The Birth of The Rosemary Well - What's in a Name?

By Fiona Belcham

As I sit down to write on the 7th of October 2025, I find myself contemplating my next incarnation as a grandmother, (It really is not long now!) It is a transition that I'm excited to make and I am looking forward to all the joys and challenges it may bring.

Many times, over the last few months I've been asked by friends and family what I would like to be called Nan, Nanna, Granny, Grandma... there are even a few older family favourites to consider like Mimsy or Nanan. Whilst Poppy, with a bit of a mischievous glint in her eye, has even threatened Granny-kins!

Each time I've responded by saying I think I'll just wait and see what they would like to call me… However, it is quite possible that this will evolve from the name Poppy and Dan use for me with their newborn, so maybe I do need to have a bit of input otherwise Granny-kins might stick.🤔

This morning, sitting and pondering names and how they come into being lulled me into a bit of a meditative state and in a roundabout way these musings landed me in The Rosemary Well and I recalled how she very much called in her own name. We may believe that WE make these decisions, but in reality the influence often comes from elsewhere in this case, it came from the ether….

and so perhaps it is time that I shared the story.

It begins three plus years ago now, we find ourselves in October of 2022. I had sold my then business Patches and Buttons, closed the door on the upstairs (25 Moor Lane ), having made the decision, that the home of my new business would downstairs in the basement (27 Moor Lane BB71BE- even though it's on Lowergate!) For a while, it had been a fluffy, fleecy haven, filled with carefully curated, brightly coloured plush fabrics, a fabric lovers dream space. 😊

The old cellar - a fluffy, fleecy, haven

However, once we cleared the fabrics and took out the shelves, beneath all the fur and fabulousness we discovered a somewhat neglected, damp and dreary cellar in need of some love and attention. We spent much of that autumn, October, November and probably into December, removing everything, taking down dividing walls, pulling out all the old screws and rawl plugs and clearing the floor space.

I wanted to create a nurturing space to support individuals to access their own healing power. It was never meant to be just my space, right from the start I had planned to build two cosy practitioner rooms (for one-to-one sessions) to accompany a larger communal space (to be used for small events) and we needed to renovated the restroom and galley kitchenette.

So, we began to build…. Much of the heavy lifting was done by Leon Greenwood, Andy Belcham, Dan Delion Ren and Dom the plasterer under my watchful gaze. I took over once the plaster was dry, coordinating painting and carpet fitting which was completed just before Christmas 2022.

And whilst the work was underway the debate about names for the space were tooing and froing. I was toying with names for my new business, Soul Centred, and Soul Present were two early possibilities quickly discounted because the domain names had been bagged by others. I kept my mind open, and fingers crossed for some ‘divine intervention’.

As often happens with me lightning struck in the middle of the night, sometime in November of 2022 (whilst I was in the middle of training to become a Between Lives practitioner) I found myself wide awake and I was gifted the name, Heartsong Healing and just knew this was for my therapy business. This was great for me, but the space itself was still nameless. I had never intended to duplicate my business name because I wanted the name of the space to reflect the strong communal vibe that I wanted to foster.

It sat for months waiting. I was toying with words and phrases which incorporated imagery around nature, temples, sacredness and groves and Andy, being practical, had suggested that I call it The 5^th Well,  (there had been a lot of local publicity about the preservation of the three old borough wells in Clitheroe and whilst out walking he had discovered, a lesser known well on Pendle hill) It would have been a subtle nod to my intention to develop a wellness space and l liked it but even so, it didn’t feel quite ...

Then in the new year of 2023 the path took another turn, Poppy decided that she was moving home, and by July she was home in Clitheroe and had decided that she might like to work out of the new and as yet unnamed therapy space and so we got out the brushes and paint pots and decided to indulge in some finer bits of decorating, we had lots of fun creating our mural on the ceiling, full of magic and symbolism.

 It was during this time, that the space called in her own name….

From conversations earlier in the year the word Well had floating around in the atmosphere. And one day whilst Poppy and I were having a mini break from decorating and Dan, who was sitting on the steps listening to Poppy and I doing the female version of ‘chatting shit’ , very helpfully said have you thought about ‘Rosemary Wellness Centre’, seemingly we had been willy nilly banding about the name Mary and chatting about Roses and Dan had put the two together, instantly wellness centre went out of the window and The Rosemary Well was born.

“At last” the building said, breathing a sigh of relief…

And we continued painting and glueing crystals to the ceiling with a warm happy glow.

Poppy & I both loved the feel and sound of the 'The Rosemary Well', and it wasn’t until a little while later that we fully appreciated just how perfect the name is.

The meaning and the symbolism of Rosemary and wells matches our intention to build a space which facilitates and support self-empowered healing so beautifully…. But that is a story for another blog….

And we continue to build, growing our tribe, our community around this haven of peace and calm in the shade of Pendle Hill and the heart of the Clitheroe …