Brow Well, just W of Ruthwell, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, UK: a chalybeate/ferruginous healing well visited by a mortally ill Robert Burns in 1796
View looking E of Brow Well, just W of Ruthwell, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, UK: a chalybeate/ferruginous healing well containing iron oxides & other mineral salts. A mortally ill Robert Burns came to Brow 3-18 July 1796 to sea bathe & take the waters & country air in an attempt to cure what he called his 'Flying Gout'. He died aged 37 on 21 July 1796, three days after returning to his home in Dumfries. He probably died of an inflammed heart caused by a bacterial infection. In Burns' time there were several mineral springs on either side of the Raffles Burn at Brow. This well, above the road on the W side of the burn, has been the main one since at least 1856. Its present form, a sunken tank or bath accessed by steps & lined with red sandstone ashlar blocks, is relatively modern. Since my photo was taken in May 1991, the area immediately around the well has been paved with square pink-red slabs.
Size: 3780px × 2638px
Location: Brow Well, Stanhope, Ruthwell, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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