Dupath Well

SX 37477 69257

1. Old Picture

2. Early Photo

3. Dupath Farm

4. Dupath Well

5. Dupath Well

6. Baptistery

7. Window

8. Trough

9. Run Off

10. Interior

"What a difference" - 18 days make or some such lyrics, back in Cornwall and back to peace and quiet, the sunburn and extra pounds have been taken home. I am off to see what Dupath Well is all about which should be interesting. It's not hard to find, simply follow the brown tourist signs until you come to a sharp right-hand bend with a farm on it. I have been into many a farm yard but never have I seen such a magnificent farm sign - see ill 3 here. What was even more unnerving was that as a stranger walking through the yard I was greeted with a cheery, "hello" by all and sundry despite the fact they were busy getting ready for what looked like maize harvesting. Although the well is situated in Cornwall you can see the lofty heights of Dartmoor and as the crow flies it's about 6 miles from the park boundary. The well is not hard to find just follow the sign down the track and there she blows. A superb little well house sitting in a small grassy area overlooked by a wooden seat - see ill. 5 here, which I presume is intended for those who wish to sit and stare.

The well house is reputed to be the largest of its kind in Cornwall and according to Quiller Couch the site: "breathes of solitude and gloom". Which I think is very harsh, perhaps he partook too greatly of the port the previous evening? In 1893, Robert Charles Hope - see ill 1 here, described the well as being:

"a pellucid (clear water) spring, once the resort of pilgrims and still held in esteem. It overflows a trough - see ill. 8 here, and entering the open archway of a small chapel, spreads itself over the floor and passes out below a window - see ill. 6 here, at the opposite end. The little chapel, 12 feet long by 11 ½ wide, is a complete specimen of the baptisteries anciently so common in Cornwall. It has a most venerable appearance, and is built of granite, which is gray and worn by age. The roof is constructed of enormously long blocks of granite, hung with fern, and supported in the interior by an arch, dividing the nave and chancel. The doorway faces west - see ill. 10 here; at the east end is a square-headed window of two lights - see ill. 7 here, and two openings in the sides. The building is crowned by an ornamental bell-cote - see ill. 4 here".

The National Monuments Register (NMR Number: SX 36 NE 7) describes the monument as consisting of a, "large and elaborate, late medieval holy well house over a flowing spring". The well house was built from granite ashlar and externally measures 3.9m by 3.59m on a north-east/south-west alignment. The consensus of opinion is that the building was erected about 1510 of which period the architectural features are typical.

The land on which the well stands once belonged to the Augustinian canons of St. Germans and was called, "Theu Path". Rumour has it that somewhere near the well was a chapel which was dedicated to St. Ethelred but as to its location nobody has a clue. Ethelred or Ælred was an Anglo Saxon born in Northumbria in 1110, he was the son of a married priest and in later life spent several years at king David I's court in Scotland. Sometime around 1134 he left and entered the Cistercian monastery at Rievaulx Abbey. In 1147, Ethelred became the Abbot of Rievaulx where he remained until his death in 1167. There are some suggestions that he was gay and today he is the patron saint to two gay and lesbian organisations. Quiller Couch notes how a one-time tenant of the farm reported that he often dug up carved stones when ploughing a nearby field which could indicate the lost site of the chapel. Moving swiftly back to the well, the present building is the result of a programme of restoration which was initiated by the Reverend H. M. Rice in the 19th century. The well was bought by private subscription on 1937 for the princely sum of £100. Mr A Glubb, a solicitor from Liskeard organised the fund raising and after the purchase the well was handed over to the Office of Works. Shortly after 1937 the Ministry of Works undertook some further consolidation and drainage work, which could now do with some modern upgrading - see ill. 9 here. Today the structure is a grade 1 listed scheduled monument under the management of the Cornwall Heritage Trust.

There are references that the waters were known for curing the whooping cough, although today, looking at the water and the multitude of pond life living in it you could be exchanging one problem for another. There is also a legend which explains how the well house became to be built and this concerns two Saxon nobles. As usual, these two men fell in love with the same woman, and to complicate matters further one was rich and the other poor. Accordingly the girl's father wanted her to marry Gotlieb because he was the one with 'coin a plenty'. But the woman was no gold digger and loved Sir Colan which really put the proverbial cat among the pigeons. It was decided to settle the matter by means of a duel which transpired to have been a long drawn out bloody affair. Gotlieb was the first to draw blood but in true heroic style Sir Colan fought on and eventually dispatched his rival. Now you have the option of two endings, either Sir Colan recovered from his injuries and built the well house as an act of remorse or Sir Colan later died from his wounds - both versions are written in legend. In a book of 1858, the reverend Hawker recorded the following excerpt from a Ballard that he heard:

Hear how the noble Siward died!

The leech hath told the woeful bride:

'Tis vain: his passing hour is nigh,

And Death must quench her Warrior's eye.

'Bring me, he said, 'the steel I wore,

When Dupath Spring was dark with gore:

The spear I rais'd for Giltha's glove,

Those trophies of my Wars and Love!'

Upright he sate within the bed,

The helm on his unyielding head:

Sternly he lean'd upon his spear -

He knew his passing hour was near.

Githa, thine hand!' - how wild that cry!

How fiercely glar'd his flashing eye!

'Sound Herald!' was his Shout of pride, -

Hear how the noble Siward died!

A roof must shade that storied stream, -

Her dying Lord's remember'd theme, -

A daily vow that Lady said,

Where Glory wreathed the Hero dead.

Gaze, Maiden! gaze, on Dupath Well!

Time yet hath spar'd that solemn cell:

In memory of old love and Pride, -

Hear how the noble Siward died!

As to who Siward and Githa were is a mystery but clearly the ballad tells of the same story as Gotlieb and Sir Colan. So there we have Dupath Well, I can thoroughly recommend a visit if ever you are in the area and be sure to take some coin to add to the many other votive offerings already lying in the waters. Looking down at the various coins in the well I could not help wondering what wish was attached to each one - especially the £2 coin, bet that could tell a tale!