patients could not visit the spring in person, a bottleful of the
healing liquid was taken to their homes, and there administered. The
district round the lower waters of Loch Awe, now comprising the united
parishes of Glenorchy and Inishail was held to be under the patronage
of Connan. There is a well at Dalmally dedicated to him. According
to a local tradition he dwelt beside the well and blessed its water.
In addition to springs named after particular saints, there are some
bearing the general appellation of Saints' Wells or Holy Wells. There
are Holy Rood and Holy Wood Wells, also Holy Trinity and Chapel
Wells. There are likewise Priors', Monks', Cardinals', Bishops',
Priests', Abbots', and Friars' Wells. Various springs have names
pointing to no ecclesiastical connection whatever. To this class
belong those known as Virtue Wells, and those others named from the
various diseases to be cured by them. On the Rutherford estate,
in the parish of West Linton, Peeblesshire, there is a mineral
spring called Heaven-aqua Well. Considering the name, one might
form great expectations as to its virtues. There is much force in
the remarks of Dr. J. Hill Burton, in his "Book Hunter." He says,
"The unnoticeable smallness of many of these consecrated wells makes
their very reminiscence and still semi-sacred character all the more
remarkable. The stranger in Ireland, or the Highlands of Scotland,
hears rumours of a distinguished well, miles on miles off. He thinks
he will find an ancient edifice over it, or some other conspicuous
adjunct. Nothing of the kind. He has been lured all that distance,
over rock and bog, to see a tiny spring bubbling out of the rock,
such as he may see hundreds of in a tolerable walk any day. Yet,
if he search in old topographical authorities, he will find that the
little well has ever been an important feature of the district; that
century after century it has been unforgotten; and, with diligence he
may perhaps trace it to some incident in the life of the saint, dead
more than 1200 years ago, whose name it bears." There are a few wells
with a more or less ornamental stone covering, such as St. Margaret's
Well, in the Queen's Park, Edinburgh, and St. Michael's Well, at
Linlithgow. St. Ninian's Well, at Stirling, and also at Kilninian,
in Mull; St. Ashig's Well, in Skye; St. Peter's Well, at Houston,
in Renfrewshire; Holy Rood Well, at Stenton, in Haddingtonshire;
and the Well of Spa, at Aberdeen, also belong to this class.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account