Lady's Well - Description

Description

The "Lady's Well" is a rectangular compartment of ashlar masonry, 2.5m in length, 1.1m wide at the opening, and 1.4m high. It is built into the bank, a short distance above the stream, and has been partly restored some years past with a partly (a repair) concrete roof which slopes gradually downwards from the entrance to the rear. 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 doocot (dovecot) (NS44SW 5), indicating either a possible 17th-century date of construction or the re-use of stones from the site of the old tower.

Ashlar walls make up the well sides and a possible niche exists at the back. Low stone walling runs off to the right hand side as seen when facing the well, and steps may have existed, now buried under 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.

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