In the vicinity of Chapel-en-le-Frith is a steep hill, rising to the
hight of more than a hundred feet, immediately beneath which this
natural phenomenon lies. It is of an irregular form, but nearly
approaching to a square, from two or three feet in depth, and about
twenty feet in width.
Its ebbings and flowings are irregular, and dependent on the quantity of
rain which falls in the different seasons of the year; when it begins to
rise, the current can only be perceived by the slow movement of the
blades of grass, or other light bodies floating on the surface;
notwithstanding which, before the expiration of a minute, the water
issues with a gurgling noise, in considerable quantities, from several
small apertures on the south and west sides. The interval of time
between the ebbing and flowing is not always alike: consequently the
proportion of water it discharges at different periods, also varies. In
the space of five minutes flowing, the water occasionally rises to the
hight of six inches; and, after remaining a few seconds stationary, the
well assumes its former quiescent state.
The cause of the intermittent flowing of this well may be satisfactorily
explained, on the principle of the action of the siphon, and on the
supposition of a natural one communicating with a cavity in the hill,
where the water may be supposed to accumulate; but for the phenomenon of
its ebbing, no satisfactory reason has been assigned. The opinion of a
second siphon, (which is ingeniously advanced by one tourist,) that
begins to act when the water rises, is inconsistent with the appearance
of the well, and therefore can not be just.