St. Aldhelm’s Well aka Doulting Well
Doulting Well, or St Aldhelm’s Well, is a tucked‑away spring on the edge of Doulting where trees and plants lean over a stone‑walled basin, so you feel as if you’ve stepped into a small green hermitage beside the lane. The well is dedicated to St Aldhelm, the scholarly but eccentric 8th‑century monk and bishop said to have prayed, preached and baptised here, even standing neck‑deep in the cold water reciting Psalms and performing tricks to attract converts. For centuries its water was used for christenings and gained a reputation as “wonder‑working,” especially for eye and skin complaints, with modern stories of healing still circulating in the village. Today it is cared for locally as a simple, largely untouched holy place where people come to sit by the clear flow, sometimes decorating the spring with flowers and candles as a quiet act of devotion.
West of Doulting Manor, Well Lane, Doulting, Somerset
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Aldhelm: scholar and showmanSt Aldhelm, the well’s patron, was a rare mix of high scholar and earthy preacher: he wrote elaborate Latin treatises, yet was also known for singing, joking and performing little stunts to keep ordinary folk listening to his sermons.
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Ice-cold prayer practiceStories say Aldhelm used the spring as a place of intense spiritual discipline, standing or lying in the freezing water up to his neck while reciting the Psalms, turning the well into both a baptismal font and a kind of outdoor monastic cell.
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Protected from commercialisationIn modern times a local trust took over the well for a token sum to keep it in community hands, confirmed the water as drinkable, quietly maintain the walls and trees, and deliberately blocked plans to bottle and sell the water so it can remain a simple, semi‑wild holy place rather than a commercial site.
