The Johnny Blue's Wells (Scots: Johnny Blue Waal) (Barrhead Dialect) is a spring well in the back roads district in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Standing 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in) high and 2.15 metres (7 ft 1 in) wide,[1] it is a small former watering point between Neilston and Barrhead on Springfield Road.
| Johnny Blue's Well | |
|---|---|
| Year | 1800s |
| Type | Public fountain |
| Medium | Stone |
| Dimensions | 1.3 m × 2.15 m (4.3 ft × 7.1 ft) |
| Location | Neilston, Glasgow, Scotland |
| 55°47′13.2″N 4°23′47.2″W / 55.787000°N 4.396444°W | |
History
editAccording to local tradition, Johnny Blue was a print maker in the dye works who walked past the well going home to Neilston and reputedly washed the blue dye off himself there.[2] His real name was James Ferguson[citation needed] and he came from Gateside.[3] Ferguson was also a poet, two of his poems appeared in Vale of Leven poet, Hugh Caldwell's 1903 collection as part of a brief flyting between the two writers[3] and a further poem appears in The Annals of Barrhead.[4]
"Johnnie Blue" wis a poet, Gateside his abode,
His well's situated on Neilston back-road,
An' over its waters he cast a great spell,
That they'd a' be poets who drank oot the well.
[3]— Hugh Caldwell, 2nd stanza of "Johnnie Blue's Well"
In 2017, the East Renfrewshire Council assured Barrhead residents that the local landmark would be preserved after concerns were raised about a new housing development at the site.[2] Residents have requested a plaque to be mounted and it be declared a historic site.[5]
References
edit- Citations
- ^ "Google Johnny Blue Well". google.com.
- ^ a b Reilly, Jonathon (21 September 2017). "Campaign to repair Johnny Blue's Well gaining support". Barrhead News. Gannett Company. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ a b c Caldwell, Hugh (1903). Alexandria, Dumbartonshire: J. Cromarty Smith.
{{cite book}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Murray, Robert J.P. (1942). The Annals of Barrhead. Glasgow: Robert Gibson & Sons, Booksellers. p. 106. ASIN B0007K8C3U.
- ^ Reilly, Jonathon (28 August 2017). "All's 'well' after fears for piece of Barrhead and Neilston history". Greenock Telegraph. Gannett. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- Bibliography
- Murray, Robert (2007). The Annals of Barrhead. Scotland: R. Gibson & Sons.