Dupath Well ( kw, Fenton Hynsladron Eng: 'Robber's Path') is a holy well house and chapel dedicated to St. Ethelred, constructed over a spring. It is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, having been added to the register on 21 July 1951. Dupath Well is located at , just outside the town of

Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...

in east

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is under the guardianship of Historic England, and managed by the

Cornwall Heritage Trust The Cornwall Heritage Trust (CHT) is an organisation which owns and manages historic sites in Cornwall, UK. It was founded in 1985. List of managed sites The Trust owns and manages a number of sites:granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

, built over a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

. Built of Cornish granite ashlar, it 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 medieval, circular trough that collects the spring water.

History

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 Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

' style bearing comparison with similar well houses and ancient chapels in Brittany and Ireland, albeit in a late medieval 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’.Meyrick, J A 1982. 'Pilgrim's Guide to the Holy Wells of Cornwall', Falmouth: Falmouth Printing Co

References

External links

History on Dupath Well: English Heritage
{{Cornwall, state=collapsed Buildings and structures in Cornwall English Heritage sites in Cornwall Holy wells in Cornwall Springs of England Grade I listed buildings in Cornwall Callington