Tewit Well, also known in its early days as "Tuit" or "Tuewhit", is a spa water well, the first

chalybeate Chalybeate () waters, also known as Iron oxide, ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron. Name The word ''chalybeate'' is derived from the Latin word for steel, , which follows from the Ancient Greek, Greek word ...

source discovered in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England.

History

After marrying Elizabeth Broad, William Slingsby (uncle of Sir

William Slingsby Sir William Slingsby (29 January 1563 – 1634) was an English soldier who is often erroneously noted as the discoverer of the first spa water well in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. He was the seventh but third surviving son of Sir Francis Slings ...

) took his new wife on a Grand Tour of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In 1571, Slingsby discovered that water from a well in Knaresborough Forest, now called The Stray, public parkland in Harrogate, possessed similar properties to that at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

in Belgium. He named the well "Tewit", after a local word for peewit or lapwing, a bird which still frequently flocks on the Stray. Tewit Well had fewer visitors than the wells in Low Harrogate, or even St John's Well in High Harrogate, because of its distance from Victorian hotels and lodging houses. In 1842, the structure designed by

Thomas Chippendale Thomas Chippendale (June 1718 – 1779) was an English woodworker in London, designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs in a trade catalogue titled ''The Gen ...

in 1807 enclosing the Royal Pump Room, which sits over the Old Sulphur Well, was replaced by a new structure designed by Isaac Shutt for the Improvement Commissioners. The old structure was then moved to Tewit Well.

Description

The structure still stands on the edge of the Stray, known as Cherry Tree Walk as all the paths are lined on both sides with

cherry tree A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The name ...

s. It is a Grade II* listed building. It carries Harrogate's first Brown Plaque, which was designed in part by Harrogate historian

Malcolm Neesam Malcolm George Neesam (28 June 1946 – 28 June 2022) was an English historian and writer specialising in the history of Harrogate, North Yorkshire. He was also a librarian and archivist. His major works were the first two parts of a projected ...

in 1971.

Local recognition

A local youth brass band, The Tewit Youth Band, is named after this landmark.

References

External links

{{coord, 53.98535, -1.53457, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in Harrogate Tourist attractions in Harrogate Springs of England Grade II* listed buildings in North Yorkshire Water wells in England

History

Description

Local recognition

See also

References

External links