Old Wives Well
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Old Wives Well by Gordon Hatton as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Old Wives Well
Image: © Gordon Hatton Taken: 29 Dec 2012
Only a few metres from the roadside, but well hidden amongst trees and protected by areas of swamp. The well may be ancient and bears a rough inscription which appears to read 'NATTIE FONTEIN', although it is possible that it could be 'MATTIE FONTEIN'. Local legend suggests that the 'old wife' in question could be the wife of the giant Wade [Wade's Causeway is nearby]. It was he that was supposed to have scooped out a huge clod of earth to throw at his wife, thus forming the Hole of Horcum and nearby Blakey Topping, a few miles east of this location.
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Image Location
Latitude
54.335837
Longitude
-0.779902