Saints in Scottish Place-Names
Funded by a Leverhulme Trust Project Grant
St Machar's Well, Strathdon
Grid reference
NJ 280 086 (accurate position)
Six-figure easting & northing
328000 808600
Latitude
57.162787100952634
Longitude
-3.190580101343944
Altitude (metres)
375
County
Aberdeenshire
Nearby places
St Machar's Chapel, Strathdon (0.22 miles)
St Mary's, O.L. of the Snows, Strathdon (0.89 miles)
Rock Ernan, Strathdon (3.34 miles)
Carn Ealasaid, hilltop, KRM/STD (3.81 miles)
Strathdon, parish, aka Invernochty (5.15 miles)
Object Classification
Water
Is linear feature?
No
Notes
NMRS records that itwas a place of pilgrimage. On 13 June 1613 the Kirk Session of Elgin decreed 'that all merchants and others leave off to gang to the Well of Strathdon callit Michell (= Machar?) under pain of 10 merks each time' (Records of Elgin, ii, 134). There is no trace of St. Machar's Chapel. The well, as decribed above, is still known locally as 'St. Machar's Well'. Visited by OS (R L), 6 December 1966.
Relationships with other parishes
Relationships with other places
Adjacent St Machar's Chapel, Strathdon
Names
2 head-names linked to this place ?St Machar's Well
Head name
St Machar's Well
Place
St Machar's Well, Strathdon
Certainty that this name applies to this place
Certain
The status of this name is
Current
Is this a current OS form? ?
Yes
Is this the original referent of the place?
Yes
Is the association of this name to this object hypothetical?
No
Saints in this place-name
Machar (ns) (certain)
Machar (certain)
Tobar Machar
Head name
Tobar Machar
Place
St Machar's Well, Strathdon
Certainty that this name applies to this place
Certain
The status of this name is
Obsolete
Is this a current OS form? ?
No
Is this the original referent of the place?
Yes
Is the association of this name to this object hypothetical?
No
Tobar Machar 1843, OS 6 inch first edn.
Historic formTobar Machar Head nameTobar Machar PlaceSt Machar's Well, Strathdon Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceOS 6 inch first edn. Date of citation1843 x 1882 Notes on the context of this place-nameMid to late 19th c. |
Source code
OS 6 inch first edn.
Source title
Ordnance Survey 6 Inch to the Mile, First Edition
Notes
Mid to late 19th c.
Tobar-Machar 1893, Mackinlay 1893
Historic formTobar-Machar Head nameTobar Machar PlaceSt Machar's Well, Strathdon Certainty that this name applies to this placeCertain SourceMackinlay 1893, 54 Date of citation1893 x 1893 Notes on the context of this place-nameReprinted in facsimile by Llanerch Publishers, Felinfach, Wales, 1993. |
Source code
Mackinlay 1893
Author
James M. Mackinlay
Source title
Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs
Year
1893
Notes
Reprinted in facsimile by Llanerch Publishers, Felinfach, Wales, 1993.
Saints in this place-name
Machar (ns) (certain)
Machar (certain)
Place-name data
The place-name data featured in this resource is copyright of the University of Glasgow.
Map Layers
The map interface was produced using the Leaflet.js library. Attribution for the base layers is as follows:
Default map:
Tiles © Esri — Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, TomTom, Intermap, iPC, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), and the GIS User Community
Satellite map:
Tiles © Esri — Source: Esri, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, GeoEye, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, UPR-EGP, and the GIS User Community
Satellite map with labels:
Base map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA, Imagery © Mapbox
Modern OS map:
Ordnance Survey OpenData. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right (2010)
OS 1840-1880 map:
National Library of Scotland Historic Maps
OS 1920-1933 map:
National Library of Scotland Historic Maps
