The Lady's Well is beside the Tour rivulet in Kilmaurs, East Ayrshire. (NS 4144 4063), Scotland.
Location of the Lady's Well, Kilmaurs, East Ayrshire
Introduction
Next to the Saint Maurs-Glencairn church in Kilmaurs is an area of woodland, part of which was once an orchard. The Tour Rivulet joins the Carmel Water nearby and before the confluence can be found an old well, covered over, known as the Lady's well, with never-failing, excellent and refeshingly cool water. A small wooden bridge used to run across to it from the church glebe side.[1]
The hamlet of Pathfoot or 'Old Yard' existed nearby, however no remains are visible today apart from irregularities in the surface of the ground. The orchard is no longer present, however some Crab apples are present that may have reverted from the old orchard trees. The occupants of old Pathfoot no doubt used the well water as a purer source of water than the Tour Rivulet. The remains of a group of the pre-reformation ecclesiastical collegiate church domestic buildings and tower lie close by, including a doocot. The old 'Tower' or 'Tour' was taken down some years ago and only the foundations now exist.
Today (2015) the well is sadly neglected, the water no longer runs, although it's structure is substantially intact apart from the missing metal gate.
Description
The Lady's Well frontage.
The old path to the well in spring.
A path leads down from the main Kilmaurs to Kilmarnock Road and near the site of the old wooden bridge over the Tour Burn the "Lady's Well" well is to be found built into an earthen bank. The rectangular well's measurements are 1.4m in height, 1.1m wide at the point where the old gate was located and 2.5m in depth from the entrance to the dressed ashlar sandstone wall that forms the back of the chamber. The well has a rectangular concrete roof that is raised up at the front and represents a repair made at an unknown date.[2] Sections of the old stone roof lie nearby. The well is filled with water, however it does not flow as it must have done in the past, probably due to nearby field drainage works. The overflow channel is still extant and a nearby field drain carries a significant volume of water, which may once have flowed from the well, into the Tour Rivulet. The masonry of the well is comparable with that of the nearby 17th century doocot (dovecot) (NS44SW 5), hinting at either a 17th-century date of construction or the re-use or 'robbing' of stones from the site of the old tower.
Dressed ashlar walls make up the three sides of the well housing and a possible niche / water inlet exists in the back wall. Low stone walling runs off to the right hand side as seen when facing the well, and steps may have existed, now buried under the soil. The stones framing the entrance have the remains of the leaded holes that have held a gate at one time and one side is recessed for a 'door'. One of the stones on the left shows clear signs of having been re-used from another structure.
Various stones lie fallen or thrown inside the well, one possibly being the remains of the broken sandstone covering slab which the concrete slab replaced.
History
Saint Maurs church prior to 1888, showing the Glencairn Aisle.
In 1879 David Landsborough describes the local wells and springs, including the Monk's Well, but makes no reference to a Lady's Well.[3]
John Smith in the 1890s [4] refers to the Monk's well rather than Lady's Well. In 1912, Duncan McNaught[1] the local schoolmaster stated that the "Lady's Well" is an old well, arched over, which provided the water supply for the buildings associated with the collegiate church. Robert Beattie in 1993 saw the well as being associated with the old collegiate church.[5][6]
A 1982 a description states that the drystone construction of the well-head could be of relatively late date, built with debris from the nearby ruinous tower, etc. Another suggestion was that the well dates from the 17th-century.[7]
The 1856 25 inch to the mile map shows and names the Lady's Well and marks the path that led from the building in the Tour Garden to the well, across the Tour Burn.
Mr.Findlay of Tour is recorded by McNaught as having enjoy ...the never failing water, of excellent quality, and refreshingly cool on the hottest day of summer.[1] This information may be partly correct in that an opening in the wall opposite the entrance to Tour House has clearly been made to allow access to the woods in which the well is situated. The repairs using a concrete slab as part of the roof and the ashlar walling may have been carried out within the last hundred years or so.
Details of the Lady's Well in 2007 - 2008
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The Lady's well at Kilmaurs on the Tour Rivulet.
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Inside the well, with the 'niche' at the back and the broken sandstone covering slab in the water.
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The left-hand side, showing the leaded holes which may held a gate of some sort.
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The right-hand side and the wall leading to possibly buried steps.
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The View from near the Tour Rivulet.
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The drain-away channel from the well on the left.
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Easter Ledges or Bistort in the surrounding woods.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
- McNaught, Duncan (1912). Kilmaurs Parish and Burgh. Pub. A.Gardner. P. 117.
- ↑ "Kilmaurs, Lady's Well". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Canmore. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
- ↑ Landsborough, David Rev. (1879), Contributions to Local History. Pub. Dunlop & Drennan, Kilmarnock. P. 138 - 140.
- ↑ Smith, John (1895). Prehistoric Man in Ayrshire. Pub. Elliot Stock. P. 96.
- ↑ Beattie, Robert (1993), Kilmaurs Past and Present. Pub. Kilmaurs History Society. P. 11.
- ↑ Love, Dane (2009). Legendary Ayrshire. Custom : Folklore : Tradition. Auchinleck : Carn Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9518128-6-0; p. 61
- ↑ "Kilmaurs, Lady's Well". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Canmore. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
External links
Coordinates: 55°38′2.2″N 4°31′10.7″W / 55.633944°N 4.519639°W / 55.633944; -4.519639
