Scheduled Monuments›England›St John's Holy Well

St John's Holy Well

England
List entry 1016211
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1016211
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.01 hectares
Grid reference
SS 55238 04367
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

St John's Holy Well is a medieval or early modern water source located in Devon that functioned as a site of local pilgrimage and devotion. Holy wells were common features of the English landscape throughout the medieval period and beyond, often associated with saints' veneration and believed to possess curative properties. The well represents the survival of a religious practice that combined Christian tradition with the use of natural springs, which continued to attract visitors well into the post-Reformation period. Such sites remain significant archaeological evidence of popular religious practice and the relationship between communities and their local landscape in pre-modern England.

St John's Holy Well is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1016211. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is St John's Holy Well?

St John's Holy Well is a medieval or early modern water source located in Devon that functioned as a site of local pilgrimage and devotion. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1016211.

Who is responsible for protecting St John's Holy Well?

St John's Holy Well is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1016211.

What other scheduled monuments are near St John's Holy Well?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Wayside cross at junction between Victoria Road and Park Road, east of Hatherleigh (0.5 km), Churchyard cross 6m south of Dowland church (6.1 km), Wayside cross at Durdon Cross (6.3 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about St John's Holy Well

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of St John's Holy Well's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Wayside cross at junction between Victoria Road and Park Road, east of Hatherleigh
0.5 km
Churchyard cross 6m south of Dowland church
6.1 km
Wayside cross at Durdon Cross
6.3 km
Wayside cross at Eastcombe on the road between Durdon Cross and Eastcombe
6.7 km
Village cross in Northlew, 40m south west of the church
7.1 km
Bowl barrow 350m south of Broomhill
7.9 km
Two bowl barrows on East Kimber Common 525m north west of Stoney
9.2 km
Okehampton Roman fort, fortlet and associated enclosures
9.4 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under St John's Holy Well

St John's Holy Well stands on Permian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Permian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.

The wider landscape

Around St John's Holy Well

ExeterRoman town · ~23.9 miles
Domesday entry for Hatherleigh, Devon →
All Scheduled Monuments