Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Category: Ancient Sites

Ancient Sites / Wells

St. Cynhafal’s Well, Llangynhafal

According Wirt Sykes in ‘British Goblins’ (1881), ‘St. Cynhafal’s well, on a hillside in Llangynhafal parish, Denbighshire, is one of those curing wells in which pins are thrown. Its specialty is warts. To exorcise your wart you stick a pin in it and then throw the pin into this well; the wart soon vanishes.

Ancient Sites / Apparitions / Civil War Hauntings / Earth Works / Hauntings

Freezing Hill, Bath

Landsdown Hill, Tog Hill and Freezing Hill were the site of the English Civil War Battle of Lansdowne (Lansdown), which was fought on 5 July 1643. The Parliamentarian force under Sir William Waller (Born C 1597 – Died 19 September 1668) was forced to retreat by the Royalist troops led by Lord Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton (Born March 1596 – Died September 1652).

Early Christianity / Legends

Bell Of Saint Oudoceus

The 12 century Cathedral of Llandaff was built on the site of an earlier church traditionally attributed to Saint Telio, the successor of Saint Dubricius who had established a 6th century community here at a ford over the River Taff. Telio was succeeded by Saint Oudoceus (also known as Euddogwy) (Died 700AD).

Ancient Sites / Devil / Early Christianity / Legends

Banwell Cross

A two feet high pillow mound earthwork shaped as a cross in Banwell has a Devil legend attached to it. According to the story, the villagers of Banwell attempted to erect a large cross on Banwell Hill, but each night the Devil would come along and blow it down. In order to prevent this the villagers decided to create the cross on the ground making it difficult for the Devil to destroy.

Ancient Sites / English Folktales / Folklore / Folktales

Mab’s Cross

The remains of this 13th century (earliest known mention 1277) stone cross can be found on Standishgate and is thought to have been a medieval waymarker between Chorley and Wigan.  It was moved from its original position on the other side of the road in 1922 when the road was widened.  The cross’s name is derived from its legendary association with Lady Mabel Bradshaw.  T

Ancient Sites / Wells

Saint Cybi’s Holy Well

Saint Cybi’s Holy Well at Llangybi in North Wales is one of those mysterious and difficult to find places which turn out to be well worth the effort. Certain places have an almost otherworldly atmosphere about them and Saint Cybi’s Well is certainly one of these.

Early Christianity / English Folktales / Folklore / Folktales / Occult

Burscough Priory

Robert Fitz-Henry, Lord of Lathom (Born 1135) founded the Augustinian Burscough Priory around 1190. It was dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII circa 1536 and today very little remains of the building.

Ancient Sites / Standing Stones / Stone Circles

Cheetham Close Stone Circles

The remains of the early Bronze Age Cheetham Close stone circle lies between Chapeltown and Egerton. It measured 18.5 metres and according to a survey by Dryden in 1850, consisted of 6 stones. By 1871 the site was broken up by a tenant of Turton Tower angered by the visitors it was attracting.

August / Early Christianity / Festivals

Rochdale Rush-Bearing

As far as I am aware Rochdale no longer celebrates the Rush Bearing festival, though nearby Littleborough revived theirs in 1991 and continue to celebrate it each year. Below is description of how Rochdale and its Rush-Bearing from Lancashire Legends (1873) by John Harland & T T Wilkinson.