Description

SX 26 SW ST KEYNE

10/187 St Keyne's Well and cross to south
east
21.8.64
II

Well house of Holy Well of St Keyne and cross opposite . Circa C16 rebuilt in July
1936 by the Liskeard Old Cornwall Society. Granite ashlar with gabled roof of large
granite blocks. Rectangular in plan. Well opening in front gable end with round
granite chamfered arch and jambs with pyramid stops. Rectangular well shaft.
Situated in low stone rubble retaining wall.
Robert Southey's poem quoted the legend concerning the race of brides and grooms to
the well after the wedding service.
"If the husband of this gifted well
Should drink before his wife
A happy man henceforth is he
For he shall be master for life".
The poem continues
"I hastened as soon as the wedding was done
And left my wife in the porch
But I'faith she had been wiser than I
For she took a bottle to the church."
The poem also describes the old well
"An oak and an elm tree stand beside
And behind does an ash tree grow
And a willow from the bank above
Droops in the water below".
These were thought to have sprung from 1 root planted by St Keyne. In 1703 the trees
were blown down and were replaced by trees planted by Mr Rashleigh of Menabilly. In
the 1930s, the trees had decayed and the lane was widened and consequently the well
was rebuilt.
Illustration of the unrestored well together with a ballad appear in the Gentleman's
Magazine, 1799 and 1822. In Blights Cornish Crosses, and in A Lane-Davies Holy Wells
of Cornwall, 1970. An illustration in the National Monuments Record illustrates the
well-house arch as a pointed granite arch with ovolo moulded arch and jambs. The
full text of Southey's poem is quoted by M L Quiller Couch in Ancient and Holy Wells
of Cornwall. Directly opposite the well opening is an incised granite stone cross
with an alisee patee cross and a carved semi-circular panel below. Resited in 1951.
J Meyrick A Pilgrims guide to the Holy Wells of Cornwall, 1982
A Lane-Davies Holy Wells of Cornwall, 1970

Listing NGR: SX2482760213

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26433600

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments