Mysterious creatures of springs and wells – Phantom Black dogs

A phantom black dog usually much larger than an actual dog, often said to be the size of a calf, with glowing red eyes is a folklore standard being recorded from across the country. Whether they be called Black Shuck, Barguest, Gytrash, Trasher, Padifoot or many other names often there is an association with water. As a brief introduction I have again attempted to included as many as I have uncovered.

It  Lincolnshire often they are associated with bridges such as Brigg, Willingham (Till bridge) or banks of streams. At Kirton, there is a black dog was reported as living in a hole in the stream bank near this Belle Hole farm. Ponds were often associated with it such as the fish pond in Blyborough Lincolnshire. Rudkin in her 1937 Lincolnshire folk-lore notes a site called Bonny Well in Sturton upon Stow Lincolnshire which was an unfailing supply even in the great drought of 1860. One assumes that the site derived from O.Fr bonne for ‘good’. The site in the 1930s was a pond down Bonnywells Lane and was associated with a number of pieces of folklore; that it was haunted by a black dog and sow and litter of pigs which appeared on Hallowe’en. In the same county, Hibaldstow’s Bubbling Tom had a black dog protect it. Edward Bogg’s 1904 Lower Wharfeland, the Old City of York and the Ainsty, James tells how near St. Helen’s Well, Thorpe Arch:

 “padfoots and barguests…..which on dark nights kept its vigil”

In Elizabeth Southwart’s 1923 book on Bronte Moors and Villages: From Thornton to Haworth, she talks about Bloody tongue at Jim Craven’s Well, Yorkshire:

“The Bloody-tongue was a great dog, with staring red eyes, a tail as big as the branch of a tree, and a lolling tongue that dripped blood.  When he drank from the beck the water ran red right past the bridge, and away down—down—nearly to Bradford town.  As soon as it was quite dark he would lope up the narrow flagged causeway to the cottage at the top of Bent Ing on the north side, give one deep bark, then the woman who lived there would come out and feed him.  What he ate we never knew, but I can bear testimony to the delicious taste of the toffee she made.”

She relates one time:

“One Saturday a girl who lived at Headley came to a birthday party in the village, and was persuaded to stay to the end by her friends, who promised to see her ‘a-gaiterds’ if she would.  As soon as the party was over the brave little group started out.  But when they reached the end of the passage which leads to the fields, and gazed into the black well, at the bottom of which lurked the Bloody-tongue, one of them suggested that Mary should go alone, and they would wait there to see if anything happened to her.

“Mary was reluctant, but had no choice in the matter, for go home she must.  They waited, according to promise, listening to her footsteps on the path, and occasionally shouting into the darkness:

““Are you all right, Mary?”

““Ay!” would come the response.

“And well was it for Mary that the Gytrash had business elsewhere that night, for her friends confess now that at the first sound of a scream they would have fled back to lights and home.”

The author continues:

“We wonder sometimes if the Bloody-tongue were not better than his reputation, for he lived there many years and there was never a single case known of man, woman or child who got a bite from his teeth, or a scratch from his claws.  Now he is gone, nobody knows whither, though there have been rumours that he has been seen wandering disconsolately along Egypt Road, whimpering quietly to himself, creeping into the shadows when a human being approached, and, when a lantern was flashed on him, giving one sad, reproachful glance from his red eyes before he vanished from sight.”

In Redbrook, Gwent, Wales, at Swan Pool after the crying of a baby and then the appearance of a women holding a baby, a large black dog appears circles the pool and heads off a to kiln.  In the Highlands a pool containing treasure is guarded by a hound with two heads and it is said to have haunted a man who drained the pool and discovered the treasure. He soon returned it! A moat near Diamor County Meath is said to contain a nine kegs of gold protected by a large black and white spotted dog. One could collect the gold if the dog was stabbed three times on the white spot.  Another white dog is found, described as the size of a bullock, at Bath Slough Burgh in Suffolk.

Water appears also to be a place of confinement. At Dean Combe waterfalls in Devon the ghost of local weaver was banished by a local vicar and when he turned into a great black dog was taken to a pool by the waterfall. Here it was told that it could only concern people once it had emptied all the water using a cracked shell! At Beetham a local vicar banished a spirit called Cappel which manifested itself as a dog into the river Bela in the 1820s. Equally one wonders if the account associated with St Eustace’s Well, Wye Kent has more significance:

‘swollen up as it were by dropsy’ came to a priest, whom upon seeing her urged her to go the spring. This she did and no sooner had the women drunk the holy water, she recovered but vomited forth a pair of black toads, growing into black dogs, then black asses! The woman surprised vented her anger against these manifestations and the priest intervened, sprinkling the holy water on ‘they flew up into the air and vanished, leaving no traces of their foulness.’

A well for May – Our Lady’s Well and a pilgrimage to Our Lady’s Island, Wexford

May is a month dedicated to Our Lady or St Mary and of course across the British Isles, there are a number of Lady Wells. Ireland is a country which is rich in such wells and in County Wexford is perhaps the most famed of all of them, a well which is part of a larger sacred landscape. This is a sacred landscape which doubtlessly dates back beyond the times of pre-Christianity. Indeed, a natural formation at Carnsore Point is believed to be a Druid Altar, and the name Cluain-na-mBan translating as ‘the meadow of the women’ suggests the site could have originated as a Druid community ran by women and as such Our Lady would be a natural dedication.

Perhaps more a peninsular than an island, the supposed island covers around thirty-two acre plot sitting a tidal lake, reached by a causeway. Beside the modern altar encased in class is the leaning barbican tower of a medieval Norman castle which once protected this area. Beyond it, the ruins of a church, where tombs and graves lie in sad desolation and shamrock grows from their bones. Both were built by a de Lamporte and the church was used up until the 18^th century.

The island’s Christian heritage begun in the 7^th century A.D, when a St. Abban founded a community there and dedicated it to Our Lady.  Saint Abban’s Vita is well recorded in both the Codex Dublinensis and Codex Salmanticensis, and he is recorded to have travelled to Rome and been well educated by a number of saints such as his uncle St. Ibar. It does seem strange that no well is dedicated to him on the island.

Little is recorded of early pilgrimage to either the island or the well. However, its importance can be hinted at when a leaden Bula of Pope Martinus V (1417-31) was found suggesting that papal indulgences were made to those who visited the site. In 1607, Pope Paul V gave a plenary indulgence to those who after Confession and Holy Communion would visit the church of Our Lady on the Island on the Feast (8^th September) of Our Lady and the Assumption (15^th August).

After the severe prosecution of the Cromwell period, although Pope Benedict, between 1740 and 1743 tried to suppress pilgrimages he had the only official permissible locations being one being Our Lady’s Island and Lough Derg. The Bishop of Ferns was involved with a large procession of the Blessed Sacrement around the Island and high mass was said at the newly consecrated parish church. However, it was not until 1897, that a regular Pilgrimage Procession by local Parish Priest, Father Whitty. This has grown over the years and thousands now attend.

Bob Embleton [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Two wells exist in the area. The more famed and interesting is that of Our Lady’s Well, whose whitewashed chamber overlooks the island below. It is found by passing over a stile and through a couple of fields, look for our lady on the wall on the lane…and a sign! The spring fills an oval chamber and empties into a ditch through a pipe. Overlooking the spring is a small figure of the Virgin and steps go down to the water. Perhaps the most unusual feature is a metal turn-stile. A number of claims are made for its waters, but I know of no specific cures. From its position it is clear that pilgrims would start their journey from the well and after having refreshed themselves would process down to the island.

On the island is another well. The provenance of this well is unclear, it does not appear to have been present in the 1900s when the shrine was constructed nearby and is probably either a domestic farmer’s well or else drains off the farmland; consequently a sign warns of not drinking it. Around this well can be seen a number of figurines probably given as offerings, including a snow globe and a Buddha. It appears that this well probably because of proximity to the pilgrim’s procession vies to replace the most venerable Lady’s Well.

Even on a fine summer’s day, one can both experience the peacefulness of the site and imagine the hoards of pilgrims as the process around it, sometimes with one foot in the water! A romantic and wonderful place and highly recommended.

Interested in Irish holy wells follow this excellent blog

http://Irelandholywells.blogspot.com

Note my hard drive isnt working so I have had to use a wikicommons image.