Eanswythe Wyllas or St. Eanswythe’s Springs.
South boundary point of Cold Ashton Parish, mentioned in the 931 charter by King Athelstan, awarding 5 hides at Aesctun to Bath Abbey (Grundy 1935 Anglo Saxon Charters of Gloucestershire.).
The boundary runs up the middle of the springs. It formed the county boundary between Somerset and Gloucestershire, and at one time the boundary between Wessex and Mercia.
St. Eanswythe (614-640) founded the first nunnery in England at Folkestone . She was the grand-daughter of Ethelbert, King of Kent, who was converted by St. Augustine shortly after his arrival at Canterbury in 597. She is rarely mentioned outside Kent. One of her miracles was to force a stream to flow uphill to provide water for her Priory.
The springs flow all year. They face East. At Midwinter the sun rises over Solsbury Hill to the SE. At Midsummer, the sun sets over the line of trees on Freezing Hill to the NW and shines onto the platform in front of the springs. Geophysics shows that the platform is built up from earth with a stone revetment on the edge.
A long barrow and later round barrow are placed on the crest of the ridge above the springs. The relations between springs and barrows are examined in Exploring Avebury by Steve Marshall 2016.
Many saints’ or holy wells were important long before Christianity came to Britain and were thought to have healing or truth-saying properties.
This water is rich in calcium and petrifies objects placed in it.
We do not know why the springs are named after St. Eanswythe.
One possibility is that the main spring (up the slope to the west with the blue pipe issuing from it), is higher than all the others, and Eanswythe is associated with making water flow uphill.
Another possibility is that her name was invoked by monastic forgers. The 931 charter awarding Cold Ashton to Bath Abbey is thought to be a forgery as apparently the witnesses to it could not have been present on the date mentioned. Similarly, the monks of Christchurch forged a charter in support of their claim that Athelstan had granted them title to the ruins of Eanswythe’s monastery (aclerkofoxford).
South boundary point of Cold Ashton Parish, mentioned in the 931 charter by King Athelstan, awarding 5 hides at Aesctun to Bath Abbey (Grundy 1935 Anglo Saxon Charters of Gloucestershire.).
The boundary runs up the middle of the springs. It formed the county boundary between Somerset and Gloucestershire, and at one time the boundary between Wessex and Mercia.
St. Eanswythe (614-640) founded the first nunnery in England at Folkestone . She was the grand-daughter of Ethelbert, King of Kent, who was converted by St. Augustine shortly after his arrival at Canterbury in 597. She is rarely mentioned outside Kent. One of her miracles was to force a stream to flow uphill to provide water for her Priory.
The springs flow all year. They face East. At Midwinter the sun rises over Solsbury Hill to the SE. At Midsummer, the sun sets over the line of trees on Freezing Hill to the NW and shines onto the platform in front of the springs. Geophysics shows that the platform is built up from earth with a stone revetment on the edge.
A long barrow and later round barrow are placed on the crest of the ridge above the springs. The relations between springs and barrows are examined in Exploring Avebury by Steve Marshall 2016.
Many saints’ or holy wells were important long before Christianity came to Britain and were thought to have healing or truth-saying properties.
This water is rich in calcium and petrifies objects placed in it.
We do not know why the springs are named after St. Eanswythe.
One possibility is that the main spring (up the slope to the west with the blue pipe issuing from it), is higher than all the others, and Eanswythe is associated with making water flow uphill.
Another possibility is that her name was invoked by monastic forgers. The 931 charter awarding Cold Ashton to Bath Abbey is thought to be a forgery as apparently the witnesses to it could not have been present on the date mentioned. Similarly, the monks of Christchurch forged a charter in support of their claim that Athelstan had granted them title to the ruins of Eanswythe’s monastery (aclerkofoxford).