ARTICLE The Dorset Diary


spiritual insights from an ancient landscape “The Silver Well, Cerne Abbas” by Jane Butterworth


In the heart of Cerne Abbas in Dorset, lies the Silver Well, later renamed (by the commercially minded medieval monks residing at Cerne Abbey) as St Augustine’s Well as he was the celebrity saint at that time! His visit was invented by a travelling hagiographer who the C11th monks hired to help generate interest and funds for the abbey. However the story is based on an earlier C9th tale and tells of a deeply religious and spiritually minded prince called Edwold, brother of King Edmund the Martyr of East Anglia, who had a vision telling him to seek the Silver Well. His pilgrimage brought him to Cerne Abbas (then known locally by its original Celtic river name of Cernel, as the abbey had yet to be founded and built) and on arrival he asked a shepherd for bread and water, for which he paid him with silver pennies. The shepherd took him to the spring flowing freely from the lower slopes of what is now known as Giant Hill (because of the famous and dramatically masculine chalk depiction at one end of it, although in medieval times it was then known as Trendle Hill) but nevertheless a hill with ancient origins judging by the archaeology found there. Instantly St Edwold recognised the spring as the Well in his vision and built a small hermitage alongside it where he spent the rest of his days. Over the past few hundred years paving slabs and masonry from Cerne Abbey have been used to build a structured edge to the spring giving it an attractive focus for those visiting,as well as to raise its depth to allow full immersion for healing purposes. It is surrounded by lime trees and is at the end of a small old cobbled path which dips below the old village cemetery and which gives it a peaceful and private feel. It is clearly a sacred site, partly through the intentions left behind of those who have visited since it became known as a healing well,but also


its location and general atmosphere, not to mention the messages the Spirit of the Well offers here. It is also at the intersection of ley lines, one major one linking to Stonehenge, but more tellingly one coined as a ‘holy hill alignment’ by Paul Devereux, which runs from Holwell to Cerne. During my visit here in March 2012, the delightful spirit kingdom that resides here furnished me with the following information:


The old path dips down to the Well


“A big healing attraction and energy has built up over the many years mankind has used this spot, this water source. All springs can develop this healing application. What happens is that the intent is instilled and distilled into the ground where the waters flow over and you will note that the waters do not visibly flow but seem to sit still long enough for those that need to immerse themselves comfortably.This is why man has been so drawn to this spot – this particular exit for the stream. Many came to this site long before the monks and this was used for purification purposes. It (the spring) did emerge more rapidly hundreds of years ago and people who had sinned against others came to release their guilt and pay penance to


ask for forgiveness from the mother Goddess. A lot of grief was expressed here: For killing, for losing a loved one that had not been looked after, for stealing, for desiring what was not rightfully theirs’ and so on.The running water helped them literally wash away their sins, religious or social, just as is written in the bible, but this was a natural thing for mankind to do. Cleansing the body ritually meant cleansing the spirit. Many streams and open wells where springs rise were used for this purpose as they were still pure from the


London & South East Connection - August/November 2012 43


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