Due to the tiny space to work in, on July 5th just two members of Liskeard Old Cornwall Society, at the request of the local Church Warden, visited St Cuby’s Well in Duloe to give it a long overdue tidy up.
St Cuby was born in Cornwall in the fifth century AD, trained for the priesthood in Ireland, and established churches in Wales and Cornwall. The inner chamber of the Well is of ancient date and the steps down into the water appear to mark it as a baptismal well.
Writing in 1894, the Quiller-Couch sisters made no mention of a well-house, so the present one is thought to be a later addition. They do, however, mention the local tradition that dire misfortune would fall upon any person attempting to remove the stone basin which was carved with griffin and fish. In fact, they tell of ‘a ruthless fellow once went with a team of oxen for the purpose of removing the basin; on reaching the spot one of the oxen fell down dead, which so alarmed the man that he desisted from the attempt’.
Despite this, due to the cutting of a new road, the stone basin was removed to nearby St Cuby’s Church, where it can still be seen today. The Well is protected by a Grade II listing; the entrance chamber and its bench have evidence of plug and feather granite splitting, so must be from the 19th or early 20th centuries. The inner chamber is 2m square with steps down to a trough, with walls of rebuilt and mortared rubble.
Words and images courtesy of Brian Oldham, Liskeard OCS