St Columba's Well, Ruthvoes / Indian Queens, Cornwall

A martyred Celtic princess has left her mark on this quiet lane, seldom visited by pilgrims today but once so popular it had a chapel alongside

Highlights

• Holy well of St Columba the Virgin

The famous St Columba of Iona was a great traveller, but even he never made it to Cornwall. This well is named after an Irish princess, who fled her native country to escape marriage to a pagan. She was a Christian and had taken a vow of chastity. To avoid confusion, she is sometimes called St Columba the Virgin.

Her rejected suitor’s family pursued her across the Irish Sea. They caught up with her at Ruthvoes and beheaded her after she refused to renounce her faith and her vow. Where her head fell a spring arose miraculously, one of several Celtic wells with a similar story. The village name means ‘red wall’. The holy source became known as a healing well and a chapel was built alongside to cater for the local sick and pilgrims. The OS map shows a ruined chapel but no well, whereas I found a well and no sign of a chapel.

The wellhouse itself was rebuilt in 1984. A trickle emerges from a modern pipe set in a stone surround. The oldest record of this dramatic life story dates from the early 17th century, supposedly copied from an earlier document by the Cornish historian Nicholas Roscarrock. If the story is true, St Columba the Virgin probably lived in the 6th century.

The nearby town and church at St Columb Major are also dedicated to her. The church has a stained-glass window depicting her as an un holding a palm – signifying that she is a Christian martyr. It also has a leaflet about the saint’s life.

Directions

Down a minor lane in: Ruthvoes, St Columb Major TR9 6HT

W3W: diplomas.maternal.foot

GPS: 50.4086N 4.9211W

As you drive through the middle of Ruthvoes village, there is a lane on the right by a small post box where you can park. Continue walking along the road through the village, and after just 30 m, there is a narrow track on your left beside a white-painted house. The well is down here on the right after 50m, built into a wall.