healing wells – Page 9

St. Blane’s Well, Dunblane, Stirlingshire

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Holy Well (lost): OS Grid Reference – NN 781 015

Also Known as:

Bruce’s Well

Archaeology & history

Very little is known about this long-lost site, mentioned just once in Alexander Barty’s (1944) standard history book on Dunblane. Its exact location is difficult to cite with any certainty, although a ‘Well’ is marked on the 1862 OS-map not far from where Mr Barty proclaimed it to be:

“In the close known as Regent’s Square in Braeport, opposite the public school, was a well called Bruce’s Well and also St Blane’s Well, and probably water from this supplied a well in Cathedral Market Garden to the west.”

Position of St. Blane’s Well?

St Blane is a Celtic saint whom tradition says gave his name to the town and whose festival date is August 10. In the area of the Allan Water St Blane was said to have set up his cell, which eventually became the prestigious ceremonial temple known as Dunblane Cathedral (although some evidence points to his original settlement being on the higher ground above the cathedral). Originally born on the Isle of Bute around 565 CE, another St Blane’s Well can be found at Kingarth on his home island.

References:

Armitage, Paul, The Holy Wells of Stirling and District, TNA 2019.
Barty, Alexander B., The History of Dunblane, Eneas Mackay: Stirling 1944.
Towill, Edwin Sprott, The Saints of Scotland, St Andrews Press 2012.

St. Finglassin’s Well, Kinglassie, Fife

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Holy Well: OS Grid Reference – NT 22797 98814

Also Known as:

Canmore ID 52894
St Finglassin’s Well
St Glass’s Well

Finglassins Well on early OS-map

Getting Here

In Kinglassie village, from the Main Street follow Redwells Road and turn right where it forks and follow the track until you get to the derelict ground; then turn left up the slope, following the eastern (right hand) edge of the wall up to the well.

Archaeology & History

Under its bower of hawthorn & elder

Sheltered under its bower of hawthorn and elder bushes, at a distance it has the romantic look of an ancient holy well. But close up, the spring issuing from Finglassins Well shows evidence of having been connected up to the public water supply, with ugly brickwork and pipes obliterating any previous structures that may or may not have existed there. There even seems to be doubt as to its name. Ordnance Survey and Nicolson Street Atlas show it as ‘Finglassins Well’. According to the Canmore citation, which lists it as ‘St Finglassin’s Well’ or ‘St. Glass’s Well’:

This spring is now piped into a trough. There are several boulders nearby but no dressed stone and it is doubtful if there was ever any structure here. It is known by both names.

A well of fine water…

Past industrial despoilation..

So who was the patronal saint, who is remembered variously as Finglassin, Glass, Glascianus, and Glastian? There seems to be some difference of opinion among the various sources, even as to whether any saint existed at all. Alban Butler, in his Lives of the Saints, tells:

“St. Glastian, Bishop and Confessor in Scotland: HE was a native of the county of Fife, and discharged in the same, during many years, the duties of the episcopal character with which he was honoured. Amidst the desolation which was spread over the whole country, in the last bloody civil war between the Scots and Picts, in which the latter were entirely subdued, St. Glastian was the comforter, spiritual father, and most charitable protector of many thousands of both nations. He died in 830, at Kinglace in Fifeshire, and was particularly honoured in that country, and in Kyntire. According to the ancient custom of that country, his name is frequently written Mac-Glastian, the word Mac signifying son.”

Bishop Forbes of Brechin, writing of St Glascianus in Kalendars of Scottish Saints:

“Of the life of the saint we have no details. The collect in the Breviary runs in these terms – ‘Grant we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who celebrate the anniversary of blessed Glascianus, Thy confessor and bishop, may by the intercession of his devout prayers, be deemed meet to attain to eternal joys through out Lord’ He is known in the parish of Kinglassie (or Kinglassin), near Kirkcaldy, of which frequent mention is made in the Register of Dunfermline.”

In the Old Statistical Account of 1792, Reverend James Reid, writing of the origins of Kinglassie:

“It is the opinion of some, that the name is originally Gaelic, and expressive of the situation; others trace it from a saint, whose name was Glass, and point out a well of fine water, called St. Glass’s well.”

Reverend J.M.Cunnynghame, in the New Statistical Account of 1845 wrote:

“While some have supposed that the village after which the parish is called, derives its appellation from a spring denominated St Glass’s Well, others, with apparently greater reason, have traced the name to Gaelic words signifying the ‘head of grey land’. This idea seems to be corroborated by the large extant of inundated, marshy, and mixed surface which….still stretches itself to the immediate vicinity of the village. The preferable conjecture concerning the the derivation of the name acquires additional support from the circumstance, that a locality, somewhat elevated above the channel, along which the water runs from the swamp alluded to, has received the appropriate designation of ‘Finglassie’ signifying the ‘termination of the gray land, or mixed bog.”

W.J.Watson, in The Celtic Place Names of Scotland gives the derivation of Kinglassie from the gaelic ‘cill glaise’ – ‘church of the brook’, and further:

“A well near the church is known as St Glass’s Well or St Finglassin’s Well. Here again, the stream ‘glais’ on which the church stands has been made into a saint; Findgassin is ‘find glaisín’ – ‘holy streamlet’. Near the church is an eminence called Finmont, for ‘finn monad’, later ‘fionn mhonadh’ – ‘white hill’, here probably ‘holy hill’. The real saint of Kinglassie is unknown.”

A closer view

I am inclined to discount Cunnynghame’s laboured interpretation in view of Watson’s later linguistic analysis, as well as bearing in mind he was a minister of a Kirk that went out of its way to deny and denigrate the native pre-Reformation saints. Because of its position and ambience despite past industrial despoilation, I am inclined to a saintly attribution to the well, which as in so many cases in Scotland has lost its true history owing to the depredations of the Reformation. If Watson’s interpretation of ‘Finmont’, ½ mile north-east of the well, is indeed ‘Holy Hill’ then Finglassins Well may have been a part of an ancient, perhaps heathen ritual landscape.

References:

Reid, James, Parish of Kinglassie, Old Statistical Account, Fife, 1792.
Cunnynghame, J.M. Parish of Kinglassie, New Statistical Account , Fife, 1845.
Butler, Alban, The Lives of the Fathers,Martyrs and Other Principal Saints, James Duffy: Dublin 1866.
Forbes, Bishop A.P., Kalendars of Scottish Saints, Edmiston & Douglas: Edinburgh 1872.
Watson, W.J., The Celtic Place Names of Scotland, (revised edition), Birlinn, Edinburgh, 2004 (originally published 1926).

Devil’s Well, Abernethy, Perthshire

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Sacred Well: OS Grid Reference – NO 19430 14758

Also Known as:

Canmore ID 28084

Getting Here

From Abernethy village, go west along the A913 road for half-a-mile, then turn left up the long and winding Glenfoot road up the Abernethy Glen. About a mile up on your left-side is Craigden Farm and, just a bit past this, the forestry plantation. Just before the trees, cut up the field and head uphill, passing the near forest of gorse, until you reach the huge detached house of Turflundie. In the field immediately east, right up against the barbed-wire fence where it meets the depleted forestry, a very small trickle of water emerges beneath a small pile of rocks. You’re here!

Archaeology & History

Long since thought to have been lost, the trickling remains of this old Well of the Devil are, in fact, still running beneath the pile of stones just over the barbed-wire fence on the edge of the forestry section. A cluster of other worn rounded rocks scatter the ground just to the rear of where the water first comes out of the ground, suggesting, perhaps, that a small well-house covered the spring; but this is me being speculative, as there’s no mention of this in the early writings of the Ordnance Survey lads, nor is one shown on the first OS-map of the area in 1860. And you’ll see on the OS-map how the well is slightly lower than where it presently trickles, but this is down to the fact that the source of it was piped-off at sometime in the not-too-distant past, as evidenced by remains of such piping laying just over the barbed-wire fence close to the source. In truth, unless you’re hardcore, there’s very little to see.

Folklore

The trickling waters are on the other side of this fence

The dedication of this water-site to the christian ‘devil’ is obviously a corruption of its original traditional name, which may have simply been to the Bodach, or ‘Old Man’ in Gaelic and northern British lore. The bodach‘s consort is the great prima Mater of the northern realms known as the Cailleach, but I can find no dedication to Her anywhere nearby. The best we have are the ‘Witches Graves’ a half-mile to the northwest, below the edge of the geological ridge overlooking Abernethy, where folklore tells us 22 women were murdered and buried by the local christians several centuries ago.

In the Ordnance Name Book of 1859, they recorded that,

“A small Spring well on the farm of Turflundie, so called from the mark of a cloven hoof on a near, supposed to have been made by his Satanic majesty when he stopped to quench his thirst at this well during some of his midnight rambles.”

There’s no apt word that follows the word “near”, but assume it was meant to be a “stone,” although we could find no such stone close by and there are no known petroglyphs that could account for that ingredient.

References:

Morris, Ruth & Frank, Scottish Healing Wells, Alethea: Sandy 1982.

Lady Betty’s Well, Leckie, Gargunnock, Stirlingshire

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Holy Well: OS Grid Reference – NS 69441 94687

Getting Here

Lady Bettys Well, nr Leckie

From Gargunnock village, take the road west towards Leckie, and then just before the right-angled bend in the road down towards the A811, bear sharp left, and then immediate right below the farmhouse along what looks like a private road taking you onto the Watson House mansion. About 500 yards along, with trees either side of you, look down the small steep slope where a small burn (stream) is visible. Get down there and, where the waters bend away changing direction to head north, look carefully for a small spring of water emerging, just a few yards south of the stream itself, beneath a young tree.

Archaeology & History

Lady Bettys Well on 1860 map

This all-but-forgotten water source is, thankfully, still running with clear waters below the wooded slopes. It is highlighted on the first OS-map of the region in 1860, 50-60 yards east of a small but once-picturesque waterfall (now spoiled by a mass of industrial waste, dumped hereby). Little seems to be known about its mythic history and, quite possibly, may have had something to do with our old cailleach. May have…. I say this purely in relation to what was said about the site by the Ordnance Survey lads at the end of the 1850s when they visited the site and enquired as to its name and nature. They told:

“A Small Spring issuing from under a rock like the mouth of a drain having no appearance of a Well. It took its name (Betty) from an old woman who lived adjacent some two hundred years ago; there is no tradition or Antiquity connected with it – nothing more nor less than an Old woman’s well, but is well known in the neighbourhood by the name. Situated at the base of Craigmakessoch and about 10 chains north west of Leckie house.”

Water emerging by the roots

Although ‘Betty’ is obviously a shortening of Elizabeth, it’s the Old Woman’s bit that brings up the cailleach element, which may or may not be valid. The small crag beneath which the spring still rises is known as ‘Craigmakessoch’, which Prof Paul Hornby thought might derive from a forgotten attribution to the little-known St. Makessog or Kessog. (are there any local folk who can clarify things?)

Were it not for the pollution due to the dumping here (in an otherwise beautiful place), it looks like the waters would still be drinkable – but we all decided to give it a miss…

Marion’s Well, Falkirk, Stirlingshire

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Healing Well (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – NS 8926 7977

Archaeology & History

Marion’s Well on 1864 map

Recorded in 1860 by the Ordnance Survey and highlighted several years later, this Marionesque potential of a holy well is not thought to derive its name from the usual Catholic pantheon—but it’s close! It was obviously an important water source for the people of Falkirk in early times and its clear waters were used to supply an early washing house close by (as shown on the map). Now completely built over where the B8080 meets the roundabout east of the town centre, the best literary account we have was penned by the regional historian Robert Gillespie (1879) who, in his survey of the area, told us:

“Of Marion’s Well there is scant record. According to tradition it got its name from Marion Livingston—a nun of the house of Callendar who, in the performance of the sacerdotal vow which kept her from the world, visited the well at intervals and used its soft waters as a pediluvium. The original well which was built round with stone, stood at the bottom of the Cladden’s Brae, on the bank of the East Burn. It was further protected by a circle of upright slabs—the great resting place of the water maids and the scene of many a happy ‘touzle’ as the stoups or pitchers were sent rolling and rattling down into the brawling brook.”

Marion’s Well, c.1900

The element of locals “touzling” here simply means that it was a meeting place for young lovers. (Grant 1973; Wright 1905) Although quite what Gillespie meant when he said it was surrounded “by a circle of upright slabs” is anyone’s guess! Was this architectural element constructed in the post-medieval period, or was it much much older…?

In the old photo of the well here, Scott & Astbury (1990) said how it,

“shows the trough of the well after it had been moved to the south side of Callender Road and shows a horse pulling a Barr’s cart at the trough. The view looks down what is now Corporation Street to the bridge over the East Burn.”

References:

Gillespie, Robert, Round about Falkirk, Dunn & Wright: Glasgow 1879.
Grant, William & Murison, David (eds.), The Scottish National Dictionary – volume 9, SNDA: Edinburgh 1973.
Morris, Ruth & Frank, Scottish Healing Wells, Alethea: Sandy 1982.
Reid, John, The Place-Names of Falkirk and East Stirlingshire, Falkirk Local History Society 2009.
Scott, Marion & Astbury, Tom, Falkirk’s Yesterdays, FDD: Falkirk 1986.
Wright, Thomas (ed.), English Dialect Dictionary – volume 6, Henry Frowde: Oxford 1905.

Our Lady’s Well, Straiton, Loanhead, Midlothian

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Holy Well (destroyed): OS Grid Reference – NT 2728 6669

Archaeology & History

Our Ladys ‘Well’ on 1855 map

This is another all-but-forgotten holy well once dedicated to the Virgin Mary, close to the south-side of Edinburgh’s outer ring-road. It would seem to have been one in a cluster of sacred wells not far from each other (with the two Jacob’s Wells and St. Margaret’s Well at nearby Pentland), whose traditional stories have fallen prey to the incredulity of ‘progress’. I can find very little about the site, other than the note given it in George Good’s (1893) Liberton survey where, in stepping south towards the old hamlets of Broomhill and Straiton, he told:

“A little to the west of the hamlet, and near what was called Straiton Green, is an old draw-well dedicated to the Virgin, and known by the name of Our Lady’s Well. There may possibly have been a cell or chapel near this well, but no tradition or history regarding it is extant.”

We can only presume that the ‘Well’ which is highlighted on the first OS-map in 1855, maybe 20-30 yards west of the old road on what looks like a small park or ‘Green’, would be the ‘Lady Well’ in question. (another ‘Well’ is shown at Broomhill Cottage, which is unlikely to be the contender)

References:

Bennett, Paul, Ancient and Holy Wells of Edinburgh, TNA 2017.
Good, George, Liberton in Ancient and Modern Times, Andrew Elliot: Edinburgh 1893.

Our Lady’s Well, Liberton, Edinburgh, Midlothian

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Holy Well: OS Grid Reference – NT 2640 7008

Also Known as:

Canmore ID 52100
Lady’s Well

Archaeology & History

In Thomas Whyte’s (1792) lengthy survey of Liberton village, as it was in the 1790s, we come across what seems to be the earliest description of this long-lost sacrede site on the northwest side of the parish. In writing of the beauty of the countryside hereby in those times, he told how,

“on the north by the rivulet called Braid’s-burn, near which there is a well which has the appellation…of the Lady’s or Virgin Mary’s well, famous for its large current, and the salubrity and lightness of its waters.”

Site of Our Lady’s Well

Our Ladys Well on 1855 map

Mr Whyte believed that its dedication to Our Lady went way back, probably before Liberton parish was given to St. Cuthbert in the 11th or 12th century (whose own holy well could once be found several miles north, near Leith). Generally, wells that are dedicated to ‘Our Lady’, refer to the Virgin Mary; but prior to any christian affectation, the animistic genius loci of the waters would have been a local spirit.

It was visited and described by the Ordnance Survey lads in the Name Book of 1851, in which they said that Our Lady’s Well was,

“The site of a celebrated well situated in a hollow on the farm of Liberton Tower Mains, and dedicated to St. Mary, as it and the field is well known to be called to this day, “The lady’s Field” & Well”. This well however about 50 years ago underwent a drainage during some improvements that were making on the land. In its covered condition it takes a S.E. course till its Confluence with the Braid Burn where it is shown to this day as the water coming from the Lady’s Well, and from which a body of crystalized water flows copiously. It was supposed that a chapel was somewhere Convenient which gave rise to the name, but all traces have long since disappeared….”

“There is no tradition recorded among the County people as to whether this was a holy well, or resorted to for superstitious purposes. But it is well ascertained to have been once a remarkable well & an object well known and though now covered-in, the place is still well known, as is also the name.”

Although this holy well was shown on early and late 19th century OS-maps as ‘covered’, trying to find its exact position today has proven difficult. When Paul Hornby and I visited the site after some heavy rains in June, 2017, we found a large pool of water in the field exactly as shown on the old map. This was, however, misleading, as the owner of the land and the Blackford Glen Western Riding school—a Mr John Fyfe—told us that they had, for years, always wondered about its exact position, but been unable to ascertain it with any certainty. The pool in the field always appeared after the rains, he said. He did tell us however, that many years ago when he was digging in order that the Braid Burn stopped flooding his property, he came upon a length of ancient piping running in the direction of the burn, some 5 or 6 feet down, whose use he could not ascertain—but which might have once conducted the waters from the Lady Well away. No water was running through it though.

Near the middle of Liberton village a century or so ago, another holy well of the same name could once be seen less than a mile to the east.

References:

Bennett, Paul, Ancient and Holy Wells of Edinburgh, TNA 2017.
Good, George, Liberton in Ancient and Modern Times, Andrew Elliot: Edinburgh 1893.
Walker, J. Russel, “‘Holy Wells’ in Scotland,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol.17 (New Series, volume 5), 1883.
Whyte, Thomas, “An Account of the Parish of Liberton in Mid-Lothian, or County of Edinburgh,” in Archaeologia Scotica, volume 1, 1792.

Acknowledegments: Huge thanks to John Fyfe and his wife for their help when we were exploring this site.

Crawley Spring, Glencorse, Midlothian

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Healing Well (covered): OS Grid-Reference – NT 23894 63346

Archaeology & History

Site of Crawley Spring on the 1854 map

Once found flowing freely beneath the shadow of the prehistoric hillfort of Castlelaw, this all-but-forgotten site was thankfully recorded in Hope & Telford’s (1813) survey of Edinburgh’s natural water supply. Mr Telford said how “This noble spring rises from the bottom of a bank, at the foot of the Castlelaw Hill, at the edge of a small, low, almost marshy meadow close by the Glencorse Burn, a little way below the bridge.” Twelve years after writing this, the well had been blocked and a cistern built over it.

It was proclaimed by local people to be medicinal (though to what ailments, I cannot find), but there was an effective confirmation of some medicinal qualities in the waters following an analysis in 1810 when very tiny mineral elements were found. Mr Telford (1813) explained:

“The water is perfectly transparent and colourless, free from every smell and taste and is of excellent quality. It has, as is the case with almost all spring water, some matters dissolved in it, though in smaller quantities than common… This foreign matter consist of carbonate of lime, muriate of soda, and sulphate of lime, with an excessively minute portion of magnesium salt. The proportions of these ingredients, in each pound, are nearly:

Carbonate of Lime – 0.43 of a grain
Muriate of Soda – 0.10 of a grain
Sulphate of Lime – 0.90 of a grain
Sulphate of Magnesia – 0.05 of a grain

The carbonate of lime is dissolved by means of carbonic acid, which is not in greater quantity than is barely sufficient for the purpose. All of these ingredients are in themselves innocent to the human body; and in the quantity in which they are present in the water, do not affect its goodness. The water is perfectly soft and fit for washing, infusing tea and other domestic purposes. The water, therefore, is exceptional in every respect.”

When it came to the Crawley Spring waters being used to feed the habits of Edinburgh city, there was considerable opposition by the land-owner and local people who were, correctly, concerned that that ecosystem here would be adversely affected if the waters were to disappear. And so it was that Earth’s blood was taken from the land and the people and the animals, to benefit and feed the religion of Industrialism and ‘progress’ once more…

References:

Bennett, Paul, Ancient and Holy Wells of Edinburgh, TNA: Alva 2017.
Hope, Thomas C. & Telford, Thomas, Reports on the Means of Improving the Supply of Water for the City of Edinburgh, A. Constable: Edinburgh

Stock Well, Glasgow, Lanarkshire

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Healing Well (lost): OS Grid Reference – NS 593 648

Also Known as:

Ratten Well

Archaeology & History

This long lost well near the middle of Glasgow was known by this name as early as 1345. Close to the River Clyde, a wooden structure was built around the well—a stock—and its waters were used by local fishermen. A local fair used to be held hereby. It has long since been built over and its original position no longer seems to be known.

Folklore

The old traditional tale behind this site was written in a short piece in the Scottish Journal of Topography oh so long ago now… One pseudonymous “R.M.S.” said that:

“Stockwell Street in the city of Glasgow, is pretty well-known, and everybody in the locality is aware of the ‘Ratten Well’ with its impure waters. It is said that, in days of yore, when Sir William Wallace had occasion to be in that quarter, he and his party met a band of englishmen at the well. A battle ensued, and the bodies of the englishmen, who were defeated, were thrown by the incensed Scots into the well. “Stock it well! Stock it well” exclaimed Wallace, from which expression the street received its name. So says tradition; and it is even yet believed that the bad quality of the water is owing to the putrefaction of the dead bodies of the englishmen.”

The one thing we can be certain about in this story, is that the Scots wouldn’t be stupid enough to dump dead bodies into their own fresh water supplies. We must assume some englishman or dodgy corporation was responsible for that bit!

References:

Bennett, Paul, Ancient and Holy Wells of Glasgow, TNA 2017.
Brotchie, T.C.F., “Holy Wells in and Around Glasgow,” in Old Glasgow Club Transactions, volume 4, 1920.
MacKenzie, Peter, Reminiscences of Glasgow and the West of Scotland – volume 1, John Tweed: Glasgow 1865.
“R.M.S.”, “Stockwell Street, Glasgow,” in Scottish Journal of Topography, Antiquities & Traditions, volume 2, July 8, 1848.

Lady Well, Glasgow, Lanarkshire

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Holy Well: OS Grid Reference – NS 60376 65323

Also Known as:

Canmore ID 45037

Getting Here

Lady Well on 1865 OS-map

Get yourself to Glasgow Cathedral—wherein you’ll find St. Mungo’s Well—and walk down John Know Street. A coupla hundred yards down, across the road is a small street called Ladywell Lane (there’s no signpost for it though), running below the cemetery and leading to the back entrance of the giant Tennent’s Brewery. At the bottom of this, up against the wall on your left, is the Lady Well.

Archaeology & History

The origins and early traditional history of this once famous sacred well are sadly lost due to the intrusion of industrialism. It was obviously a place of some considerable repute and lent its name to local quarries and fields hereby. Used extensively by local people for countless centuries, things were to change in 1715 when the waters of this and other wells were to be kept clean by one John Black, “at a salary of 400 merks yearly.” The Glasgow historian Eyre-Todd (1934) told that,

“Black was to furnish them with chains, buckets, sheaves, ladles, and other necessary graith, aswell as with locks and iron bands. He was ‘to cleanse, muck and keep them clean,’ and to lock and open them in due time, evening and morning. In case of failure he was liable to a penalty of £100 Scots.”

Lady Well in 2015

Lady Well in 1883

That’s a helluva lot of money in those days! Even when M’Ure (1736) described it, only in passing, he had nothing to say about its curative properties or local rites. Once the Industrialists take control, the ways of local people are sanitized, sterilized and ‘progress’ outlaws tradition. The only reference to an earlier sacrality is in Mr Russel’s (1883) article, where he said simply, that the Lady Well was “so called after a fountain at the bottom of the Craigs…sacred in Popish times to the Virgin.”

The construction that we see today—of the well in its little enclave—was first built in 1835-6. The waters became polluted after they were redirected below the Necropolis and have not been used since (although they still flow out of the wall a couple of yards to the right, stinking!). The architectural feature was cleaned up and restored by the local brewery in 1983.

The site may have gained its name from one Lady Lochow, who lived nearby and built a hospital at the old Gorbels in the 14th century—but we might never know the real truth about the origin of its dedication. However, an intriguing ingredient relating to the dedication of the Lady Well is the incidence of a St. Anne’s Street that used to exist immediately to the east, as seen on the 1865 OS-map above. St. Anne may well be the mythic character behind the naming of this Lady Well, although I can find no literature to prove this. In the christian mythos, St. Anne was a very important character indeed: the mother of the Virgin Mary no less! However, as hagiographers from Attwater (1965), to Baring-Gould (1898) and Butler (1866) all tell, her biography is piecemeal—which is most surprising considering she was JC’s granny! Anne’s festival date was July 26 (a couple of days after Sirius enters the northern hemisphere); she was the patron saint of midwives, grandmothers and also miners, who invoked her as the deity who produced gold and silver—akin to the Earth Mother Herself! It’s obvious that Anne’s original mythic nature was subdued, as she represented an archaic root of matriarchal triplicity of the Virgin, the Lady and Old Woman and not the patriarchal triplicity of the incoming christian cult. The christian mythos at this Lady Well (as elsewhere) replaced one facet of the indigenous prima mater in Glasgow, known as the Cailleach—as shown in her attributes of midwife, grandmother and the deep Earth. If local historians can find field-names or wells dedicated to the Maiden, the Lady and the Carlin (or their variant titles) nearby, the lost layers of archaic Glasgow’s indigenous animistic folk memories could be mapped out once again…

References:

Attwater, Donald, The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, Penguin: Harmondsworth 1965.
Baring-Gould, S., The Lives of the Saints – volume 8, J.C. Nimmo: London 1898.
Bennett, Paul, Ancient and Holy Wells of Glasgow, TNA 2017.
Brotchie, T.C.F., “Holy Wells in and Around Glasgow,” in Old Glasgow Club Transactions, volume 4, 1920.
Butler, Alba, The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints – volume 7, James Duffy: Dublin 1866.
Eyre-Todd, George, History of Glasgow – volume 3, Jackson: Glasgow 1934.
Greene, E.A., Saints and their Symbols, Sampson Low: London 1897.
MacIntosh, Hugh, The Origin and History of Glasgow Streets, James Hedderwick: Glasgow 1902.
M’Ure, John, History of Glasgow, D. MacVean: Glasgow 1736.
Walker, J. Russel, “‘Holy Wells’ in Scotland,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol.17 (New Series, volume 5), 1883.