St Paternus' Well, North Petherwin, Cornwall

Visited by a modern patronal procession and ancient pilgrims alike

Highlights

• Holy well and church of St. Paternus

A short walk from the parish church, St. Paternus’ Well is a square stone chamber that gathers a deep flow of water. It is tucked into a hedge and overlooks a valley of rolling farmland.

It is uncertain whether St. Paternus actually visited this place in the 6th century, but he was certainly active in the west of Britain at the time. The church and the well bear his dedication.

Parish accounts in the late 15th century refer to offerings donated by pilgrims visiting this well, suggesting that it was used for healing and prayers to its saint. The water was also used for baptism. It was restored about 20 years ago and lies at the end of a footpath through the Barton Millennium Wood. It has a metal grille protecting the well chamber, but this was unlocked when I visited.

The church itself is a Norman foundation, an imposing structure for such a small village. There is another church dedicated to the same saint at South Petherwin, 6 miles away. Petherwin is derived from the saint’s name, and the church has performed well blessings here in recent years on 15 April, his festival day.

St. Paternus is identified as St. Padarn. He worked in the 6th century and is considered one of the founder saints of Brittany in France. He visited Britain and worked in the west to convert and establish churches. For more about this well-travelled missionary, see his church at Llanbadarn Fawr in Wales. The Saints of Cornwall makes the connection but adds that St. Paternus might otherwise have been a local saint, the father of St. Constantine.

This is one of the deepest holy wells in Cornwall. I discovered this after my camera fell into the chamber when I was reaching to touch the water. It had hundreds of photos on its memory card. Few wells have tempted me to strip and enter, and this was definitely not one of them. I emerged a minute later, shivering and feeling entirely unmoved by my encounter with St. Paternus. Astonishingly, the camera worked.

Directions

Footpath starts near St. Paternus Church, Hellescott Road, North Petherwin PL15 8LR

W3W: claw.artist.later

GPS: 50.6833N 4.4341W (well)

W3W: paints.deprives.birthing

GPS: 50.6808N 4.4331W (church)

Park outside the church, up the hill from the main village. Continue walking along the road out of the village, and the footpath starts on the right after just 20m, signposted to the Barton Millennium Wood. Walk through the trees to a gate and go straight ahead, ignoring the footpath to the right. Walk beside a muddy stream bed towards a hedge in front of you, which peters out halfway across the field. The holy well is on the other side of this hedge, 3–4 minutes’ walk from the church.