Menacuddle is a historic place,

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its gua ...

and wooded area in

St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell wa ...

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 ...

, UK. The holy well was built in the 15th century and restored by Admiral Sir Charles John Graves-Sawle shortly after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in memory of his son who was killed in action. It is a popular spot with ramblers. Its name is recorded as Menequidel in 1250 and Menedcudel in 1284 and comes from the

Old Cornish Cornish ( Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a revived language, having become extinct as a living community language in Cornwall at the end of the 18th century. However, k ...

''mened'' and ''cuydel'' and it means hillside with a small wood. The name does not include a saint's name, and there was no St Guidel. The site has also been known as Pinni-menny. Fred W. P. Jago, ''The Ancient Language and the Dialect of Cornwall'', 1882 It is said that if a person drops a pin into the well and makes a

wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. In fiction In fiction a ...

, that wish will be granted. The woods have a reputation for being haunted, with sightings of a "huge black beast" there. Weir at Menacuddle Well

The site is a monument scheduled under the

Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 or AMAAA was a law passed by the UK government, the latest in a series of Ancient Monument Acts legislating to protect the archaeological heritage of England & Wales and Scotland. Norther ...

NHLE The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

list number 1019163.

References

Religion in Cornwall Buildings and structures in Cornwall Reportedly haunted locations in South West England Holy wells in Cornwall {{cornwall-struct-stub