This website looks in particular at the Christian medieval cult of holy wells in Britain, which is closely linked to the cult of the saints and the custom of pilgrimage. Today, "holy wells" are generally given a very broad definition, encompassing any wells associated with folklore or that possess an unusual name; however, medieval people, particularly pilgrims, would not have viewed these wells in the same way as they did Christian holy wells, and evidence shows that they treated them very differently. Essentially, wells that are described as "holy wells" today but which were not linked to the medieval Christian cult should be studied separately, and should not be classed as one with medieval Christian holy wells that were used for worship and pilgrimage. Much can be learnt about both types of well if they are looked at as two individual phenomena, whilst confounding them only hinders research.
I personally adopt very strict criteria regarding the identification of "true" holy wells, and this is reflected in the website. For the inclusion of a well on this website, one of the following criteria must apply to it:
Some of the wells included on this website are not of a medieval date, but fit one of the above criteria. These sites are still of some importance as they show how the cult evolved after medieval times. In some rare cases, Christian holy wells were created after the Reformation as follies, but inexplicably became used for healing purposes; exactly this happened at St Govor's Well in Kensington Gardens, London.
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