Mother Ludlam's Cave, also known as
Mother Ludlum's Cave or
Mother Ludlum's Hole, is a small cave in the sandstone cliff of the
Wey Valley at
Moor Park, near
Farnham,
Surrey, in
England. The cave is the subject of a number of local legends. A
spring rising in the cave is recorded in the 13th century "Annals of Waverley Abbey" as "Ludewell"; other spellings through history include "Ludwell" and "Luddwelle". A monk named Symon is credited with identifying the spring as a suitable water supply for
Waverley Abbey in 1218, after the original source had dried up. The brothers of the abbey dedicated the spring to St Mary, so it also became known as St Mary's Well. The cave has been naturally formed by the spring but may have been enlarged by the monks and was made into a
grotto (possibly during the eighteenth century) and further enhanced by addition of an
ironstone arched entrance, possibly during the reign of
Queen Victoria.