The Witches' Well is a monument to accused

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

es burned at the stake in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and is the only one of its kind in the city. The memorial

drinking fountain A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or water bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and s ...

is attached to a wall at the lower end of the Castle Esplanade, below

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

, and located close to where many witches were burned at the stake. During the high point of witch hunting in the early modern period, 32% of accused witches came from the Lothian area.

Design and history

The well was commissioned by

Sir Patrick Geddes Sir Patrick Geddes (2 October 1854 – 17 April 1932) was a British biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning ...

in 1894, and designed by Geddes' friend

John Duncan John Duncan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John Duncan (painter) (1866–1945), Scottish painter * John Duncan (artist) (born 1953), American artist and musician * Big John Duncan (born 1958), Scottish punk musician * John Duncan (harpist) ...

. The bronze relief features a foxglove plant, a snake curled around the heads of

Hygeia Hygieia is a goddess from Greek, as well as Roman, mythology (also referred to as: Hygiea or Hygeia; ; grc, Ὑγιεία or , la, Hygēa or ). Hygieia is a goddess of health ( el, ὑγίεια – ''hugieia''), cleanliness and hygiene. Her ...

, the Greek goddess of good health, and her father Aesculapius, god of medicine. Other parts of the well feature trees, healing hands, and the evil eye. The water spout, now dry, is located beneath the snake's head. In the top left and bottom right are the Roman numerals for the years 1479 and 1722 respectively, the time period during which most witches were persecuted in Scotland. The model for the Well is held by the City Art Centre in Edinburgh. File:Witches Well - Detail 4.jpg, Evil eye detail File:Witches Well - Detail 3.jpg, Hands of healing detail The building upon which it is affixed (now containing the Tartan Weaving Mill) was built in 1851, for the Castlehill Reservoir. The 1851 building replaced its 17th-century predecessor, constructed when act of parliament in 1624 enabled the bringing of fresh water into the city from the nearby Pentland Hills. In 1674 the reservoir was connected to 12 wells around the city, eventually closing in 1992, and converted into the Tartan Mill in 1996. There have been repeated calls for a newer, permanent memorial to those accused as witches. In 2016, Edinburgh World Heritage called for a new memorial for Edinburgh, and in 2017, Dr Julian Goodare of the University of Edinburgh and Professor Lynn Abrams of the University of Glasgow called for a new memorial for Scotland. In 2019 those calls were repeated by Dr Goodare and Louise Yeomans, as directors of the

Survey of Scottish Witchcraft The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft is an online database of witch trials in early modern Scotland, containing details of 3,837 accused gathered from contemporary court documents covering the period from 1563 until the repeal of the Scottish Witchc ...

Plaque and inscription

The plaque above the fountain was mounted on the wall in 1912. The inscription reads: The inscription has been criticised for historical inaccuracy, in the assumption that those killed had magical powers.

References

{{coord, 55.94890, -3.19643, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 1894 establishments in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in 1894 Drinking fountains in the United Kingdom Monuments and memorials in Edinburgh History of Edinburgh Edinburgh Castle Witchcraft in Scotland