We are thrilled to announce that Historic England has removed St Cleer Holy Well and Cross from the Heritage at Risk Register.
St Cleer Holy Well and Cross is the only example of a well house with an open porch-like design in Cornwall. Its pillars, capitals and arches are carved with simple mouldings and patterns which were unusual for this date in Cornwall.
The open, arched form of the structure, with a steep gabled roof was probably intended to resemble a high-status saint’s tomb or shrine. Prior to the Reformation the interior may have been used to display the image or relics of a saint, to be viewed by pilgrims to the site, who would have had access to water from the spring covered by the building through the small double arch at the east end.
The first reference to the building was by the Cornish historian William Hals around 1700, who described it as ‘much decayed.’ In the 19th century, the spring water was piped to the roadside nearby, for the villagers’ convenience. In 1864 the well was restored by Lieutenant Henry Rogers in memory of his grandfather, the Reverend John Jope, who had been vicar of the parish for 67 years. At the same time, he established a trust for its maintenance, but by the late 20th century, with no trustees surviving, the site of the well had fallen into neglect.
Cornwall Heritage Trust acquired the site in November 2022 and took on its management. Historic England has supported us with a grant to enable assessments of the site, tree surgery, some re-pointing, and interpretation to improve understanding and management of the site for future generations.
Cathy Woolcock, Chief Executive of Cornwall Heritage Trust, said: “This acquisition has been a long time coming and we’re so proud for St Cleer Holy Well and Cross to join our growing portfolio of historic Cornish sites, which are all free for the general public to access. Our charity was founded nearly 40 years ago to address concerns that far too many of Cornwall’s historic places were at risk, and helping remove this site from the Heritage at Risk Register shows just how important that mission remains today.”
“It took a great deal of hard work and negotiation to bring the site into our care, and it’s an honour to now be its custodians. We are hugely grateful to Historic England for its unwavering support throughout the process and for grant-funding some essential maintenance to the site as well as interpretation and surveying.”
