A possible holy well or healing well known as Chibber Feeayr was located in this area, at Cronkbreck (also recorded as Knockbreck), Grenaby, in Malew parish. The well stood by the lane leading to a now-deserted farmhouse, and was roofed and enclosed in solid masonry by a member of the Preston family of Cronkbreck.
Chibber Feeyney Holy Well: the site of a medieval holy well known as Chibbyr Feeyney. A well is shown here on the 1870 1:2500 Ordnance Survey map in the field numbered Plot 281.
The site of a possible holy well associated with the Cardle Veg keeill and burial ground. W. W. Gill's 'A Manx Scrapbook' (1929) records the well as lying 'near the ancient keeill and burial-ground' at Cardle Veg, Maughold, and describes a folk custom of visiting it at full moon or sunrise, walking three times round the pool while reciting prayers, and then applying the water to the eyes. Its name, meaning 'Half-day' or 'Mid-day Well', is also recorded in variant forms as Chibber Mun Laa and Chibbyr Malaa.
The site of a holy well. Known as Chibber y Chiarn ("Well of the Lord"), one of two "Wells of the Lord" on the Island (the other being Our Lady's Well). It lies in the south-east corner of a field called Magher y Chiarn ("field of the Lord") in the parish of Marown, near cross-inscribed stones traditionally said to mark the spot where the Gospel was first preached on the Isle of Man.
The site of an early medieval holy well. Recorded by Manx folklorist W. Walter Gill in 'A Manx Scrapbook' (1929) as lying on the lands of Ballafayle in Maughold, 'appertaining to the neighbouring Keeill Chiggyrt' - the chapel traditionally remembered as a burial place of priests. The well's overflow was said to form a small pool known as Ring Dhoo (Lhing Dhoo), the 'Dark Pool'. The well's name, generally translated as 'Mary's Well', reflects a dedication to the Virgin Mary shared by more than one well in the parish.
Medieval holy well.
The Ordnance Survey First Edition 1:2500 map of 1868 records 'Site of Chapel & Burial Ground' without a marker denoting the location; the wording is centred at SC20867093. The same survey shows a well in the next field, lying a little to the north of the hedge, and north-west of the keeill and burial ground.
The Manx Archaeological Survey (1968) notes that the well had long been a place of resort for the 'cure' of various ills. It had acquired a number of popular names, most commonly Chibbyr Beltain, but also the Rag Well and the Fairy Well. It now forms a wet patch at the edge of the field.
Chibbyr Breeshey or Chibbyr Vreeshey has been described as 'a Well dedicated to St Bridget... still known to the natives, but not so far as we can learn now visited'. The site is now within an area of marsh.
Chibbyr Drine or Thorntree Well is a famous well, visited for medicinal aid according to Feltham (1798). Kermode located it to the east of the Rifle Range (SC 28576692). It is described as a small clear spring 0.3 metres across set in marshy ground with no trace of stonework. A band of seaweed immediately east of the spring shows that it is constantly covered by the sea.
Medieval holy well.
The Ordnance Survey 1:2500 First Edition mapping of 1867 shows the location of a chapel and burial ground at this location, formerly on Colby farm, together with the annotation, 'Site of St Nicholas' Chapel & Burial Ground', but makes no reference to a well or spring at the site.
The Manx Archaeological Survey (1915) only briefly describes the site, implying that neither the chapel nor the burial ground were visible, but notes the nearby presence to the south of Chibbyr Niglus (St Nicholas' Well) which was filled in 'having been desecrated by bloodshed'.
A Royal Commission field inspector was unable to locate the well on a subsequent visit in 1976. In the absence of an obvious site in the vicinity indicated by the Survey, LS Garrad (Manx Museum 1964-96) speculated that it might be that recorded at SC4428383932 in OS Field no. 1897 to the east of the site; this is shown on the OS map of 1867 with a path leading to it, which would appear unlikely given the tradition surrounding it.
Chibbyr ny Fainaghyn was known as a healing well, the waters used for curing warts. It is located 180 metres west-southwest of Stockfield House. An owner of Skerestel Beg had lived in the area for approximately 60 years but knew nothing about the well. The present owner of Stockfield has occupied the farm for 7 years and also knew nothing about the well, but believed there was a spring at about the presumed location of the well. It is possible that the spring and well were located at the source of a minor stream at SC 30128687. The stream source has been drained and the stream now issues from the field bank 75 metres to the northeast. Springs and wells are synonymous terms on the Isle of Man.
The site is described as lying "about 300 yards North-East of the 'Neolithic Village' near the Mull Circle" (Gill, 1929, A Manx Scrapbook). Gill's Second Scrapbook has an erratum for the first book that includes a correction to the directions stating that it should be South-East, not North-East.
A spring is marked on the Ordnance Survey First Edition 1:2500 map at the grid reference recorded. There appear, however, to be a number of other candidate sites for this feature, at SC19186801 (a well marked amongst farm buildings on the same map), and at SC19226790 (a natural spring marked on modern IoM Government cartography).
