Our Lady's Well (also known as Saint Anne's Well) is a

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

house in

Hempsted Hempsted is a suburban village and former civil parish, on the edge of Gloucester in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The parish was abolished in 1966 and absorbed into the parish and city of Gloucester. In 1961 the parish had a populati ...

, Gloucester. It was designated as a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in January 1955.

History

The well house was built in the 14th century for the Manor of Hempsted, which was held by

Llanthony Secunda Llanthony Secunda Priory was a house of Canons regular#Canons Regular of Saint Augustine, Augustinian canons in the parish of Hempsted, Gloucestershire, England, situated about south-west of Gloucester Castle in the City of Gloucester. It was fo ...

. The well house is a tall structure built from

Limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

blocks with an arched opening at the front. Water issues from the front into a large stone trough. The rectangular water trough was added in the 18th or 19th century, and would have provided water for livestock. On the back of the well is a stone sculpture showing

Saint Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...

standing between her daughter, the

virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, and an

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

. It has been used as a baptistery, and formerly was considered to have medicinal properties. In the past it has been a place for

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

, with countless pilgrims being recorded as coming to the site to seek cures. Pilgrimage was revived in 1989 for several years but has now ceased. The well is now dry. Ancient earthworks exists just to the east of the field containing the well.

Architecture

The well house is built of limestone

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

blocks with a

gabled A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roof of dressed limestone slabs. It is a small square building with an entrance on the west-side, which used to be closed by an iron door. There is a rectangular water trough, also on the west side extending to the north, which is made of dressed stone kerb walls. The north and south walls are plain, but in the gable of the east wall is a worn sculpted structure of three figures. Inside there is a single square chamber with a water inlet at low level.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Our Lady's Well Holy wells in England 14th-century religious buildings and structures History of Gloucester Grade I listed buildings in Gloucestershire Scheduled monuments in Gloucestershire