St. Catherine's Well or Kate's Well is a historical natural spring well of significant interest and sits on holy ground, at the foot of Kirk O' Shott's Parish Church, otherwise known as (

Shottskirk Shottskirk, more commonly known as Kirk O'Shotts Parish Church, or affectionately "The M8 Church", is a local parish church located in Salsburgh, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, and serves the village of Salsburgh, the town of Shotts and the hamlets ...

) in the village of

Salsburgh Salsburgh is a semi-rural former coal mining village in greenbelt farmland within the district of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The closest major towns to the village are Shotts, southeast, and Airdrie northwest. Salsburgh is perhaps best k ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...

. The well dates back to the 15th century, and derives from the church's former past when it was once a Catholic place of worship as St. Catherines Chapel, which has origins from

Catherine of Sienna Caterina di Jacopo di Benincasa (25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), known as Catherine of Siena, was an Italian mystic and pious laywoman who engaged in papal and Italian politics through extensive letter-writing and advocacy. Canonized in 1461, ...

. The water runs off from nearby hills and has a jovial longstanding joke within the nearby village of how the water runs through the

cemetery bodies, which of course is neither true or founded. Kate's Well is also the scene of the local legendary giant

Bertram de Shotts Bertram de Shotts is known locally as a legendary giant that roamed the then village of Shotts, Scotland in the 15th century. Shotts was then a dreary moorland place on the Great Road of the Shire. The road was an important route for tradesmen c ...

's demise; a gripping tale is told how a young man, namely Willielmo De Muirhead, 1st Laird of Muirhead, killed the Giant. With cunning patience he ambushed Bertram de Shotts, immobilising him by slicing both his hamstrings as he lay down to drink at Kate's Well. Disorientated, Bertram de Shotts was then decapitated in an unpleasant death. A proud, and now wealthy, De Muirhead then carried the blooded head to the King and was rewarded with a 'Hawk's Flight' of land. This land subsequently became Muirhead's Lauchope estate. The well itself received a much needed boost through a grant organized thanks to the local Community Council group in the early 2000s, which allowed its extensive renovation.

References

It was the early 2000s, and Emma and I would spend hours driving around, just the two of us, exploring the area with no particular destination in mind. One of our favourite stops was Kate’s Well. I remember Emma’s car – or, as we lovingly called it, “Fix It Again Tony,” that old Fiat – making its way down the road, tires humming against the pavement as we pulled up to collect water from that well in our empty coke bottles. After that, we would hop back in the car, windows down, music blasting. Our soundtrack was a mix of the best hits from Ace of Base, Kate Bush, and all the other artists that defined our youth. I’d light the cigarettes, and Emma would happily smoke them while we sang along to our favourite songs. We had a case full of CDs, each one carefully chosen, and a trusty old portable CD player with mini speakers taped to the dashboard. The music always felt louder when it was just us, cruising and chatting—usually about nothing, but it didn’t matter. We were young, carefree, and ridiculously happy. But not every trip was smooth sailing. One day, in the middle of nowhere, the Fiat broke down. Of course, we were stranded. The car wouldn’t start, and we had no choice but to wait for help. like magic, the police showed up. They weren’t exactly thrilled about having to push the car, but there we were, sitting in the front seats, laughing hysterically. It must have looked ridiculous, but we couldn’t stop. As soon as the car finally roared to life, Emma let out a joyful toot of the horn. Those police couldn’t see us for dust as we sped off, the sound of our laughter fading into the distance.

External links

Video footage of Kate's WellVideo footage of the tale of Bertram of Shotts
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