Pittenweem, St Fillan's Cave And Well
Cave (Period Unassigned), Well (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Pittenweem, St Fillan's Cave And Well
Classification Cave (Period Unassigned), Well (Period Unassigned)
Canmore ID 34254
Site Number NO50SW 6
NGR NO 54975 02530
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/34254
- Council Fife
- Parish Pittenweem
- Former Region Fife
- Former District North East Fife
- Former County Fife
NO50SW 6 5498 0252
(NO 5498 0252) Cave (NR) Well (NR)
OS 6" map (1912)
St Fillan's Cave is a Y-shaped natural hollow in a rock outcrop c.80 yds N of Pittenweem harbour. It is 93' long, divided into two by a wall 33'6" in from the seaward entrance, which has a wall, with a 17th century doorway, across it. A stairway was built by the monks of the priory from the cave, ending in a vaulted cellar in the Priory grounds, at the foot of Cove Wynd. The cave was restored by the late Canon de Voil, Dean of Brechin, and reconsecrated in 1935.
St Fillan's Well, which is little better than a drip from the side wall, is about 21' from the end of the inner cave.
W F Lyon 1893; RCAHMS 1933, visited 1928; H Fenwick 1970
The cave and well are as described, and open to the public.
Visited by OS (DWR) 30 May 1974.
Field Visit (3 April 1928)
St. Fillan's Cave.
The cave from which the burgh takes its name (1) has been a natural hollow in an outcrop of rock, some 80 yards north of the harbour. It is used as a store and is entered from Cove Wynd. Across the mouth of the cave there now runs a wall, in the lower part of which is a 17th-century doorway, and in the upper part a fanlight. The length of the cave is some 93 feet, divided into two by a wall which extends 33 feet 6 inches inward from the entrance. The average width is 20feet and height 10 feet. The outer part of the cave is the wider and higher. It contains a built vat or shallow tank at each side. The inner part bifurcates at the farther end. On the west side is a built staircase, which winds upward and terminates in a vaulted cellar opening into the Priory grounds. The cave is entirely a natural formation, save for the walls and stair, which are not earlier in date than the 17th century.
RCAHMS 1933, visited 3 April 1928.
(1) “Pittenweem” is for Peit na h-uam(h)a, "Share of the cave". - Watson's Celtic Place Namesof Scotland, p. 412.
