The Anchorite Well. Descriptive plaque, Kendal Civic Society. Anchorite Fields, Kendal, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom, Europe.
The well can be found to the West of Kirkland, on a street called Anchorite Fields. Originally this area of Kendal was open a map of Kendal dated about 1868, shows the Anchorite Well and Anchorite House standing alone in fields, with the nearest house some 500 yards or more away to the North East. These days though, the house and the well are surrounded on all sides by houses and streets. The well can still be seen today and the stream that it feeds has been incorporated into nearby gardens as it runs North. This stream is called Cop Beck, and eventually ends up in the River Kent to the North East. The well itself now consists of a rectangular enclosure with a limestone wall built around it. The water is now only a few inches deep, but would most likely have been much deeper at some point. John Speed's map of 1611 shows the well, marked as the Ankeriche, right on the Southern outskirts of town, and incorporated into a walled garden or orchard. Local legend has it that the house was built next to the well in 1176, although this date is thought to be much too well is not mentioned in Kendal's written records until around 1430. This first mention of the Anchorite house and\or well is as follows: "4 December. Commission to the Prior of Cartmel to confine Alice Skawseby in a certain house built for anchorites near the church of Kirkeby in Kendall." Whether this was a punishment or a request from Alice Skawseby, I don't know. The house that once stood at the side of the well has long since been demolished, and replaced with its modern counterpart. Luckily though the well has survived thanks to the intervention of the Kendal Civic Society who funded its rescue and renovation.
Size: 3100px × 2524px
Location: The Anchorite Well. Anchorite Fields, Kendal, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom, Europe.
Photo credit: © Stan Pritchard / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: anchorite, chantry, civic, cumbria, england, hermit, kendal, marys, religion, religious, saint, site, society
