The Lady's Well.

Image: The Lady's Well, Holystone, Northumberland.

Holystone, Northumberland.

Happy was the day I found this web site . 15 years in desert Nevada, USA has only made me more homesick for my homeland. The pictures are perfecion , and the poetry a beautiful compliment . Thank you . Sue Herrera, Nevada, USA

Image: woodland trail leading to the Lady's Well, Holystone.

The woodland trail on my way to The Lady's Well. Holystone.

The Lady's Well at Holystone, is an ancient attractive well thought to have been constructed by the Romans on the site of a natural spring. Paulinus (later Bishop of York) is reputed to have baptized 3000 converts here on Easter day AD 627.

In the mid 12th century Holystone became the home of a priory of Augustinian Canonesses, at which time the Well was repaired and adorned with a cross. Since then the Well has been known as The Lady's Well and a statue was later installed during the 18th C. to represent Paulinus.

Image: entrance gate to the lady's Well.

Entrance gate to The Lady's Well. Holystone, Northumberland.

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The clear pool lies silent amongst a small grove of trees, protected by a fenced enclosure and well looked after by the National Trust. It is a very peaceful place today and it is difficult to imagine the crowds of pilgrims who must have come here in centuries past. It is sometimes called St. Paulinus' Well, for the Northern missionary baptised some 3,000 people here in AD 627. It was previously St. Ninian's Well, so the earlier Scottish evangelist must have passed this way too

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The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
a cloud come over the sunlit arch,
And wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March.
Robert Frost.

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Heed ye Flower, Bush and Tree,
By the Lady, Blessed Be.
Where the rippling waters go,
Cast a stone and truth you'll know.
Dragon Willow

Image: The Lady's Well.

Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers.
Thomas Tusser, A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry, 1557.

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Sunday, March 9, 2008
Site of the Week

North Country Roads of Northumberland - photos by Terry Walsh
I found this while wandering around GENUKI, which is really where everyone should start when researching their United Kingdom and Ireland roots.
http://www.genuki.org.uk/
Anyway, here's the site for North Country Roads.
Its simplicity, and ease of navigation make it even better.

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