The Balm Well

According to legend the Balm Well sprang up when St Katharine spilt a few drops of holy oil, which she had brought from the the tomb of St Katherine of Alexandria at Mount Sinai to give to St Margaret.

Also known as the oily well, the water has a layer of bituminous substance on its surface and this was believed to benefit skin ailments such as leprosy and scabies.This substance is now known to arise from oil shale underlying the well.

Certainly it has been known since the C16, Queen Margaret is the first Royal personage recorded as taking an interest in the well and King James IV made offerings to 'Sanct Katrine's of the oly well' in 1504. At the instigation of King James VI, following his visit in 1617, the well was enclosed in stonework with a stair to improve access but this was all but destroyed in 1650 by Cromwell (an account of this appears in a detailed description by Matthew Mackaile in 1664). Subsequently it has been restored, damaged and rebuilt in its present form with a lintel dated 1563 and the initials AP although this is thought to come from elsewhere.

The well is situated in the grounds of the house of St Katherine, built in 1806, which became a children's home, later the Balm Well Public House, and now the Toby Inn.

We ate a very good lunch there today with the staff and other helpers from the charity shop which closed in November.