The first of these gave me a very sad feeling, I had visited this well, often, when taking walks on hot days and in need of refreshment would drink from a very 'slim' flow. The main attraction, in the heart of summer, was the fact that the water had a flavour of mint - the point where the water emerged was surrounded by mint plants and it seemed to make the water all the more refreshing.
I am saddened because when I visited the well site [on 18 Apr 10], the actual water flow had been stopped and a new pipe laid at ground level taking the water somewhere else...probably into a private garden for the exclusive use of the owner.
Although I did take a couple of photographs of the well shelter, I do not feel justified in posting them here - if the water cannot be seen or sampled, I do not feel that there is any point. If at some time in the future the water is returned to public use I shall reassess this and post a new segment to reflect the information.
The second site is much better, though I would hesitate to actually drink any of the water from this well despite the fact that it was one of the prime sourses of supply for the houses in this area.
The well is accessable from a lane using a pair of thick wooden planks over a fast running stream, the planks can be somewhat slippery when wet and can give a sensation of insecurity, especally when there is no hand-rail of any kind.
I also suspect that this is a Holy Well, or at least a Healing Well, though I am having some difficulty in finding any reference to it in any of the traditional texts, or even the relatively modern ones, to substantiate my thoughts. At this point I have to state that these are only my thoughts but the structure of the 'house' is similar to some of the other ones I have seen. The size of the structure would make it difficult for a modern human to enter; the entrance is approximately one metre from ground to internal roof stones and only a little more to the steps and surface of the water.
