The old Ordnance Survey maps of Bowes show St. Farmin's Well on the path from Gilmonby Bridge to the old mill, about 20 yards before the gate on the north side of the path. "Nothing much was evident from the few pieces of stonework among the vegetation, but the spring which fed it could be seen running into the river further down the bank side".
"The parish council is considering restoration of this historic feature, and has recently done some preliminary excavations. The uncovered stonework shows it to have been a more elaborate structure than we thought, and not at all like the drinking trough at Swinholme Ford."
"We think it must have been in existance until the mill closed down, and it is therefore possible that there may be people who can remember the well being in use, and what it looked like. Also we have no leads so far on who St. Farmin was, and why there came to be a well dedicated to him in Bowes."
Cliff Brown would be pleased to hear from anyone who can help shed some light on this matter. Please contact him on Teesdale 628373 or send us an eMail and we will pass your message on.
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more about the well.
After further investigation of the subject of the saint, all we at BIS have so far discovered is that there are a number of Spanish festivals which celebrate the life of the saint, most notably the "San Fermin Festival", in Pamplona. As to reason for these festivals, we're still looking...