Elder Well
The Elder Well is a
Elder trees on the north side of the Holy Well plantation. The well is a spring that emerges into a sandstone
structure set into the ground. The structure is approximately 1 m square and 70 cm in depth.
The well was said to be blessed with medicinal properties and in particular to be a remedy for afflictions of the eyes.[1] Hope states that it was "annually dressed with flowers and branches of trees, and rustic games and amusements [were] indulged in by those attending."
The well is mentioned frequently in old gazetteers. The earliest known reference is in the great Natural History of Staffordshire by Robert Plot.[2] He writes as follows:
And amongst these [curative waters] must be reckon'd all sorts of Eye-waters, such as that of Elder well betwixt Blymhill and Brineton, and many others of the kind all over the Country.