Origins of The Name
According to the information panel erected at the cave by Waverley Borough Council the name Ludwell can be traced back to the Celtic language, and means "bubbling spring". John Aubrey visited the area in 1673 and was informed that Ludwell was named after Lud, King of the South Saxons, who went there to bathe his wounds after a battle. In a tradition originating with the Norman-Welsh writer of historicised legend Geoffrey of Monmouth, Ludd (or Llud) was the ruler of Celtic Britain and founder of London. A modern ethnographer would identify Lud as a Celtic god: a temple dedicated to him once stood in London near Ludgate, which is named after him, as are numerous toponyms in England and a very few in Ireland. He is also known as the Celtic god of healing which may indicate that the spring which rises in the cave was a holy well or sacred spring long before the monks of nearby Waverley Abbey used it as a source of fresh water and rededicated it to St Mary. The "Lud" element of the name is maintained in the more recent connection with "Mother Ludlam".
Read more about this topic: Mother Ludlam's Cave
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