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William Grainge describes the Lady Well at Thirsk in his book 'The Vale of Mowbray' (1859)........... "Amid the willows rises a plenteous spring of water, which is protected by a simple triangular cover of stone, and known by the name of 'Our Lady's Well'. Probably the water in ancient times was used in the services of the church, to which it is immediately contiguous." The first edition O.S. map marks the Lady Well 50m to the east of Mary Magdalene church. A stream is also shown running from the well to the nearby Codbeck. Since this time it appears that the slightly lower ground between the church and the river has been filled in to raise the land level and now provides a grassy open area by the river. Unfortunately this process also buried the Lady Well. There are still several old willow trees growing on the grassed area and there also appears to be a slight hollow at the approximate location where the Lady Well is shown on the old maps. This hollow may be caused by the damp ground around the buried spring. A pipe can also be seen on the river bank at the location where the stream would have originally joined it, which suggests that the water from the well was piped away to the Codbeck. Restoration? If the Lady Well does indeed lay buried a few feet beneath the grassed area, it might be possible at some point to uncover it and create a sensitive setting around the well, revealing a part of Thirsk's heritage and once again providing the town with its own holy well!
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Lady Well (site of) - Thirsk