The Chalice Well, also known as the Red Spring, is a well situated at the foot of Glastonbury Tor in the county of Somerset, England.
Christian mythology suggests that Chalice Well marks the site where Joseph of Arimathea placed the chalice that had caught the drops of Christ's blood at the Crucifixion, linking the Well to the wealth of speculation surrounding the existence of the Holy Grail. The red of the water is also said by some Christians to represent the rusty iron nails used at the Crucifixion. "It is said that beneath its waters Joseph of Arimathea hid the Chalice of the Last Supper and immediately the waters flowed red.
According to local lore, the waters from this well have three attributes in common with human blood: the waters are red; the water coagulates as does hemoglobin; and the water is warm. The iron content gives both the reddish color and the coagulation of rust and accumulation of ferrous oxide. The subterranean water from the well is often warmer than the surface ground temperature, and even in winter roses near the well bloom when other plants and flowers further away do not. Indeed, the Holy Thorn Tree, also known as the Glastonbury Thorn (Crataegus Monogyna praecox) blooms in the Chalice Well garden every Christmas. The local legend says that this tree took root when Joseph of Arimathea drove his staff into the ground near the well.