Hush-Cush Well - Hotham
(TA 8834 3445)

This small roadside pool was noted by the Rev. Smith, who was puzzled by its unusual name. In his day the slightly chalybeate waters from the spring fed pool were still being used as a treatment for internal ailments. An old man also told him that in his youth the water was regarded as an aid to fertility, at least in horses, when a drink from the well and a fast gallop was believed to help a mare conceive.
The well is not marked on the modern OS map, but it is shown as Hushcush spring on the first edition maps. A visit to the area in July 2000 located the site of the pool under a willow tree on the grass verge, and although the pool was dry, it looked as if it may still hold water at times. The water originates from a spring on the nearby hillside so perhaps the pipework is blocked or the spring flows intermittently?

'Cush' is an old name for a cow and farmers would often call in a herd with a shout of "cush, cush, cush". The word hush has several meanings in the north of Britain, including the sound made by running water, which may be relevant in this case. The more usual meaning of 'hush' - to make silent/quiet, or to calm or sooth,  may also be relevant, given the belief that the wells waters had an effect on animals. St Johns well at Harpham has the tradition that it had a calming effect on wild animals brought to the well, and a 12th century account states that wild bulls became tame when brought to Beverley minister- which had its shrine to St John.  So its appears that some wells were regarded as having a calming effect on animals, including live stock, and this might explain the Hush-cush name.