A dip into the Holy Wells of Lanark

Our Celtic ancestors worshipped the water deities by creating shrines, a practice that was to be continued by the Romans.

Unfortunately we have little evidence of this apart from a three-headed Celtic sculpture found near Netherton.

It is not until the Middle Ages that historical records refer to some of the wells in and around Lanark.

Perhaps the most unusual dedication of a well is that of St Teiling which was rediscovered in the 19th century. It lies near the former guest house at Jerviswood Mains on the sharp bend on the road leading to Cleghorn Bridge.

The dedication to St Teiling or St Teilo suggests a date going back to the end of the 6th century or beginning of the 7th century. St Teilo was one of the three main saints of Wales, the others being St David and St Cadoc.

It is not known whether he came to Strathclyde but we do know that St Kentigern, his contemporary, visited Wales when St Teilo was Bishop of Llandaff. The location of the well is significant as it lies near one of the

old routes into Lanark.

Another well which is more well known is St Patrick’s well which lies along St Patrick’s Road which was at one time the route down to Clydesholm Bridge. This well would be an important stopping off point to water horses coming up the steep road from the Clydesholm Bridge.

How old this well is is a matter of speculation and there is a body of thought that the well was originally known simply as Patrick’s Well and that its name relates to a person called Patrick.

We are on safer ground with St Catherine’s Well which was at Clydesholm Green; it was located near the ferry crossing across the Clyde. Part of the money derived from the ferry money was used to fund the altar of St Catherine in the chapel of St Nicholas as far back as the 15th century.

There was some discussion about who actually owned the right to the profits of the ferry but eventually the Lockhart family took the income.

There is another well in the close vicinity of Lanark and that is St Mary’s Well in Nemphlar which used to be near a site referred to as the Abbey but it was moved to the first road junction linking Nemphlar with the Kirkfieldbank to Crossford road. It was moved as it was thought that the water from the spring posed a threat to the road surface.

In Lanark itself there were a number of Holy Wells including St Mungo’s Well near Lanark station.

Water from the spring which supplied this well was used to supply water for steam engines coming into Lanark.

The large water tank to store the water still exists to this day.

In the Wellgate there is Our Lady’s well which is located near La Vigna restaurant and whose site lies under the pavement nearby.

This is the last of the Holy Wells to be mentioned in this article but there were many other wells in Lanark.

These wells did continue in use until the mid 19th century when piped water supplies were introduced to ensure the safety of drinking water.​​​​​​​