Syfer Spring : Holy Well

The earliest mention of Caistor seems to be 10th May 61 AD when Simon the Zealot was apparently crucified by the Roman Catus Decianus

So it is of little surprise that there has likely been a Holy Well or Sacred Spring here since prehistoric times

The water is said to have healing properties, especially for the eyes and ears and was also possibly used as a Spa in Roman times

There are legends that the first local converts to Christianity were converted using the spring

It is also reputed to be haunted by a Traveller lady whose child fell in, while they stopped to rest.
Apparently she comes to sit on the edge, looking for the child

In the 1850's the water was used by the old Caistor Chair Factory which was situated where Aqua Dell is now.
It was fed to the chair factory by a wooden aquaduct to the top of a huge waterwheel.
(See Pictures of Old Chair Factory Below)

In more recent times it used to flow across the road to feed an old brewery,
 the old corn mill on Hersey Road and the old pickle factory

Syfer Spring presently runs to the pond on Westbrook Grove which then goes underground and comes out again at the bottom of Cromwell View

It was used as drinking water well into the Mid C20th

Syfer derives from Old English meaning pure
(a description of the quality of the water)

See if you can spot the locally named Gingerbread Man in the Spring wall (See background image, it is above and to the right of the blue plaque)

He is said to also have a friend about halfway along the wall at the nearby church folly

The old Roman Wall can also be seen near the boundary to the church
(If you wish to see this follow the road to the right and up the steps to your left)

To claim this Virtual, depending on your level of adventure please complete any one of the following photo-related tasks and add the photo to your log

(Please note, the spring must be visible in your photo to prove that you have visited)

1) A photo of you filling your water bottle/container with Holy Water from the Spring or Pool

2) A photo of you drinking the Holy Water from the Spring

3) A photo of you touching the Holy Water (this may either be from the Spring or the pool)

4) A photo of either yourself, your GPSr, a piece of paper with your caching name, personal item etc with the Spring in the background   

5) A photo of you touching the gingerbread man

(you will need to paddle to do this one)

Sorry but if your log does not contain a photo of one of these tasks with the spring in view then it may be deleted

Other useful links

Walk about Caistor (west-lindsey.gov.uk)

2014-05-Survey-Roman-Walls.pdf (caistor.co.uk)

History of the County of Lincoln: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time - Thomas Allen - Google Books

Caistor, Lincolnshire—1959 | The Antiquaries Journal | Cambridge Core
 

A Shirley Shadford Caistor armchair in unexpected places - the Busby Stoop chair

A Caistor chair ended up far from the workshop where it was made: 90 miles north at the Busby Stoop Inn on the A61 between Thirsk and Ripon.  The inn closed in 2012 and reopened as the Jaipur Spice Indian restaurant. 

In its last manifestation as a pub, the Busby Stoop Inn had the rare, possibly unique, distinction of a Caistor chair painted on the sign. As may be seen from the pictures below the sign was rather fetching.

Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025

This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.