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The well at St Peter's Temple in Tiree.

Date 21 May 1970
Track ID 65649
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1970.107

Original Tape ID

SA1970.107

Summary

The well at St Peter's Temple in Tiree.

There was a well near the church at Sorobaidh, but Donald Sinclair did not know if it had a name, but it was called after the township that was near to it. Donald gives the Gaelic name for it - Tobar Chu-dhéis [the well of Cuigeas]. The well was close to the cemetery, but it was not known as a holy well. The only holy well on the island was the one near to St Peter's Temple. There was a hole in a rock close to it that had been filled in with rocks to stop lambs from falling in to it, but the well itself was on the other side of the temple. Tradition held that St Peter had used waters from the well to baptise children.

If the weather was very dry and a crofter's crops looked likely to fail, he would go the well and empty it out to use on his fields and by the next day the well would be full of fresh water again. On the day on which St Peter's day had used to be held, the wind would come from the south in the morning and swing round to the north in the evening. This was because St Peter had had a favourable wind coming from Ireland and returning to there, because he was a saint.

St Peter's Temple was the only blessed ground in Tiree. On one occasion, three youths were passing by the temple and two of them started to take stones from the temple. The third youth had relatives in Barrapol so he knew that it was a holy place, and he told him to stop it. Within a year, the two boys who had been taking the stones were dead, while the third boy lived to be 90.

Item Subject/Person

St Peter

Item Location

County - Argyllshire

Parish - Tiree

Island - Tiree

Language

English

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good