Back in 2000 I extracted and posted a list of Hampshire Wells. I intended to visit each one and describe it. I didn't have a great deal of luck for the next few years, wells being on private land and closed to visitors, wells inside restoration projects and closed to visitors, and so on. I eventually forgot about the list, only finding it again after visiting St Clare's Well in May 2007. This reminded me that one of the most frustrating projects was the well in the crypt of Winchester Cathedral.
The crypt is one of the oldest parts of the Cathedral and probably retains the original eleventh-century floor plan. I must have been there some time in my youth, because I remember (or think I do) seeing where St Swithun is buried (the shrine is in the nave above the remains). But I simply didn't remember a well. Eventually I came to understand why. The position of the well makes sense, because I can think of several other churches that have been built over, or near, a sacred well, and it was natural for me to want to see it.
We first visited in 2002, but the crypt was closed. It floods in wet weather and when it does, it's considered too dangerous for tours. We returned in the autumn but it was still closed. We found this out the hard way, having specifically asked the member of the Dean and Chapter who was minding the 'donations' box, and additionally bought a photography permit. I think it was an honest mistake and that she thought we wanted to see the famous statue.
You can creep into the front and peer at Antony Gormley's statue Sound II pictured on the right. This statue is normally pictured up to its knees in water, ("Sound" was designed to stand in water) but naturally, that autumn it was too wet for the tour but too dry for the classic picture.
This was the start of a long period during which the crypt was closed every time we visited.
The well is the circular opening in the flood-water in the photograph on the left, and whatever the reason, the fact that it's slap bang under the high altar must mean something. It wasn't until June 2006 that we finally made it into the crypt.
The cathedral now charges entrance, which is a good deal more honest than 'requesting' a 'suggested' donation, and they don't charge for private photography any more (so they got a donation - I'm like that). If you're making a special visit it's worth 'phoning the Dean and Chapter and making it clear that it's the full tour you're interested in, not just a view of the statue.
As we arrived, the last crypt tour was just starting and, according to the sales desk, full. I'm not sure how gutted I looked, but it obviously worked because two places were miraculously found. There's a lot to see in the crypt and the commentary obviously reflects the interest of the guide in question. Ours mentioned the well only in terms of the floor-plan, but fortunately Sue and I knew what we were looking at - after all we'd been trying to get in for four years. I hung back and got the trophy photo.
There's only anything at all to see thanks to William Walker. He was a deep-sea diver who worked underwater in the crypt between 1906 and 1911 underpinning the nave and shoring up the walls. I believe that his assistant (who pumped the air) opened a fish shop with the proceeds. There's dedication and then there's dedication. Even if you're a really keen sport diver, imagine several hours a day in a hard-hat suit for five years. In true Winchester Cathedral PR style, the Story-board in the Wetherspoon's pub up towards the station has (at the time of writing) more information about the underpinning than the one in the Cathedral itself.