Ritual site - holy well

The National Monuments Service's description

Located at the W edge of a low-lying basin. References to this Lughnasa well date from the early 14th century (MacNeill 1962, 633-4; Anon. 1992). The well, where according to J. O'Donovan writing in the 1830s a pattern was held on 31st July (O'Flanagan 1931; 29-30), rises as a spring outside the WNW angle of a chapel or bath-house (RO048-108002-). The circular well (int. diam. 1.2m; D 2.1m) has masonry walls (Wth 0.3-0.4m; ext. H 0.6m) and the water exits at S to an outer rectangular well (dims 0.8m x 0.8m) approached by three steps and the outer well is also surrounded by a wall.
The bathhouse is a roofless structure (ext. dims 6.9m NNE-SSW; 6.2m WNW-ESE; H 2.2m) with a string course and coping that was built in 1625 by the Earl of Antrim according to a plaque (RO048-108003-) (dims 0.8m x 0.6m) on the outer face of the WNW wall (Kelly 1907, 1-2; Kelly 1917-20). A pointed chamfered doorway (Wth 0.77m; H 1.7m) on the NNE wall has a stoup, and a limestone stoup (RO048-108005-) that is thought locally to have come from Cam church (RO048-099001-) is kept inside. The stream runs from the outer well through the bath-house, exiting through a flat arch in the ESE wall, and runs off to the E. Archaeological testing (06E0677) c. 50m to the S failed to produce any related material (Guinan 2009).
Patterns in the 1950s involved circuits of the 17th century house (RO048-188----), a grass-covered cairn (RO048-108004-) (diam. of base 8.3m; diam. of top 3.3m; H 0.6m at W to 1.5m at E) surmounted by a chestnut tree, a glacial erratic (RO048-108006-) (dims 2.4m x 1.15m; H 0.6m) that is thought to have the imprint of the saint's knees, and a second cairn (RO048-108007-), now removed and replaced by a statue of St Bridget, c. 10m W of the bath-house. Locally it is said that bones were found when this cairn was removed. Another cairn (RO048-108008-) consisting of a kerb (ext. diam. 9m) of large stones (dims c. 0.8-1m x 0.3-0.5m; H up to 0.7m) NW-E-S surrounding a tree is just N of the 17th century house. A revived pattern is held at the end of July. (Weld 1832, 515-8)

See the attached view of the well taken from the S

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 24 August 2010

References

MacNeill, M. 1962 The festival of Lughnasa. London. Oxford University Press.

Kelly, M.K. 1907 Cam of St. Bride. Athlone Printing Works.

Guinan, B. 2009b Brideswell: no archaeological significance. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2006: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 455, No. 1714. Dublin. Wordwell.

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1931 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Roscommon collected during the progress of the
Ordnance Survey in 1837. Bray.

Weld, I. 1832 Statistical survey of the county Roscommon. Dublin, Royal Dublin Society

Anon. 1992 Two holy wells in county Roscommon. Their relation to the festival of Lughnasa. Journal of the Roscommon Historical and Archaeological Society, vol. 4, 56-9.

Kelly, G.A.P. 1917-20 St. Bridgid's well at Brideswell, Parish of Cam. Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead, Ireland vol. 10, 135-6.