Holywell
History
Sacred springs
A sacred spring, or holy well, is a small body of water emerging from underground and revered either in a pagan or a Christian context, often both. The lore and mythology of ancient Greece was replete with sacred and storied springs—notably, the Corycian, Pierian and Castalian. In medieval Europe, holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became Christianized. The term "holy well" is commonly employed to refer to any water source of limited size (i.e. not a lake or river, but including pools and natural springs and seeps), which has some significance in the folklore of the local area. This can take the form of a particular name, an associated legend, the attribution of healing qualities to the water through the numinous presence of its guardian spirit or Christian saint, or a ceremony or ritual centred on the well site. In Christian legend, the spring water is often said to have been made to flow by the action of a saint, a familiar theme especially in the hagiography of Celtic saints.
Geology
It is perported that the water originates from an underground reservoir of melted glacial water – and is topped up by rain water falling on the South Downs. It is said that this water takes approximately five years to filter through the chalk. Chalk stone is the container of the Holy Well spring – and also is the material that filters and channels the water. Observations of the Holywell spring water have noted that the flow of water appears to be reasonably constant whether there has been rainfall or not. This is intriguing, because if rain water was the source of the spring’s water one would assume at times of heavy rain that the spring would gush forth.
Chalk geology is porous, and rain falling onto chalk hills percolate directly into the ground, where the chalk acts as aquifer. The water filters through the chalk, re-emerging lower down the slope in the spring. The chalk acts as a temporary reservoir . This is why many chalk streams in the UK have stable flow regimes that vary only slightly over time. The temperature of the emerging surface water is fairly stable and rarely deviates.
Once you have come down the steps you will need to head East over one Groin and you will arrive at GZ, the spring has a wooden sign above it and is hard to miss. To claim this cache please answer the following questions via email or message centre
1. Observe the flow of water coming into the spring well, describe the flow and explain the reasons for this?
2. After reading the notes above what would you say the water is?
A. Acidic, B. Alkaline, C. Neutral?
3. Describe the clarity of the spring water, can you see any visible causes also estimate the temperature, can you explain the temperature compared to the current air temperature?
4. How many wooden steps make up the staircase?
Please add a photo of yourself at the springs (not compulsory but appreciated)
The spring water is fresh drinking water (I have had many times) which if you want to you can try, but as always you do so at your own recognizance and I take no responsibility.
This cache is place with the kind permission of Natural Eangland, the site is within an SSSI and therefore should be treated with care and respect
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england