Old Cumbria Gazetteer - Holy Well, Lower Allithwaite


	Holy Well, Lower Allithwaite
	Holy Well
	Holy Well Spa
	St Agnes's Well
site name:-	Humphrey Head
civil parish:-	Lower Allithwaite (formerly Lancashire)
county:-	Cumbria
locality type:-	spring
locality type:-	well
locality type:-	spa
locality type:-	holy well
coordinates:-	SD39027391
1Km square:-	SD3973
10Km square:-	SD37

	BLW25.jpg An unkempt and unholy well, we don't think we found the wrong place. The notice says:- "DANGER WATER NOT SUITABLE FOR DRINKING" (taken 18.4.2006) BYS46.jpg Notice the sherd of a broken mug. (taken 5.7.2013)

evidence:-	old map:- OS County Series (Lan 17 15) placename:- Holy Well Spa
source data:-	Maps, County Series maps of Great Britain, scales 6 and 25 inches to 1 mile, published by the Ordnance Survey, Southampton, Hampshire, from about 1863 to 1948.

evidence:-	old text:- West 1774
source data:-	Book, with map and prints, The Antiquities of Furness, by Thomas West, Tytup Hall, Furness, Lancashire, printed by T Spilsbury, Cook's Court, Carey Street, Lincon's Inn, London, 1774; published 1774-1822? goto source Page 15:- "Near the sand-side stands Wraysholme tower: formerly it belonged to the Harringtons. Near it is a medicinal spring of a brackish taste, much frequented every summer, and found to be a good remedy for worms, and cutaneous complaints." "..."

evidence:-	descriptive text:- West 1778 (11th edn 1821) item:- cutaneous diseases
source data:-	Guide book, A Guide to the Lakes, by Thomas West, published by William Pennington, Kendal, Cumbria once Westmorland, and in London, 1778 to 1821. goto source Page 31, footnote:- "Near this place [Flookburgh] is a noted spaw, called Holy-well, found to be of great service in most cutaneous disorders, and much resorted to in the summer season from distant parts. It is an easy cathartic, restores lost appetite, and fully answers the ancient poetic description of a fountain." "'Infirmo capiti fluit utilis, utilis alvo.'"

evidence:-	old map:- West 1784 map placename:- Cartmel Wells
source data:-	Map, hand coloured engraving, A Map of the Lakes in Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire, scale about 3.5 miles to 1 inch, engraved by Paas, 53 Holborn, London, about 1784. Ws02SD37.jpg item:- Armitt Library : A1221.1 Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-	old text:- Camden 1789 (Gough Additions) item:- arthritis; cutaneous disorders
source data:-	Book, Britannia, or A Chorographical Description of the Flourishing Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, by William Camden, 1586, translated from the 1607 Latin edition by Richard Gough, published London, 1789. goto source Page 142:- "..." "Near Wraysholme tower is a brackish medical spring much used for arthritic and cutaneous disorders."

evidence:-	old map:- Otley 1818
source data:-	Map, uncoloured engraving, The District of the Lakes, Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire, scale about 4 miles to 1 inch, by Jonathan Otley, 1818, engraved by J and G Menzies, Edinburgh, Scotland, published by Jonathan Otley, Keswick, Cumberland, et al, 1833. OT02SD37.jpg "Spaw" item:- JandMN : 48.1 Image © see bottom of page

evidence:-	descriptive text:- Otley 1823 (5th edn 1834)
source data:-	Guide book, A Concise Description of the English Lakes, the mountains in their vicinity, and the roads by which they may be visited, with remarks on the mineralogy and geology of the district, by Jonathan Otley, published by the author, Keswick, Cumberland now Cumbria, by J Richardson, London, and by Arthur Foster, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, 1823; published 1823-49, latterly as the Descriptive Guide to the English Lakes. goto source Page 94:- "Flookborough ... has two comfortable inns fitted for the reception of persons making use of a medicinal spring near Humphrey Head, two miles distant. This water is considered a mild and safe purgative; and were a suitable accommodation erected upon the spot, there would be no doubt of its becoming a place of considerable resort. ..."

evidence:-	descriptive text:- Ford 1839 (3rd edn 1843) placename:- Holy Well
source data:-	Guide book, A Description of Scenery in the Lake District, by Rev William Ford, published by Charles Thurnam, Carlisle, by W Edwards, 12 Ave Maria Lane, Charles Tilt, Fleet Street, William Smith, 113 Fleet Street, London, by Currie and Bowman, Newcastle, by Bancks and Co, Manchester, by Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, and by Sinclair, Dumfries, 1839. goto source Page 3:- "..." "... The town [Cartmel] is chiefly supported by its mineral spring, called Holy Well, three miles south of the town, celebrated as a remedy for stone, gout, and cutaneous complaints. The water flows from a projecting rock of limestone, called Humphrey Head, and its healing qualities cause a considerable influx of visitors from the neighbouring places." goto source Page 154:- "..." "[Cartmel] ... Three miles hence is a medicinal spring, called Holy Well, much fre[quented.]"

evidence:-	old text:- Jopling 1843 placename:- Holy Well placename:- Cartmel Well item:- stone, the; gout; cutaneous complaints; sulphate of lime; sulphate of magnesia; muriate of soda; calcium sulphate; magnesium sulphate; sodium chloride
source data:-	Book, Sketch of Furness and Cartmel, by Charles M Jopling, published by Whittaker and Co, Ave Maria Lane, London and by Stephen Soulby, Ulverston, Cumberland, 1843. "THE SPA." "The medicinal qualities of the 'Holy Well,' or Cartmel Well, at Humphrey Head, the southern-most part of Cartmel, where it projects into the Bay of Morecambe, occasions a considerable influx of company, during the summer months, to the town of Cartmel and the neighbouring villages of Flookburgh, Kent's Bank, and Grange. The spring is celebrated as a remedy for the stone, gout, and cutaneous complaints. A pint of the water being evaporated, the solid contents were dried, by a heat rather inferior to redness, and weighed sixty-two grains, which contained the following proportions: sulphate of lime, 10, sulphate of magnesia, 2; muriate of soda, 49 [Charnock's analysis]."

evidence:-	descriptive text:- Palmer 1926
source data:-	Guide book, Things Seen at the English Lakes, by William T Palmer, published by Seeley, Service and Co, 196 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, 1926. "... its waters should not be tasted by the wanderer. They have drastic action at times!"

	BYS45.jpg Notice the sherds of a broken mug. (taken 5.7.2013)

hearsay:-	The well was dedicated to St Agnes. Miners thought it effective against their diseases.

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