The Holy Cave at

Hunterston Hunterston, by the Firth of Clyde, is a coastal area in Ayrshire, Scotland. It is the seat and estate of the Hunter family. As an area of flat land adjacent to deep natural water, it has been the site of considerable actual and proposed industria ...

in the Parish of

West Kilbride West Kilbride ( gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Iar) is a village and historic parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland, on the west coast by the Firth of Clyde, looking across the Firth of Clyde to Goat Fell and the Isle of Arran. West Kilbride and adjoining ...

is associated with

Saint Mungo Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Name In Wales and England, this s ...

, also known as St Kentigern and is often referred to as the Hawking Craig Cave however two caves exists in the Hawking Craig Wood and 'Three Sisters' area of the cliffs, the other being Smith's Cave, better described as a rock shelter lying a short distance to the south. The main cave has been excavated and the finds indicate three periods of occupation over many centuries.

Cave and access

The cave stands about 300 yards from the northern end of the red sandstone cliffs and was formed by wave action working at a weak point, a fissure, at the base of red sandstone cliffs that run from the Brigurd Point to

Portencross Portencross ( gd, Port na Crois) is a hamlet near Farland Head in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Situated about west of Seamill and about south of Hunterston B nuclear power station, it is noted for Portencross Castle. It has two harbours and a ...

however it now stands about above the level of the old raised beach that runs down to the sea. The cave is not very large (high, wide, and about long) and is now best accessed by entering the Hawking Craig Wood near the 'Three Sisters' cliffs and carefully walking along the base of the escarpment.

The Wishing or Holy Well

A spring known as the 'Wishing Well' was located near the rock shelter or cave, one reference stating that this deep well it is actually located within the cave or at the entrance. The name 'Wishing Well' has been interpreted as deriving from

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and meaning the "''Wise man or Instructor's Well''" The most popular time to visit the well was on the first Sunday in May when water was collected for its supposed curative properties and it is further recorded that on occasions the local minister was persuaded to visit the well to baptise children using its holy water. The well's name also implies the common practice of making wishes and offerings of coins and other items.

History and excavation

When excavated in 1879 the cave was measured at 27 ft long and 6 ft high and wide for 15 ft to the rear. The excavation went down to a depth of 6 ft before hitting bedrock and three levels were discernible, each made up of layers of well-trodden ashes and seashells, the first at 18 in, a second at 30in, and the basal layer at 39ins deep. Many bones were found including Deer, cat, pig, horse, sheep, goat, ox, and rabbit bones were found, the horse bones between the upper and second level with dog bones between the middle and basal levels. A significant find was a bone object with a rectangular hole at one end found on the second level and a flint object was found just above the basal level. An object made of slate was found. Some pottery fragments were found including a coarse, unglazed, reddish appearance and a thinner example with a green-brown glaze similar to Scottish Medieval pottery. The

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

holds the bone implement and some pottery fragments (Accession Numbers. HM 3-4). A shelter would most likely have once existed at the cave entrance although no recognisable signs survive of concavities etc used to support such an arrangement. Some apparent man-made workings on the rock face exist close by however there is an absence of religious symbols or graffiti of any kind, however, the soft red sandstone is easily eroded by rain and wind action and any such markings may have been lost even if they ever existed. ;The Ardeer Cave A cave exists near the site of the old Ardeer House in

Stevenston Stevenston ( sco, Steenstoun, gd, Baile Steaphain) is a town and parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats it is one of the "Three Towns", all of similar size, on the Firth of Clyde coast; the easternmost parts of ...

. Until covered over the remains of a dressed stone frame formed an iron grille over a hole in the cave roof suggesting its use as a grotto in the 19th century. The visible remains suggested a

souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ''sous terrain'', meaning "under ground") is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northw ...

, but the near absence of records of these in south-west Scotland make this unlikely. The passage is lined with corbelled drystone walling, roofed with capstones, and leads into a natural cave section which may have been formed by wave action as it shows a water-scour likely to have been created by wave action. Some areas of undisturbed stratified deposits have been found, together with evidence of occupation, such as a hearth, bones, and a fragment of glass. ;St Molaise's Cave A similar cave or rock shelter survives on

Holy Island Sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, or holy place refers to a location which is deemed to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a bless ...

(off the east coast of Arran) where

Saint Molaise In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

, an early Irish saint and abbot of

Old Leighlin Old Leighlin () is a small village in County Carlow, Ireland, 3.5 km west of Leighlinbridge. The site was at one time one of the foremost monastic houses in Leinster, with 1500 monks in residence. It was the location for a church synod in ...

in Co. Carlow, who is supposed to have lived in the 6th and 7th centuries. Parallels can also be drawn with

Saint Ninian's Cave St Ninian's Cave is a cave in Physgill Glen, Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It shown in the 1973 film ''The Wicker Man''. Excavations in the 1880s and in 1950 also uncovered a collection of early medieval carved stones. There were 18 ...

Glasserton Glasserton is a civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It is on the Machars peninsula, in the traditional county of Wigtownshire. The parish is about in length, varying in breadth from , and contains . The Parish It is thou ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

Micro-history

The name 'Hawking Craig' refers to the medieval practice of collecting young sparrowhawks and goshawks for the sport of

falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

. The famous

Hunterston Brooch The Hunterston Brooch is a highly important Celtic brooch of "pseudo-penannular" type found near Hunterston, North Ayrshire, Scotland, in either, according to one account, 1826 by two men from West Kilbride, who were digging drains at the foot ...

was found by workmen at the Hawking Craig in 1826. Prior to the

Battle of Largs The Battle of Largs (2 October 1263) was a battle between the kingdoms of Norway and Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. Through it, Scotland achieved the end of 500 years of Norse Viking depredations and invasions despite bei ...

in 1263 a skirmish is said to have taken place on the raised beach area in front of the cave and a cairn or cairns once stood here that were said to be the graves of Vikings killed during the engagement. Wilson records in the early 19th century seeing several graves made of six stones that only contained ashes and a large cairn at the base of the cliff where the skirmish took place in which coins were found. These were removed when the author was a boy. Local legend has it that three sisters, Meg, Jean and Lizzie, were witches and whipped up the storm that caused such havoc amongst King Haco's fleet. The 'Three Sisters' are named for them.

References

;Notes

External links