Publication Account

Date 2000

Event ID 1018311

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1018311

Linlithgow was renowned for its wells, the early eighteenth-century saying being 'Glasgow for bells, Linlithgow for wells'. Cross Well was the most important well in the town, standing as it did in the very heart of Linlithgow. Lead piping supplied the well from as early as 1629. Contemporary visitors to Linlithgow were very complimentary about the townscape. Sir William Brereton commented, in 1636, on the 'dainty conduit in the middle of the street [the Cross Well]'. It was rebuilt after the Cromwellian occupation, in 1658 (seep 3 7), by James Thomson, mason. It was essential that the Cross Well be kept in good repair, and in 177-4: the council decided to rebuild it 'of new'. In 1794, an iron railing was put round it, replacing a ruinous stone rail. In 1807, it was 'reedified', but according to its seventeenth-century appearance. It was to need further repair work in 1972, after being hit by a runaway lorry, but it still retains its original design and shows the 'black bitch' of Linlithgow looking, unusually, to the right. In 1997, carved figures from the original well were discovered. These are in the care of West Lothian Council.

Information from ‘Historic Linlithgow: The Archaeological Implications of Development’ (2000).