Cornish 15th Century Chapel & Holy Well

It was a dull, damp day but I decided to walk to Menacuddle, where there is a small chapel and  holy well. When I arrived at my destination all was quiet, with no one else about - perfect!

I snapped a few quick photos as I walked. The White River and the waterfall always fascinate me. The whiteness comes from the local china clay.

Looking back over the waterfall, to the right of the next photo, a chair can be seen. This is full size and is made of granite. It is known as the Druids Chair and sometimes even as King Arthur's seat.

The next two photos show the small 'chapel'. Visitors have left flowers.

The Chapel dates back to the 15th century and is now a Grade II listed building.  It is aligned east-west with the east wall built against the natural rock face. 

I followed the White River, there was a dampness in the air.

Water ahead but ...

... be careful as the water can be quite deep.

I took a different route on the way back but the river came with me.

Green topped water.

As the rain was determined to continue I was soon looking down on the waterfall once more.

The old bridge on the way out of Menacuddle.

Below is a newish part of Menacuddle, quite pleasant but a little too neat and organised for my taste. 

The rain started getting heavier so I made my way homeward bound.

As I walked I did stop when there were glimpses of the White River making it's way to the sea.

This post taken from my other blog : 

Mike's Cornwall

The Secret Holy Well Of Menacuddle, Cornwall And The Druid's Chair

Where I live in Cornwall, it's a land of legends, saints, holy wells and other mysteries. I came across the picture above and remembered that I hadn't visited Menacuddle for ages.

It's a place that is not on the main tourist route so it's virtually unknown to most visitors to the area.

The Well Chapel is a housing for a Holy Well and dates back to the 15th Century - though no doubt the healing powers of the water were known long before the small chapel was ever built.

The Well isn't sign posted but if going by car take the Bodmin Road from St.Austell town. It's only  a few minutes drive but is hidden away secretly. Look out for the Elderly People road sign (see below) and the track is on the left just after this. Go slow, it's easy to drive past. Follow the track and there is a place to park a couple of cars. In saying that I have never seen anyone else at the well whenever I have made a visit.

On the right is a river with a waterfall. The water is often a milky white colour, especially after rain, when it is coloured by the local china clay.

A little further and the Druid's Chair rock will be seen. It's quite comfortable - for a rock, that is!

Across the river can be seen the Holy Well Chapel. The river looked quite white on my visit today.

A little further along the river is a small bridge so that you can walk back to visit the Holy Well.

A Gothic archway leads inside and to the clear water of the spring. The building itself, other than the roof, is made of local granite.

It's quite dark and damp inside.

There is a local tale which suggests that visitors should drop a 'crooked pin' into the spring waters to ensure good fortune. It is said that on doing so this will cause pins thrown in by other pilgrims will rise to the top.

In saying this today's visitors tend to prefer to light a small candle and leave this to burn in one of the recesses. And you might even see a strange animal lurking as well!

The Holy spring water was once held in high regard for its curative powers. Sick children were regularly bathed here, and the Victorians  recommend the drinking of its salubrious fluid. It was also used to treat ulcers. Personally I just dabbed my face with the clear water and made a 'good health' wish.

Being a damp area the roof and walls of the chapel are covered with moss and lichen ...

... as are the stone walls nearby.

There it is, the secret Holy Well of Menacuddle. The pilgrimage worked wonders for me!

Photos: © Mike Perry

Other Holy Wells In Cornwall:
The Holy Well That Saved a Saints Head
Magical Cure For Madness At The Cornish Holy Well Of St Cleer
The Holy Well Of St Sampson At Golant In Cornwall
The Holy Well Which Protects Those Baptised From The Hangman's Noose

The Holy Well Which Protects Those Baptised From The Hangman's Noose

St Paul's Church, Ludvgan, Cornwall

If you want to avoid death by hanging the secret can be found at St Ludgvan's Holy Well, Cornwall. It is said that no child baptised in  its cool and crystal waters ever needed to fear the hangman's noose.

That's the thing about Cornwall, where I live, it was once populated by so many Saints - and many are hardly known. Take St Ludvgan for example.

St Ludvgan prayed for water and his pleas were, of course, answered by the appearance of a crystal clear stream. But there was more to the waters than their coolness.

The Saint washed his eyes in the sparkling stream and was amazed to find that this enabled him to see microscopic objects. Being quite chuffed about this he prayed some more and found that he now possessed a great fluency to his speech. 

For some reason he prayed yet again and bizzarely requested that all children baptised in the stream should be spared the hangman's cord.

The water had great powers which St Ludvgan had to put to the test. During one baptism, the young child in his arms called upon the name of Satan and the Saint was obliged to perform an immediate exorcism.

The Devil appeared before the congregation and they watched as he grew to a gigantic size before spitting into the water thus ruining its power to give the microscopic sight and the gift of great oratory.

The Devil however didn't remember to wipe out the waters power to save those children baptised from being hanged. St Ludvgan swung into action and despatched Satan to the Red Sea in a great flash of lightening, which also brought down one of the pinnacles of the church.

Today most of the powers of the well waters have been dissipated other than the promise of keeping baptised children free from the hangman's noose.

And that's St Ludvgan, sometimes known also as Ludowanus or Ludewon. The church at Ludvgan is now known as St Paul's church but was originally dedicated to both St Ludgvan and St Paul.

Other Cornish Holy Well Posts:
The Holy Well Of St Sampson At Golant In Cornwall
The Holy Well That Saved a Saints Head
Magical Cure For Madness At The Cornish Holy Well Of St Cleer

The Holy Well That Saved a Saints Head

The Holy Well Near St Decuman's Church, Watchet, Somereset

As regular readers will know I like visiting churches, even though I belong to no organised religion. And I like them even more if they have an ancient legend or story attached. While on my recent visit to Somerset I found such a church: St.Decuman's at Watchet.

The church goes back to the 12th century but the site is associated with various forms of worship back to at least 700AD - plus it has it's very own Holy Well.

The church is named after St Decumen, whose an interesting fellow. He arrived at Somerset from Wales in around 700AD travelling across the Bristol Channel on a raft with just one companion - a cow!

He became a hermit and managed to initially survive by living off the produce of his cow.

As happens with hermits they are not to everyone's liking and a Pagan is said to have tried to kill this saint in the making - and for good measure cut off his head.

But no worries for St Decuman he simply picked up his head, washed it in the Holy Well - though it wasn't actually 'holy' at that time - and placed it back on his body.

This obviously impressed the local people, to say the least, so they got together to help Decuman build a church. And that's where St.Decuman's Church and the nearby Holy Well are situated today.

It's interesting that the Holy Well, as per the photo above, has been preserved and restored by a partnership between the local Church and the local Pagan society. Pagan's claim that Pagan Celts worshipped at the long before Decuman arrived on the scene.

St Decuman's Church, Watchet, Somerset

Karin and I went to the Holy Well before going inside the Church. We were lucky as two of the church wardens were inside and asked us if we would like to go up some stone steps, behind an old door, to the top of the church, not normally open to the public. So we were privileged to be able to look down on the church from on high.

Tomb from 1616 within St Decuman's Church

And a final look at the Holy Well - we doused ourselves with the clear water as Pagans and Christians have done for over a thousand years. Prevention is better than cure!

Other Similar Posts:
The Holy Well Of St Sampson At Golant In Cornwall
Magical Cure For Madness At The Cornish Holy Well Of St Cleer
The Mystery Of The Cornish Roche Rock And Hermitage