<< Our Photo Pages >> St John's Well (Stepper Point) - Holy Well or Sacred Spring in England in Cornwall

Submitted by Thorgrim on Monday, 11 October 2004  Page Views: 9882

Springs and Holy WellsSite Name: St John's Well (Stepper Point)
Country: England County: Cornwall Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring
Nearest Town: Padstow  Nearest Village: Stepper Point
Map Ref: SW914784  Landranger Map Number: 200
Latitude: 50.568016N  Longitude: 4.947054W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 1 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 2 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 3

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GuyEnglish visited on 1st Jan 0000 Seen this a few years back have pic. Delightful. But seeking it two weeks ago, seems heavy growth is concealing. Strong wind and a wimpy companion meant no proper search. Rock way down the steep bank, pool from which water poured over edge and to the sea below. Very similar to Mirrose. I'll put my pic and date up shortly, or see my book.

St John's Well (Stepper Point)
St John's Well (Stepper Point) submitted by Rory : It went thataway! The waymarker for the damned elusive St. John’s Well. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Holy Well / Spring in Cornwall This well is described in Cheryl Straffon's excellent book "Fentynyow Kernow - in search of Cornwall's Holy Wells" She describes this one as being outside Padstow: "Just outside the town there were 2 wells on the coast. St John's Well lay on the headland of Stepper Point 3.5 miles to the north of the town. It originally had a beacon chapel but all that now remains is a spring under a rock by the cliff."

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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SW9178 : Coastpath marker near Stepper Point by Andy F
by Andy F
©2009(licence)
SW9178 : Stile on coastpath above Stepper Point by Andy F
by Andy F
©2009(licence)
SW9178 : Stepper Point by Matthew Chadwick
by Matthew Chadwick
©2016(licence)
SW9178 : Stepper Point lookout station by David Hawgood
by David Hawgood
©2012(licence)
SW9178 : NCI lookout station on Stepper Point (2) by Andy F
by Andy F
©2009(licence)

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.9km SE 129° Brea Hill* Round Barrow(s) (SW92847714)
 2.0km SSE 164° St George's Well (Padstow)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SW91887645)
 2.1km ESE 122° St Enodoc Church Cross* Ancient Cross (SW93157722)
 2.3km NE 53° Pentireglaze Haven barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SW933797)
 2.7km NNE 34° Pentire Cairn* Cairn (SW92978056)
 2.9km S 176° Fenton Luna* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SW91477554)
 2.9km S 179° Prideaux Place Cross* Ancient Cross (SW91347551)
 3.0km S 175° Padstow Cross* Ancient Cross (SW91577539)
 3.0km S 174° Cross Shaft and Base at St Petroc's, Padstow.* Ancient Cross (SW91607538)
 3.0km SE 129° Jesus Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SW937764)
 3.1km S 171° Ladywell (Padstow) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SW91787535)
 3.3km NE 35° The Rumps* Hillfort (SW93408100)
 3.9km SE 141° St Michael's Porthilly Churchyard Cross* Ancient Cross (SW937753)
 4.5km SW 217° St Cadoc's Well Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SW885749)
 4.6km ENE 69° Lundy Hole* Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature (SW95777985)
 4.8km SW 229° Harlyn Bay* Barrow Cemetery (SW877754)
 4.8km WSW 239° Cataclews Point Tumuli* Barrow Cemetery (SW87167610)
 5.2km ESE 102° St Minver cross* Ancient Cross (SW965771)
 5.3km SSW 198° The Stones, Tresallyn Cross* Modern Stone Circle etc (SW89587340)
 6.0km SW 233° St Constantine's Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SW86517496)
 6.5km WSW 238° Constantine Island* Barrow Cemetery (SW85727513)
 6.8km WSW 249° Dinas Head (Trevose)* Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle (SW84987621)
 6.9km WSW 249° Dinas Head Tumulus* Round Barrow(s) (SW84847616)
 7.2km ENE 66° Scarnor Point Tumuli* Barrow Cemetery (SW98058110)
 7.5km S 171° Trenance Rounds* Ancient Village or Settlement (SW923710)
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Cornovia: Ancient Sites of Cornwall and Scilly, Craig Weatherhill

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"St John's Well (Stepper Point)" | Login/Create an Account | 5 News and Comments
  
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Re: St John's Well by Rory on Sunday, 07 May 2006
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Cheryl’s book is invaluable, always in my backpack on my Cornish expeditions. J. Meyrick (A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Holy Wells of Cornwall and their Saints) saw the well in 1979. He found it at the headland, near where a field hedge joins the coastal path “in a small quarry. The water is clear but covered with green algae and the overflow escapes through the hedge to the rocks below.” I visited the area three times but found nothing convincing. I hope that someone out there might feel inspired to track it down. (Incidentally, it’s an awesome walk to Stepper Point.)
Straffon was writing at least eight years ago. It would be sad if St. John’s Well were now be lost. It is tragic that so many of the locals we spoke to were quite oblivious.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: St John's Well by Rory on Friday, 05 May 2006
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Am I correct to assume that Thorgrim has actually seen the waters of St. John's? If so that's tremendously reassuring. After failing to locate it I sought advice at Padstow Museum. There I discovered that the field that theendlessbreeze walked through to get to the signpost is called St. John's - so it is clear that this is where the old "beacon chapel" and well were located. When I returned I could find no trace. At the time I found it hard to believe given it was described as being present, if dilapidated, in the 1970s.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: St John's Well by JimChampion on Saturday, 06 May 2006
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    I know I've added sites using secondary sources, which obviously aren't always reliable or accurate! If you want to ask Thorgrim directly then you can use the "send a message" link on his posting above.
    [ Reply to This ]
    Re: St John's Well by Thorgrim on Saturday, 06 May 2006
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    No - I have never been there. We originally listed holy wells from other sources in order to provide information on suitable sites for you to find and photograph. This well is described in Cheryl Straffon's excellent book "Fentynyow Kernow - in search of Cornwall's Holy Wells" She describes this one as being outside Padstow:

    "Just outside the town there were 2 wells on the coast. St John's Well lay on the headland of Stepper Point 3.5 miles to the north of the town. It originally had a beacon chapel but all that now remains is a spring under a rock by the cliff."
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: St John's Well by theendlessbreeze on Friday, 11 June 2004
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Condition:
Ambience:
Access:

I asked advice from a man in the hut on Stepper Point. He claimed that the well used to be marked on old maps, but on todays maps it is marked as a spring.
To find it he said, take the footpath around the left and it is/was located on the lowest part of this footpath by the wall. He added is has probably dried up now.
When I went to look for it, all I could find was a footpath signpost marked St Johns Well.
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