Healing water

You’re in Clerkenwell. Today it’s part of central London, but for hundreds of years it was a quiet green place.

Clerkenwell is named after a real well used by local monks and nuns in the 1100s. Later, this area became famous for its wells. Crowds came to drink mineral-rich water, hoping it would ease sickness. Water from nearby Black Mary’s Hole was recommended for soothing sore eyes. Sadler’s Well offered a cure for ‘female distempers’.

In the 1800s, people stopped visiting the wells. They were forgotten as people opted for new medicines and piped water.