The Story of the Healing Well of Fons Scotiae
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A drawing of the remains of
the Trinitarian Priory done in 1796 - from the Hutton Collection held
at the NLS
Link
to the work produced by local children for the exhibition
This
is the story of a place – a place beside Loch Leven where people
have lived for thousands of years – a place we call Scotlandwell.
The spring at the centre of this story has probably been here for thousands
of years as well. The springs were formed when water falls on the hills
above Scotlandwell and gradually makes its way through permeable rock
like limestone and finally bubbles up from deep underground through cracks
in the rock and then the sandy earth – and the way it bubbles up
through the earth must have looked quite magical to the people who lived
here and who used the water. However, it took the Roman invasion of Caledonia
(Scotland) by Julius Agricola and his Legions in 83AD to actually publicise
the existence of this spring. Camps were set up for the Legions in Lochore,
in Fife, and at forts such as Bertha in Perth and Ardoch, near Braco in
Perthshire to keep the local population in order. People think that the
Roman soldiers stopped here to rest and ‘take the waters’
– on their march between the two camps. They called the place Fons
Scotiae in Latin, meaning Scottish Fountain – and so the mystical
waters became well known outside of the area around Loch Leven –
and perhaps it is then that it gets the reputation as a Healing Spring.
Now, nothing much seems to happen for a long time – and then we
start to hear about the pilgrims that are travelling between Culross,
on the Forth, and St Andrews. They are visiting the holy shrines at Culross,
Dunfermline and St Andrews and need to make stops along the way –
and it seems as if these pilgrims used the mystical spring at Scotlandwell
for rest and recuperation. Possibly, it was then that it was suggested
that the water had remarkable healing powers, and the Bishop of St Andrews,
about 1214, established a religious house with a hospice for the reception
of ‘poor and needy’ folk to make use of the curative powers
of the waters. The friars who came here charged the pilgrims money to
get them refreshed and on their way – but in 1251 the new Bishop
granted the hospital to the Trinitarians.
This
was an order of monks set up by Pope Innocent III and based in Paris who
wore white robes with a red and blue cross on the chest. For some reason
they were also called the Red Friars! These friars knew all about using
herbs and water in curing skin diseases and other ailments. The hospital
got a lot of publicity when King Robert the Bruce came (in the 14th century)
and said he had been cured of his leprosy. These friars needed as much
money as they could get, as their main aim was to buy back Christians
who had been captured by pirates along the coast of North Africa and made
into slaves. So, this claim was just what was needed, and their hospital
-the Ecclesia Hospitale of Fons Scotiae became very successful and very
wealthy. Much later, the well is also said to have been visited by Mary
Queen of Scots and Charles II.
However, the Arnots of Arnot Tower near Scotlandwell wanted this money
for themselves and pushed their younger sons into the order – so
that eventually Friar Archibald Arnot became the Head. This was not thought
to be a good idea by the Head of the Trinitarians in Scotland –
but no matter how hard they tried they could not get it back, and the
Arnots held it, until eventually the religious order and the hospital
was closed and torn down after the Reformation in 1587. The remains are
there in Friar Place – but local people took away the stones to
build houses so little is left.
The Arnots continued to own the site of the Hospital and in about 1856
Sir Thomas Bruce of Arnot decided that the spot where the well now stands
was in need of urgent improvement. It was then described as being "an
almost unapproachable slough of mire and filth" beside which stood
"a half ruinous building used sometimes as a washing house and sometimes
as a slaughter house." So not very nice!
So, Sir Thomas brought in the architect
David Bryce, from Edinburgh, who designed the rather pretty building which
covers the well and also the washhouse across from it.
The washhouse was called ‘The Steamie’ and was where laundry
was washed using water from the well. At the same time lots of the cottages
were improved and land was cleared to create a bleachfield for the women
to dry their washing. In addition, an ornamental garden with exotic trees
was laid out for the benefit of villagers between the washhouse and the
main street and, for many years, a tearoom stood on this site. Then, two
years after the death of Sir Charles Bruce of Arnot in 1922, the well,
wash house, garden and bleach field were handed over to the people of
Scotlandwell as a gift.
People, even today, still think of the well waters as helping to cure
their ailments. In 1978 the well had a notice attached saying ‘Health
giving water of Scotlandwell was for many years used to help cure the
sick’. However, this has since been replaced by the sign ‘UNFIT
TO DRINK, DO NOT DRINK’! This does not deter everyone and people
still come here to fill up bottles with this mystical source of water
that has been used for thousands of years.