<< Our Photo Pages >> St Govor's Well - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in Greater London

Submitted by TimPrevett on Tuesday, 29 November 2011  Page Views: 15078

Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: St Govor's Well
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 3.075 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Greater London Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: London  Nearest Village: Kensington
Map Ref: TQ2605079887
Latitude: 51.503869N  Longitude: 0.185275W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 4

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St Govor's Well
St Govor's Well submitted by TimPrevett : St Govor's Well in Kensington Gardens on a marvellous autumn day, 20th November 2011. As of this visit it wasn't actually working! (Vote or comment on this photo)
A fountain on the site of Saint Govor's Well, an ancient spring in Kensington Gardens. An attractive stone mounting with engraved text sits no far from the entrance from Kensington High Street.
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St Govor's Well
St Govor's Well submitted by TimPrevett : St Govor's Well in Kensington Gardens on a marvellous autumn day, 20th November 2011. As of this visit it wasn't actually working! (Vote or comment on this photo)

St Govor's Well
St Govor's Well submitted by TimPrevett (Vote or comment on this photo)

St Govor's Well
St Govor's Well submitted by TimPrevett (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
TQ2679 : Sunbathing in Kensington Gardens by DS Pugh
by DS Pugh
©2024(licence)
TQ2679 : Kensington Gardens on a sunny Sunday by David Hawgood
by David Hawgood
©2007(licence)
TQ2679 : Kensington Gardens near the bandstand by David P Howard
by David P Howard
©2011(licence)
TQ2679 : Kensington Gardens by Peter S
by Peter S
©2009(licence)
TQ2579 : Parkland Kensington Gardens by Paul Gillett
by Paul Gillett
©2009(licence)

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"St Govor's Well" | Login/Create an Account | 5 News and Comments
  
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Re: St Govor's Well, Hyde Park by Anonymous on Wednesday, 06 October 2021
It's actually in Kensington Gardens, not Hyde Park. These two large parks are actually separate, but together they are often wrongly called Hyde Park. A road runs between the two, separating them. Kensington Gardens closes as dusk, but the road and Hyde Park remain open until midnight.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: St Govor's Well, Hyde Park by Andy B on Wednesday, 06 October 2021
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    You're right, thanks for pointing that out. This was posted by someone from outside London, I've corrected it.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: St Govor's Well, Hyde Park by Teresa on Friday, 11 December 2020
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I did a bit of research into this for my local Baywater Residents Association magazine earlier this year, and I am pretty sure it is not such an ancient well at all. This is what I wrote:

St Govor’s Well: was it a holy spring or merely a run-off from the Round Pond?

St Govor’s Well is now a drinking fountain just east of the Broad Walk in Kensington Gardens, down the hill from the Round Pond. It was converted into a well in the early 19th century, possibly in 1836. Only in 1856 was it named for St Govor; a typical Victorian practice of giving something a spurious historical connection. It was given the name by Sir Benjamin Hall during his tenure as First Commissioner of Public Works for London, and named after St Govor, patron saint of Llanover in Wales, a parish owned by Sir Ben, which was famous for its springs.
Newspaper archives reveal that the water “issued in a considerable stream from a leaden spout” and it soon gained a reputation for its “beneficial action on crippled joints.” However, far from having any magical properties the Sanitary Gazette in 1875 reported that the water was “loaded with organic matter” which a natural spring would surely not be. Furthermore, when the Round Pond was drained in the summer of 1886, St Govor's Well dried up too, causing the British Medical Journal to conclude it was probably not so much an ancient spring but contained water drained into it from the Round Pond. Ugh! For some years hitherto a poor old woman had attended the well, charging the thirsty children and nursery maids of Kensington Gardens a ha'penny for a glass of water, and after her death - from “overindulgence in the waters,” joked the BMJ - a metal cup was chained to it so that people could help themselves. The BMJ recommended that if it were proved to be fed from the Round Pond, this supply should be blocked and a supply of pure water piped into it, because there was then no other drinking fountain anywhere in Kensington Gardens. Perhaps someone who looks after the water supply in the Gardens would know if there really is an ancient spring there, and if so is it still being used, or if not where does the water currently come from?
[ Reply to This ]

Re: St Govor's Well, Hyde Park by Sunny100 on Wednesday, 08 October 2014
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The only saint I can think of with this name is St Gover, St Govor (Myfor) of Llanovor in south-east Wales, so what was he doing in London. It's not unknown though because a bishop Restitutas was, according to legend, made bishop of London in the Dark Ages. He is sometimes identified with the Celtic St Gwrst (Restydd). Interesting to say the least. Any other Celtic saints in London, I wonder?
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: St Govor's Well, Hyde Park by Teresa on Friday, 11 December 2020
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    I have just written a piece here about the name and posted it here, which will answer your question, what was a Welsh saint doing in London. Well he never visited London! The Parish of St Govor was owned by Sir Ben Hall, Commissioner of Public Works in London at the time and he gave the well in Kensington that name in 1856.
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