Why Stevie G has sprung to support of spring
STEVEN Gerrard has revealed why he agreed to become an ambassador for a natural spring discovered under a West Lancashire field.
Southport man Mark Doyle found the spring while surveying land deep in the West Lancashire countryside.
The spring has since been developed into a business called Angel Revive, and former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is an ambassador for the local company.
Mark, who owns a successful construction business in Liverpool, explained the very unusual back story of Angel Revive.
He said: “A couple of years ago I bought a plot of land in West Lancashire and was thinking about building a house on the site. A farmer who lived nearby invited me in for a chat, and we had a game of snooker.
“During the game he told me that there was an old well or spring under the field, somewhere on the land.
“He said that hundreds of years ago people used to visit the spring because the water was supposed to have healing properties. He said it dated back to the 17th century. I had a close friend whose wife was ill. So I started thinking about the well and how it might be able to help people a bit.
“So I went out with a shovel, and started digging around. Eventually I found a source of water, but I was not sure. So I got a digger on the site, and started excavating.”
Mark, 40, eventually found the source of water about 25ft down.
He said: “When we got down to the rock face, I noticed an angel-like shape in the stone. That was the inspiration for the name of the business.”
Mark has since invested around £1m in developing the spring at the site. The water is extracted and then bottled at another site in the Rainford area.
Mark said that the water is packed with minerals and antioxidants.
He said: “I wanted a leading figure from the world of sport to come on board, and could not think of a better name than Steven Gerrard. Although I was a big Liverpool FC fan, I didn’t know him. But I approached him through a pal. Steven said yes.”
Gerard, who currently manages Rangers FC, said: “Yes I am happy to be an ambassador for Angel Revive. My family and I drink it and we want others to enjoy it too.
“I had stopped playing when Mark first approached me, but I still train to keep myself in decent shape. Drinking the right water is an important part of that.”
Gerard said that he had recommended the water to friends, and that the Rangers squad might start drinking it soon.
He said: “We are not officially drinking it at Rangers yet but one of the sports scientists here is very impressed. If we get the green light it could become part of the players’ diet.”
He agreed that the story behind the water was very unusual.
He said: “Yes the history behind the spring and the way in which Mark discovered it is so very unusual. It’s an amazing story and I am proud to be part of Angel water’s future.”
Mark said: “Steven has been very down to earth and straightforward to deal with. He is an ordinary Liverpool lad who became a world class footballer, so he is the perfect ambassador for Angel.”
Mark left school at 16 with few qualifications and started his own business. He said: “I worked hard and built up a suc- cessful construction and engineering business in Liverpool. I am now an employer and work closely with Liverpool City Council and Knowsley.”
Mark, a father-of-three, lives in Southport. He said that the business had brought out a canned Angel water and that they planned to abandon plastic as soon as possible.
The spring attracted some media attention in the 19th century when a journalist from a local paper visited the site on November 17, 1838.
At the time the land was leased to William Occleshaw, who told the reporter that flocks of linnets visited the site and carried away water in their bills, and that cows drunk from the spring too.
Mr Occleshaw also told the reporter that a fatal disease called murrain had not touched the farm. The Preston Chronicle reported that ‘crowds of people continued to frequent it.’
On March 30, 1839 the Preston Chronicle reported that a woman called Ditchfield from Rufford had been confined to crutches for seven years since childhood due to an accident.
She later visited the spring and collected some water to treat her leg.
The paper reported that “she experienced great benefits from its use, and is now, to her great pleasure and astonishment, enabled to walk without crutches - and perform her work and journeys with the greatest ease and comfort”.