Monks Well, Wavertree

Image: © Sue Adair Taken: 21 Aug 2005

This well is undoubtedly ancient. It used to stand further back from the road, at a point where pure water bubbled out from the sandstone of Olive Mount. In the masonry beneath the original cross was an archway, under which a few steps gave access to the stone cistern or chamber containing the water. Legends about the Monks Well abound and most of the stories involve secret passageways, it seems likely that such legends were sparked off by Victorian children, who spotted the inlet tunnel already referred to, and the outlet pipe which would have channelled the surplus water into Wavertree Lake alongside (where the children's playground is today). In 1834 the Select Vestry - the predecessor of the Local Board of Health - installed an iron pump to lift the water from the underground chamber. They also ordered the Constable to lock the pump during church service times on Sundays, it having been found that "women met at the well when drawing water, and stayed gossiping there". With the arrival of piped water in the 1850s, the well became redundant, and the legends began to grow! Late in the nineteenth century a stone cross - inscribed 'Deus dedit, Homo bebit' (God gives, Man drinks) in accordance with local tradition - was added to the base.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0