St Hydrock's Holy Well Lanhydrock House, Lanhydrock, Cornwall

The Bodmin Way route, a 20-mile circular pilgrimage walk, stops to pay homage to St Hydroc’s church, now kept inside a National Trust estate.

Highlights

• Holy well of St Hydrock, medieval cross. 

St Hydrock’s holy well is now little more than a curiosity in the perfectly manicured gardens of Lanhydrock House. It feels far removed from the days when a hermit called St Hydroc eked out an existence here. It is one of the three wells I found locked in Cornwall, having visited more than 40 of them. It did not feature in the National Trust guide or maps when I visited and the lady in the ticket office was unsure of its location. I eventually found it at the top of the gently sloping gardens, behind the thatched cottage which does appear on maps. There was no sign by the well to indicate it was a holy source and no way of reaching the water.

However, the saints linger long in this landscape.

The name Lanhydrock means ‘church settlement of Hydroc’, the ‘lan-’ place name element the same as that seen in many Welsh Llan- places. Although the current wellhouse is probably 19th century, an atlas from 1694 marks the well here. An early church settlement would have needed a supply of water. There is also a church in the gardens, which has a tall 13th-century cross outside. The church is 15th century, but historians think there was an earlier building here. It is part of the Bodmin Team Ministry with Sunday services at 9:45 am. 

These are the only physical monuments to St Hydroc. We know almost nothing about him other than a reference in a 15th-century calendar from Bodmin Priory to his saint’s day, 5 May.

Directions

Lanhydrock House (National Trust), Lanhydrock, Bodmin PL30 5AD

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lanhydrock

W3W: doubts.slap.heads

GPS: 50.4411N 4.6981W church

W3W: hoot.pulled.liquid

GPS: 50.4413N 4.6999W well

You need a ticket into the gardens to see the church and holy well, costing £16.45 for adults, £8.25 for children, and free for National Trust members. Tickets are cheaper in winter when some of the sites, including the gardens, might be closed; the website to check before visiting.