Another Star correspondent, writing in the issue of 27th January 1984, opined: “As far as I know this (the holy well) was a shrine to the Virgin Mary, a place of pilgrimage, where pilgrims came to drink the waters which apparently had healing powers.

This shrine was said to be in the area of St Mary’s Street, Paul’s Row, and Lily’s Walk. Lily’s Walk takes its name from the lady with the lily and you may be aware that many statues to this day depict the Virgin Mary holding a bunch of white lilies.”

A correspondent to magazine Buckinghamshire Interest in 1955 suggested another derivation for Lily’s Walk, that it was a rebus based on the name of someone called Lily who had been associated with Wycombe Abbey School. “Another interesting point is that the well water in parts of High Wycombe has ammonia in it. If this was the case in the Middle Ages it may account for the healing powers of the water at that time.”

There was a chapel to St Mary in the location described, although the exact site is uncertain. L J Ashford’s High Wycombe (1960) makes no mention of a well being associated with the chapel. A published analysis of Wycombe well water does not confirm the presence of ammonia.