In the heart of Buckinghamshire hidden away is a place that is rumoured to have been given its name by no other than Julius Ceasar on his campaign to conquer England and Britain.
Hartwell was named when the historical Roman leader apparently saw a Hart drinking from a well.
The spring is still there and so is something you might not expect! Dr John Lee commissioned the Egyptologist Joseph Bonomi Junior to build an alcove called the Egyptian Well (1850, listed grade II).
Across the top in Greek is,
“ΑΡΙΣΤοΝ ΜΕΝ ΥΔΩΡ”
Which translates as:
“Water is Best.”
There are also some ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs of which I am yet to decipher but I will update as soon as I do. The spring comes out of a hole and runs into a small pool before exiting and carrying on its journey down the lane.