St Urith's Well

Details

1545/0/10009
24-AUG-07

CHITTLEHAMPTON
St Urith's Well

II

Holy well known variously as St Urith's Well, Teara's Well or Taddy Well. Probably eighth century AD in origin. Survives mainly as a drystone walled structure below a modern concrete slab. Access to the well is provided by a metal manhole cover. Adjacent to the well itself a lintel from the well house is incorporated into a modern stone wall. Close to this lintel is a concrete lined recess, the base of which is formed by a large stone slab into which two shallow basins (stoups) have been cut. This slab formed the focus of the original medieval holy well and would have been used by pilgrims to collect small quantities of water for religious and healing purposes.

HISTORY: In contrast to many wells much contemporary documentation relating to the medieval use and early history of St Urith's Well has survived. The well is also known as St Teara's Well and Taddy Well. According to legend, St. Urith was an Anglo-Saxon, Christian virgin who at the instigation of her stepmother was beheaded by villagers with a scythe. At the spot where her head hit the ground a spring is said to have emerged and in the surrounding area scarlet pimpernels grew in abundance. During the medieval period the well and its associated chapel formed an important pilgrimage destination and in particular sufferers of eye disease came to anoint themselves on the first Sunday after St Peter's day. The monies generated from this activity at least in part were used to build the tower of the nearby Grade I listed church, where the remains of the saint are considered to lie. In the period immediately before the Reformation the income generated by pilgrimages reached a high of nearly £77. The Reformation resulted in the removal of the images and the chapel was removed, although the well structure survived and continued in use as a domestic water supply. During the 1950's North Devon Water Board destroyed the post-Reformation well house, but built its lintel into the adjacent wall and retained the well structure itself, which they covered with a concrete slab. Access to the well is provided by a metal manhole cover. Several years later a hollowed stone slab which would have formed the lip of the well was uncovered some 18 inches below the surface and this was incorporated into the lower part of a specially built recess.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION
St Urith's Well, Chittlehampton is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* An excellent historical pedigree emphasising the religious importance of the well.
* The survival of original medieval fabric.
* The survival albeit slightly out of context of the hollowed slab which formed the focus of the religious ceremonies associated with the well.
* The direct association with the nearby Grade I listed church.

SOURCES: www.holywells.com/html/holy_well_details_1-.html Accessed 1st May 2007
www.geocities.com/david_ryall2001/saint_teara.htm?20079 Accessed 9th May 2007

NGR: SS 63769 25569

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

503344

Legacy System:

LBS

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