Dupath Well

Dupath Well

Dupath Well is a nearly intact wellhouse, constructed of local granite, built over a spring just outside Callington in eastern Cornwall (at SX374693).

The name in Cornish is said to have been Fenton Hynsladron meaning 'Robber's Path'.

Built of Cornish granite ashlar, the well house has a steeply pitched corbelled roof, built from courses of granite slabs that run the length of the building. There are badly weathered pinnacles at each corner and a small bell turret with a highly elaborate canopy, possibly a later addition,over the entrance.

Next to the well house is a mediæval, circular trough that collects the spring water.

The small chapel-like building was probably built in about 1510 by the Augustinian canons of the nearby priory of St Germans, to whom the site belonged. The architecture of the well-house is typical of the late 15th and early 16th centuries in a notably 'Celtic' style bearing comparison with similar well houses and ancient chapels in Brittany and Ireland, albeit in a late mediæval elaborated form.

At one time the spring at Dupath was believed to cure whooping cough, and it has been suggested that, in addition to its role in healing the sick, the spring may have been used on occasion for baptisms. One grim tale associated with Dupath recounts that two Saxons – Colan (Cornish for 'heart' or 'courage') and Gottlieb – fought a duel there for a lady’s hand. But the maiden went unmarried: Colan was killed outright and Gottlieb fatally wounded, though some versions say he died later of ‘impatience’.

Dupath Well is under the guardianship of Historic England, and managed by the Cornwall Heritage Trust.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Well Dupath Well)

• Location map: 50°29’56"N, 4°17’17"W
• Dupath Well - English Heritage