Lanhydrock and St Hydroc's Holy Well

The Lanhydrock Estate near Bodmin in Cornwall is now owned by the National Trust. It's a grand house with beautiful grounds and gardens, especially in the springtime. The holy well which is not owned by the NT is tucked away to the north of the church on the edge of the estate. It's well house is in good order and clearly restored. The water runs clear and continually.

Before going to the well, we went into the church nearby. What a beautiful presence of the peace of God rests in this place. It is thought that the present church is built on the site of a much earlier church as seeing that Lanhydrock means, the holy place of Hydroc, it is possibly a Celtic site. There is an ancient cross in the churchyard possibly pointing to this connection.

The present altar is said to be in the position of the original altar of the saint. As is often the way, little or nothing is known of St Hydra. Certainly the tangible presence of God rests in the church and a sense of ancient holiness. Yes, a lovely place to linger, as is the well.

I sat on the steps leading down to the well and though there were visitors to the National Trust property, this didn't intrude as the situation is really quite tucked away. We visited in spring and the magnolia blossoms were out and falling. They surrounded the well and were floating on the water inside the iron grill. I didn't sense anything in particular at the well that God wanted to highlight but there was a similar sense of God's presence and peace that I'd experienced in the church. I wanted to linger, to rest, to reflect in this place.