St Margaret's Well

St Margaret's Holy Well was once a place of pilgrimage due to its medicinal waters originally located in the Restalrig area of Edinburgh next to the present-day East Coast Mainline. The well's site was due to be partly built over by the North British Railway's St Margaret's railway works in 1859/60 and, due to its historical significance, it was carefully dismantled and moved stone by stone to its present location by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. In the Meadowbank Stadium area stands a large triangular shaped memorial stone with a metal plaque recording that: "This stone marks the site of St. Margaret’s Well. The dressed stone work of the fifteenth century wellhouse built over…

Dating from the 15th century, the well house is of a Gothic style, hexagonal in overall shape with rib-vaulting, the whole built into the hillside with semicircular stone exterior walling and a circular drinking bowl of a harder stone set externally. The interior has a central pillar with carved bosses with a pool below and a design based upon the design of St Triduana's Aisle at Restalrig. A round-arched opening into the well house has metal grating leading to well-house. Metal railings run along the top of the exterior walls. When first moved to Holyrood, it did not have the semi-circular walling and was fully open to allow access to the water.

The well site has been restored several times and is used as a wishing well with many coins thrown by visitors into the holy water pool. Access to the water itself is no longer possible due to the presence of a metal grill. The site lies below the Salisbury Crags of Arthur's Seat with a pedestrian and cycle path running above. A path nearby runs up to the Hunter's Bog and St Margaret's Loch and the ruins of St Anthony's Chapel and Well lie to the east. An area of cobbles lies in front of the well. A plaque above the well informs: "This unique Well House dates from the late 15th Century. It originally stood at Restalrig, close to the Church, and its design is a miniature copy of St.…