): OS Grid Reference – NO 401 301 (approximation)
Archaeology & History
Cited just once in the “Register of the Great Seal” (Registrum Magni Sigilli) in the year 1512 CE, this Fontis Beate Marie, or Well of St. Mary has long since disappeared. Its exact location in the city has been forgotten, but it seems likely to have been close to St. Mary’s Church. Further research is needed.
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© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
Holy Well (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – NO 4035 3024
Also Known as:
Archaeology & History
One of at least five sacred wells that formerly existed in old Dundee, this one dedicated to St. Clement was associated with the ancient church, also of his name. It could be found a short distance south of the church—itself long gone—”rising out of a knoll overhanging the river bank,” wrote Alexander Maxwell (1884) and possessing considerable renown to local people. This great Dundee historian found several early references to it in old council registers: one of which, from 1589, described a conflict regarding the building of a school on land owned by Andro Renkyne. And it was on this piece of land where St. Clement’s Well emerged. The school was built and then Rankyne built a gable up to the edge of the school but, in doing so, cut off his own access to the holy well. This somewhat short-sighted action of Renkyne’s was subsequently remedied in 1607 by Dundee Council. Maxwell told us:
“The Council “grantit him licence to strike furth ane windok in the north side wall of his tenement in St. Clement’s kirkyard, near to the well in the schoolhouse closs, or within the bounds of the said well, to the effect he may draw water furth of the well to his awn service, with this provision that he hald the windok continually close, except at sic time as the water is drawn thereat, and that he close up the windok with stane wark quhenever he beis requirit.”
The waters—”reputed to have sovereign virtues”— were protected and covered by an old well-house. When Alex Lamb (1895) came to write about it he told that it was of a circular form with “unmistakable traces of splendid workmanship.” On its stone roof was what seemed to be a somewhat crude carving of a bishop and because of this it acquired the name “Bishop’s Well.” Another title given it by some locals was the Saint’s Well.
In the middle of the 19th century the remains of the well-house could still be seen, albeit in a state of neglect between the school building and Renkeyne’s house. But their end was nigh. Maxwell continued:
“When the buildings were demolished a few years ago, the saint’s old well — its water yet pelucid and fresh — was discovered at the angle where the school joined to Andro’s house. Above it was the window which he struck furth for drawing water; but it had long before been built up and the purpose of it forgotten, and its curiously recessed position and uncouth masonry only served as a puzzle for ingenious antiquaries.”
Subsequently he lamented the demise of the well telling how it had “been covered over by the extension of the Townhouse.”
Folklore
Alexander Maxwell (1891) told how the church was used as a shrine by local people and fishermen, as St. Clement of Rome had been cast into the sea chained to an anchor and so became the patron saint of sailors. He thought such properties, “would, no doubt, be in request for the supply of ships.”
St. Clement himself was a very early, first century saint, said to have died in 99 CE. His festival date is 23 November.
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© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
Tumulus (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – SE 234 336
Archaeology & History
Today, Hough Hill has almost completely given way to modern housing; but in bygone centuries, this hilltop once housed a prehistoric burial mound—albeit an inconspicuous one. It was mentioned briefly in Faull & Morehouse’s (1981) magnum opus, but we know very little of its overall appearance and stature. Its existence was recorded posthumously thanks to the antiquarian John Holmes, without whose notes it would have been lost to history.
During quarrying operations at Hough Hill in December 1879, an ornamental urn was found,
“filled with calcined bones (that) was placed on a dish shaped hollow, some two or three feet deep, with charcoal and burnt earth.”
Holmes compared some markings that were upon this urn to one that was uncovered in Acrehowe Hill above Baildon by J.N.M. Coll in 1845. Unfortunately the Hough Hill urn was broken into fragments shortly after being uncovered. All remains of the burial mound have been completely destroyed.
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© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 66075 39622
Take the directions to the Balnasuim (1) carving, then up and across to Balnasuim (2). From here, walk diagonally uphill to your right (NE) for about 150 yards and head to the the very top-corner of this field. You’ll see the large embedded rock emerging out of the ground, just ten yards away from a small stream. You’re there!
Archaeology & History
As Officer Barbrady likes to put it, “move along people, there’s nothing to see here!“—and that’s really the case with this, another of Balnasuim’s petroglyphs. This lichen-encrusted rock has just two simple cup-marks, barely visible when the daylight’s poor – and it’s almost as disappointing when the day is good! In all honesty, in wilfully visiting this site and its geographical compatriots, I can sincerely understand how people can tell us petroglyph-nuts that we “really have nothing better to do” with our time!
© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 65813 39268
From Killin, take the A827 road to Kenmore. 6 miles along, on your right, is the track down to the Big Shed at Tombreck. Keep on the A827 for exactly ⅓-mile (0.53km), and opposite the driveway to Craggantoul is a small parking spot. A few yards on the road, over the burn, go thru the gate on your left. From here, follow the straight line of walling uphill and 20 yards before reaching Cragganester (9) carving, follow the line of fencing right (ENE) until you hit the wall more than 350 yards away. From here, follow the walling uphlil 350 yards where it turns a right-angle west. About 50 yards east of the right-angled wall, look around…
Archaeology & History
As with the other carvings up here at Balnasuim, there is little to look at unless you’re one of the ardent petroglyphic crazies! On this small rounded stone, cushioned beneath the skylines of Ben Lawers and Meall Odhar, are at least three cupmarks in a rough arc running from the northern part of the stone, with the most pronounced of them being close to the northern edge of the rock. The others are very shallow and can be difficult to make out in poor sunlight. A possible fourth cupmark with a short protruding line may exist close to the SE part of the stone. The Balnasuim (2) carving is 305 yards (279m) to the NE.
© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 65965 39521
From Killin, take the A827 road to Kenmore. 6 miles along, on your right, is the track down to the Big Shed at Tombreck. Keep on the A827 for exactly ⅓-mile (0.53km), and opposite the driveway to Craggantoul is a small parking spot. A few yards on the road, over the burn, go thru the gate on your left. From here, follow the straight line of walling up past Cragganester (9) carving, following the burn uphill parallel to the copse of trees until, after about 800 yards, you reach the wall. From here, walk towards the rounded hill of Meall Odhar and, after about 450 yards, you’ll notice it meets a line of walling that runs downhill. Keep walking along, past this, but after 150 yards, go into the field on your right and walk downhill for about 100 yards. Look around!
Archaeology & History
Despite the climb, plus its description as a ‘cup-and-ring’ stone, this petroglyph is somewhat of a disappointment. An elongated stone, half-covered in earth faces south towards Loch Tay and the mountains across, with a series of very eroded cup-marks.
They are separated into two small groups. At the southwest side of the rock we can see three or four faded cup-marks. The middle of the rock seems devoid of anything, but on its more northeastern side we find four more cups in close attendance to a standard cup-and-ring motif. That’s about it! The Balnasuim (1) carving can be found 305 yards (279m) to the southwest.
© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 88793 26304
Follow the same directions as if you’re visiting the Falls of Monzie (2) carving; but instead of walking off the track to see that particular carving, keep to the track for about another 60 yards then go up the slight slope on your right. The stone is pretty much overgrown, but if you’re patient you’ll find it.
Archaeology & History
It is difficult to say with any certainty whether or not this petroglyphs has previously been reported. A somewhat confusing series of descriptions by several writers would indicate that is has not been recorded; but I’m happy to be shown otherwise… It’s nowt much to look at if truth be had. Heavily eroded by the elements, this elongated flat stone possesses seven very shallow cups, with a possible eighth, as you can see highlighted in the photo.
© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
Chambered Cairn (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – C 003 396
Archaeology & History
In unpublished Notebooks written by one Thomas Fagan during the years 1845-48 (held by the National Archives in Dublin), he wrote how a local man had told him of the existence of “a supposed Druid’s Altar” in Claggan township, but its precise location has never subsequently been established. In Eamon Cody’s (2002) magnum opus he told what little we know about the place, saying,
“It stood on a slight rise adjoining Claggan Upper, the name assigned to a group of houses in the townland. It was reportedly encircled by “a wall or parapet” and consisted of several large upright stones2-4 feet high and arranged in two rows of few feet apart with a pillar at either end.”
The structure had been completely destroyed just a few years before Fagan’s visit to the place and no further information of it has yet been uncovered.
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© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid-Reference – SD 96279 55034
From Skipton head up the B6265 Grassington Road and after a short distance you will reach the Craven Heifer Pub on your left. About ¾-mile past the pub is a small turning on your left called Bog Lane. Go along here for about ¼-mile till you come to a sharp left bend and on the right you will see a gateway with room to park. Once here you’ll notice a sharp-pointed hill—and that’s Sharp Haw! Go through the gate, up the gravel track parallel to the wall on your left for 500 yards. Where the wall ends take the small path on your right and walk up here for ¾-mile where the path splits again. Take the right-hand path for 85 yards and the stone is on the left of the path.
Archaeology & History
Nowt special to look at, this is merely an elongated earthfast female stone that will be hard to find when the reeds grow high. The design consists of at least three cup-marks, with the most prominent one near the middle of the stone. A second one is shallow and on its northern side, near the middle; whilst the third one on its southern side was uncovered when we peeled back the vegetation; the peck marks are still visible. In the photo to the left I’ve placed numbers below the position of the respective cup-marks. In a cursory meander here, we found no other carvings – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any!
© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian
Cup-and-Line Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 88831 26261
A couple of miles east of Crieff, take the A822 road from the Gilmerton junction towards the Sma’ Glen. After literally 1¾ miles (2.8km)—just 100 yards before the track up to Connachan Farm—you’ll reach a dirt-track on your left that leads into the hills. Go along here for 250 yards (230m) yards (the track has straightened out here) and then walk into the reeds on your right. About 15 yards in, look around!
Archaeology & History
Another one of those fascinating carvings that had me here for an hour, maybe more, poring over more and more features as the light, shadow and rock gave more and more depending on how I looked at it. Tis the same with many petroglyphs, of course… But I liked this one.
On initial impression it didn’t seem up to much: maybe a few faint cups—some certain, others no so much. But the more attention we gave this stone, so more of those unlikely faint cups became much more real. At first there were a dozen; then 15 or more; but as we gave it more and more attention, so more of the petroglyphic design showed its original form. They do that, these stones! When George Currie rediscovered this carving in 2008 he found 17 cup-marks on the stone, but at least thirty of them go to make up this petroglyph. There may even be a very faint, albeit incomplete ring around one of them, but I’ll let the computer-tech kids work that one out!
This carving has that peculiar and not-too-infrequent element of having some cups carved into the natural cracks in the stone. In this case, at least four of them can be seen etched into the large deep crack that runs along its more northern edge. They’re quite distinct once you get your focus on them. In this case—albeit it to a much lesser extent—this feature reminded me of the impressive West Strathan carving in Sutherland. But where this natural crack finishes, it has been artificially extended until it reaches the eastern edge of the stone. You’ll also notice in the photos highlighting this feature, that another artificial line has been carved at right-angles to it, heading south, until it meets another natural crack in the stone. It’s quite distinct. And along this second artificial line, you’ll notice another cup or three—one of which has been cut into the line. These two man-made extended cracks in the stone, give the simple impression of an early cross symbol. Features such as this, whilst seemingly trivial to the bog standard explorer, possess some very curious myths in some living traditions elsewhere in the world; but such things are beyond the remit of this site profile.
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© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian