“A small spring well enclosed by stone work, and having steps leading down to it. It is situated close to and on the west side of Deanforth Cottage”
(Ordnance Survey Name Book).
The well was the subject of a legal dispute in 1852 when the owners of the surrounding land, the Misses Shaw, took the Parochial Council to court claiming that it was not a public well and therefore closed Maggie’s or Margaret’s Path. Witnesses were brought forward to demonstrate that the well had been used from time immemorial – or at least for the last 40-50 years which was within living memory. People even took their horses and cows to drink there. However, with the advent of a supply of water from elsewhere, the Board at a meeting on 9 June 1852 decided to stop fighting the action, much to the disgust of James Dunlop of Braehead (Falkirk Herald 7 October 1852, 1).
(NS 9955 8121)
Falkirk Local History Society 