Around Bamford: September 2021

Hidden away (and perhaps forgotten) on the moors about a mile to the southwest of Whitworth, in Rossendale, Lancashire, is St Chad's Well at (SD 87361741). The well is situated on a hillside (Robin Bank), close-by a fence and wall, at the northwestern edge of Spring Mills Reservoir. St Chad or Ceadda was an Anglo-Saxon churchman who was influential in the north of England during the 7th century. Rochdale's parish church is dedicated to him. However, the well has sometimes been called Robin Hood's Well, but did the legendary outlaw of Sherwood Forest ever pass this way? The well is built deep into the hillside and is almost completely hidden from view by the thick grass. It is a solidly built structure with thick slabs of stone at the sides and at the front of the well-basin, with another slab protecting the front of the basin and then more slabs lower down at the front and in the ditch itself, though the stonework doesn't look particularly old, and the well doesn't look especially holy. There is apparently another Robin Hood's Well, on Jackson's Moor, to the northwest of Whitworth, and not that far from St Chad's Well as the crow flies!

Local author and Historian Stephen Oldfield says: "It took much research and many repeated visits to locate the legendary St Chad's or Robin Hood's Well, in Robin Bank, Whitworth. The Rev Oakley wrote in 1923 that people used to visit this well because of its famous link with witchcraft, as well as for the medicinal powers of its water. Legend says that Robin of Huntingdon, staying at Healey Hall, was lured here by a witch who told him she could produce the gold ring he needed to receive his inheritance - by witchcraft. She tempted him by asking him to gaze into the waters of the well and see the great future that lay in store for him once the ring was his. The rest, as they say - is in my second book! The well lies hidden on the hillside just above Spring Mill Reservoir and would have been in a much more elevated position before the reservoir was built. As with many sacred springs, its route down the hillside is marked by a gnarled old oak tree, something not often seen on the Rossendale moors."

St Chad or Ceadda was a Saxon churchman in the 7th century AD and evangelised large parts of Northern England and the Midlands. He became abbot of Lastingham, North Yorks, in 664, and soon afterwards was made Bishop of York. However, he had to resign the see and return to Lastingham, so that St Wilfrid could take up his already designated position as the bishop of York. Later, St Chad set up his new bishopric at Lichfield in Mercia (now Staffordshire), in 669, and here built his great monastery and church; the magnificent Lichfield Cathedral now stands on that site. He died on the 2nd of March 672 AD. St Chad is credited with the christianization of the Kingdom of Mercia. Many holy wells and churches are dedicated to him. He and his disciples may well have visited this area during their mission to convert the local people to Christianity. St Cedd, who died in 664, was the brother of Chad. He was a follower of St Aidan and became bishop of the East Saxons.

References & Related Websites:-

Oldfield, Stephen, The Forgotten Forest: A Historical Field Guide to the Rossendale Valley, Stephen C. Oldfield, 2020.

https://www.irhb.org/wiki/index.php/Robin_Hood's_Well_(Whitworth)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_of_Mercia

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Chad

Around Bamford

Sunday 5 September 2021

St Chad's Well, near Whitworth, in Rossendale, Lancashire.