St Helen's Well, South Cave

Dedication: Saint Helen

Location: Cave Castle Hotel

Coordinates: 53.766988N, -0.610328W

Grid reference: SE916309

Heritage designation: none

It is not clear how or why South Cave's holy well became dedicated to St Helen, who is said to have found the True Cross, along with several other relics, including the Holy Nails and the Holy Tunic (of which there are now several) in Jerusalem. She is certainly the most popular saint in Yorkshire. It is likely that the well simply gained a dedication to Helen through her great popularity, and possibly through rivalry between North Cave (which also has a St Helen's Well) and South Cave.

Though little is known about the well's early history, it is extremely close to All Saints' Church, so the water would certainly have been used for baptisms. The well was once located beside the roadside, where it could be easily accessed by villagers. When the owners of the Castle decided to create a large ornamental fish pond in the castle grounds, however, the road was diverted, cutting off access to it. John George Hall, in A History of South Cave, which was published in 1892, stated that the well was "formerly used by the inhabitants from time to time immemorial", and noted that the road once passed next to the spring:

The road from the Market-place to the West End formerly made a turn near Frog Hall and went by the side of St. Helen's Well.

It appears that the well has very recently been subject to a major "upgrade", if it can be called that. Photographs of the site from several years ago indicate that the well consisted of no more than a small, stone lined spring in a bed of reeds that fed the lake via a concrete channel. Since then, the well has now been built around and turned into the perfect image of the kind of stereotypical well-house that can be found in children's picture-books, and the reed bed has been made into a sort of patio area. This patio is so substantial, in fact, that it can be seen on satellite imagery from Google Maps. The only thing that remains is the concrete channel, which is now surrounded by a short metal chain-link fence that somehow does not detract from the fairytale air that the well now has. It has certainly become the centrepiece in many wedding photographs. At the time of visiting (December 2024), the well contained a reasonable amount of water, although there was not enough to overflow into the concrete channel. The well was, despite its new looks, in good condition.

The well has always been marked on Ordnance Survey maps, and, until recently, labelled as "St Helen's Well".

Before (March 2010 ©2024 Google)	And after (September 2016 ©2024 Google)
The concrete channel that still survives	A view of the inside of the well

Access:

The well is located in the grounds of the Cave Castle Hotel; it is best to ask for permission to visit it at the hotel's reception.