Way back, before Great Torrington existed, there was a small settlement on a hill. The spring water found high up on the hill was the reason early British people could settle there.  The cleanest, purest water is always found at the top of a hill and here it was surrounded by fertile land with a river for transportation, so it was ideal for settlement.

The name 'Windy Cross'

The name Windy Cross probably came from the corruption of an old English word for well, being either wella, wille or waella. As there never has been a cross roads there the 'cross' in the name will refer to the cross on top of the well building. The area does get a westerly wind that comes up Mill Street, so it makes sense that the locals, once the old English meaning had gone from the language, simply started, over time, to refer to it by the similar sounding  word 'windy'. This suggests the area was simply known as 'Well'.

It's position in the town

Windy Cross well is the highest well in the town and was always communal for travellers and surrounding population. The well water from it sustained it's people and allowed the town to grow into the modern day town we know today.

The well stretches back through many millennia, way back into prehistory, but in medieval times Windy Cross well was just inside the town walls close to what was the west gate in the wall.  As travellers came through the west gate, from the direction of Cornwall, their first stop would have been the well to rest themselves and their thirsty horses and donkeys before heading into town.

The hermit Nun

Here is a story of a woman, a nun, that got a reputation as a healer who tended the well and lived in a hermitage close by. She treated people for ailments using the well water and her knowledge of remadies and people would come from miles around for treatment. She became known as an effective healer and the water from the well was recognised as helping. For that reason it was given holy status which is why it has a cross over it.

The end of the well

The current pump house we see today sits over the top of the ancient well. It was 'modernised' from an older well building to bring it up to date in the mid 1800's. Prior to that it would have probably been an open well with maybe an ancient shelter over it.

At some point, a reservoir was built to supply the town with piped, clean water via pipes directly into peoples homes. Then the pure water of the well was made inaccessible by the removal of the hand pump. It became just an empty building with no purpose. Eventually even the entrance to the pump-house was sealed up in the 1970's and many locals were unaware of it's important role in the creation and sustinance of the town.

We have currently removed the stones that blocked the entrance and can now proceed to investigate the well. Indications are that it is looking likely to be intact and healthy. This process, however, could take a while and we'd love to hear from you if you could help us.