Pin Well

Northumberland is scattered with wells and watering holes celebrating a plethora of people, saints, sacred rituals and river links.

Whether holy, healing or hope inducing, most rural and not so rural locations harbour a source of water which has drawn people to it over hundreds of years.

The Pin Well at Earle near Wooler is an out of the way husband inducing waterway in the form of a tiny 2ft by 3ft hole in the ground in a water meadow at the foot of the site of the Kettle Hills Hillfort near Earle.

Spotting it on a map, we decided to head for the hills in search of the well, though with no intention of seeking another husband, as mine is still in good nick.

We parked by a small, seemingly locked metal gate, but which had a pedestrian gate to the left of it. Two Belted Galloway were on path patrol, and I figured that if we walked wide and slow, avoiding cutting them off, we'd be ok...We were ok!

The spring eruption of butterflies new to the wing was a positive distraction to the 'in good nick' husband, who isn't a fan of bovine bullying, and tends to avoid cow-gate at all costs. I meanwhile, really love Belted Galloway especially, and have two dogs not much smaller, so I felt ok.

The locked gates were clearly a bit of a deterrent as the path leads to a disused quarry where the path forks, but sticking to the line of alder trees, and those who know their countryside flora and fauna will know that alders always hug the banks of rivers, lakes and wetlands. It was a lovely time to visit with butterflies and bees in abundance... meadow brown, orange tip and peacock all spotted in the undergrowth with the constant song of whitethroat and chiffchaff egging us on.

The walk was relatively short and opened up into a flurry of verdant sunshiny gorse, smelling like the coconutty splendour of hair salon shampoo.

The valley was split with a narrow channel of water skirted by a well trodden path. On either side of the valley base, the gorse scaled the sides, and our only company was a couple of ravens who seemed like they'd been caught without a towel exiting the shower, squawked and flew off. I'd not imagine there are many passersby in these parts.

The area known as The Kettles is a collection of undulating hills once home to an Iron Age hillfort set on a promontory on the east face of Kenterdale Hill.

It was nothing short of idyllic on an early summer day.

Keeping to the flattened grass, we followed the line of the water to an old, low growing hawthorn tree, quite a signpost for the Pin Well itself, which would be otherwise hard to locate.

The Pin Well, also known as The Maiden Well or The Cattle Well is an age old natural spring noted on the OS map as a wishing well. It's pretty humble in appearance, but a significant place in the geography and history and heritage of Wooler.

It is said that each May Day, women would walk from Wooler and drop bent pins into the spring in the hope that a suitable husband might materialise! How easy life would have been locating the love of your life with a pin and no need for dating apps or dining out!

Of course in years gone by this was probably a holy well or sacred spring and could have been the means of water for those living in the Kettle Hills fort.

In later years, coins were tossed into wells and wishes made, but in more primitive times, the hunt for a husband had to be a less costly affair, and pins were seen as a cheaper alternative.

I've tried to locate the origin and significance of bent pins with no success, but have discovered that pins hold high esteem in witchcraft and folklore. Pins are seen as a signifier of luck and people were encouraged to pick up dropped pins, use pins stuck into candles to determine the success of their love life, and give gifts of pincushions to newly born babies to ward off ill health.

Most women would have stitched and sewn, so pins would have been a prevalent piece of kit ready at hand. Maybe in throwing the bent pins away, girls were trying to find a positive use for something that was no longer usable. Pins are also small and easy to carry, so simple to use in the hunt for a husband if a wishing well was at your disposal and you were wanting to keep your longing low key! The pin symbolism is niche and never ending as shown in these images from Making of Magic - Stories of stitching, weaving, knitting and knotting.

The source of the spring sits at the base of Horsdon Hill and is a simple elliptical shape. It looks like it's built up with Doddington Pink Sandstone, quarried nearby at the foot of the Cheviots. It's deep enough to paddle your feet in, but this might sour the water for any future bride and you might draw blood on the pins!

There weren't many signs of love life assistance; an odd pin and a ten pence piece. Maybe everyone in Wooler is now blissfully betrothed! But I did a little research and asked some people in Wooler about the significance of the Pin Well and was regaled with a multitude of tales -

“We were always told girls were to walk around three times and to drop a pin in on May Day” - Philip

“You must walk around the well backwards with your eyes closed before dropping the pin into the well and making a wish” - Mick

“We always dropped a pin in when we were evacuees up in Wooler during the war” - Christine

“My babaysitter Jean taught us you had to throw a crooked pin over your left shoulder after going around three times backwards. She said it's also where the Devil hung his granny!” - Mandy

“If you drop a pin in, you'll see a reflection of the woman you will marry” - Mark “Girls would tie ribbons on the tree opposite” - Tracey

So the story of The Pin Well, is...well, alive and well!

Looming behind it sits a huge piece of archaeological furniture known as the King's Seat, a massive natural red sandstone outcrop which looks like a throne. A king was alleged to have sat proudly giving directions to those at battle on the plain below.

But for now, it was just us and the sunshine, already husbanded up, and just happy to have found The Pin Well and had a nice walk in this special feeling place.