Jacob's Well, Bristol facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jacob's Well |
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|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | Cliftonwood |
| Town or city | Bristol |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°27′10″N 2°36′36″W / 51.4529°N 2.6100°W |
| Construction started | 12th century CE |
Jacob's Well is a very old stone building in Cliftonwood, Bristol, England. It was built around the 12th century. Many people believe it was once a special Jewish bath used for religious purposes.
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What is Jacob's Well?
Jacob's Well is built around a natural hot spring. This means warm water flows up from underground. Inside the building, there is a stone beam, called a lintel. On this lintel, there is an inscription, which is like a carving of words. Many think this carving is the Hebrew word zochalim, which means "flowing."
A Jewish Ritual Bath?
Because of the inscription, some people believe Jacob's Well was a mikveh. A mikveh is a special bath used by Jewish people for ritual cleansing. It's a way to become spiritually clean.
However, not everyone agrees with this idea. Some experts think the bath is too deep to be a mikveh. They suggest it might have been used for another purpose.
Another Idea: Before Burial
Another theory is that Jacob's Well was used to clean bodies before burial. This would have happened in a Jewish cemetery nearby, at Brandon Hill. There was a small Jewish community living in Bristol around the year 1100. This shows that Jewish people were part of Bristol's history a long time ago.
History of the Well
The hot spring at Jacob's Well became the property of St Augustine's Abbey in 1142. An abbey is a type of monastery, a place where monks live and worship.
The outside of the well was rebuilt much later, sometime in the 1700s or 1800s. For a long time, Jacob's Well was forgotten. It was rediscovered in 1987.
A Protected Site
Today, Jacob's Well is a scheduled ancient monument. This means it is a very important historical site. The government protects it to make sure it is preserved for future generations.
Bottling the Water
The water from Jacob's Well is natural spring water. In the 1980s, this water was bottled and sold.
More recently, in 2011, the company that owns the well wanted to bottle the water again. They asked the Environment Agency for permission to take out and bottle a lot of water each year. They wanted to bottle up to 15 million litres (which is about 3.3 million imperial gallons).
