Lady's Well, Holystone, Northumberland: view NE of the stone-lined, playing card-shaped pool which was repaired & adorned with a cross in the C18th.
Lady's Well, Holystone, Northumberland: view NE of the stone-lined, playing card-shaped pool which was repaired & adorned with a cross in the C18th; the statue was brought from Alnwick in the C19th. An ancient sacred spring beside the minor Roman road running E from Bremenium (High Rochester in Redesdale) on Dere Street. It became associated with Christian baptisms by missionary saints Ninian & Paulinus in the C5th & C7th, and with the Virgin Mary in the C12th when Holystone housed of a priory of Augustinian canonesses dedicated to St Mary. The well has a very long history - possibly began as the cult site of a pagan goddess - but it was first walled round in either Roman or Medieval times. Drinking water for the village still comes from the well which is owned by the National Trust.
Size: 4013px × 5315px
Location: Lady's Well, Holystone, Rothbury, Northumberland, England, UK
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ancient, baptism, britain, british, card-shaped, celtic, christian, christianity, conversion, cross, cult, england, english, figure, georgian, great, holy, holystone, ladys, mary, medieval, national, ninian, northumberland, northumbria, pagan, park, paulinus, place, playing, plinth, pond, pool, rectangular, ring-headed, road, roman, romano-celtic, rothbury, sacred, shrine, site, spring, st, statue, stone, trees, trust, uk, virgin, watching, water, watering
