Dod Well

The Dod Well can be found slightly hidden away, towards the south eastern edge of the village of Doddington, near Wooler.

It is a Grade II listed structure and is described in its Historic England listing as a well or pant dating to 1846 that was given to the village by the Reverend Proctor, formed of dressed stone, with a tapering stone cross around 10ft high sitting on a base of four square steps.

The Reverend Proctor is likely William Proctor the Elder who was Doddington's parish vicar. He was born in 1792 and married his wife Esther around 1830, they had two children William Proctor the Younger in 1839 and Mary in 1842. There is however little evidence to suggest why or how the gift of the well came about.

The well is in good condition and on our visit was surrounded by Snowdrops and Daffodils which gave it a lovely springtime feel. It is a little overgrown now though and only the upper structure is fully visible. There are some photos online from around 8 years ago that show the well basin and set of stone steps down to it allowing easy access to the water.

The water would have come out from the three small holes at the base of the steps and this fed into a curved stone channel that led down to the main basin where the water would collect before draining away to a nearby culvert. This is almost visible underneath the grass that has overgrown it. Hopefully there will be an opportunity to unveil the original soon.