Menacuddle Well
Posted by: 
windrush
N 50° 20.719 W 004° 47.745
30U E 372231 N 5578567
Menacuddle Well
Waymark Code: WM33XH
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/05/2008
Views: 43
Menacuddle well is located in a green area below the road to St Austell in Cornwall and the well house butts tightly against the twenty foot high wall. It is surrounded by trees and rhododendron bushes, beside a gentle stream and a waterfall.
The small granite well house was originally built in the late 15th. century and restored by Sir Charles Graves Sawle in 1922. A Gothic archway leads into the peaceful sanctuary where the crystal clear water springs forth, in glaring contrast to the milky white, china clay tainted water flowing in the river beside it. In the Middle Ages there was an important chapel in the area adjoining this well house, although no trace of it now remains.
On the day we visited the whole area was flooded to a depth of 6 inches amid a tremendous hail storm.
The water here was held in great esteem for its curative powers. Sickly children were regularly bathed here, and Victorian matrons would recommend the drinking of its "salubrious fluid". It was also used to treat ulcers.
It was once considered to ensure good fortune a crooked pin be thrown into into the waters, now coins are thrown instead.
It is believed that Menauddle derives from the late Cornish mena gothall meaning "hillside with a thicket". Some however think that the word Menacuddle may derive from mena, meaning sanctuary, and St. Guidel, an unknown saint.
Nearby car parking: N 50° 20.742 W 004° 47.757
Weblink for more information on this Holy well: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
A photograph of the well would be appreciated to record your visit, but this is not absolutely mandatory, as long as you can describe your visit.
Do you know any more about the history of this well?. If so please let us know.