Juliots Well and St. Julitta

The church dedicated to St. Julitta, Lanteglos-by-Camelford.
Currently under reconstruction, so this is a photo
from its website. The oldest parts date to Norman times.

Our base for three nights in Cornwall is one of the Juliots Well Cottages outside of Camelford by the River Camel. There is no evidence that there were any camels here, so the name is actually an English corruption of the Cornish name.

The other example is Port Isaac, the picturesque Cornish fishing village used as the location for the TV show, Doc Martin, which has nothing to do with any Isaac. Port Isaak is a corruption of Cornish "Porthsek," which means Corn Port.

Wikipedia is an easy source of information. Juliot is not a misspelling of the woman's name Julia, but a corruption of Julitta. St. Julitta (not the martyr) was an early Celtic saint who settled in nearby Tintagel Castle by the end of the 5th Century. A church in Camelford is dedicated to her, as was the Norman chapel at Tintagel Castle.

So, perhaps not surprisingly, there is history where we are staying at Juliots Well Cottages. And it's not just Arthurian. Camelford and seemingly every other place in southwest Britain claims some association with Arthurian legend. Shops abound selling crystals and Harry Potter stuff. This history of Julitta is of the earliest Christians in Britain.

Rivers, springs and wells have spiritual associations. So St. Julitta, who lived around these parts some seventeen hundred years ago, and a well named after the saint, has to be triple sacred.

So checking my trusty map of Juliots Well Park in the guest notebook, I hiked downhill across wet grass towards nearby Juliots Well.

You can't get there.

The descent to the river and the reputed well have been bulldozed and terraced. Tiny concrete pads have been poured. Plumbing and other utility conduits are sticking up, ready for even more manufactured homes. Some are marked with "sold" signs. There already are three existing streets lined with rows of manufactured homes planted and regularly spaced on small concrete pads.

The British tend to name their homes. So these manufactured homes have names like Westwood, Pinehurst, Forest Grove, Portland, Beechwood and even the whimsical Dunromin. In their bricked driveways, BMW's, Volvos and a Maseratti are parked.

What is marked as the "Dog Exercise Area" on my guest map is no more. It is an even larger construction site. A "Brand New Leisure Facility" is being built with indoor pool, sauna, lounge, cafe, fitness suite, etc.

All construction sites are fenced off.

Port Isaac (Porthsek), historic Cornish fishing village
and location for Doc Martin TV show shots.
Henry VIII had the breakwaters constructed.

I asked one couple how to get to Juliots Well. All they knew was that it was down the hill. They had no idea access was blocked. They had no idea of any St. Julitta. They were from London. They came often. (They probably owned one of the manufactured homes.) They liked the quiet in the countryside.

I stopped by the mobile office that manages and sells pads at the development. The young lady confirmed no access. It seems the contractor located a petrol tank there.

There may be access to Juliots Well some time in the future. I don't know. There is no mention on the construction site signs. Apparently, it was not sufficiently significant to preserve access during construction.

The cottages where we are staying were probably the first development. There is another duplex cottage next to us, then next to it an old stone building labeled "The Coach House Pub and Restaurant" and in smaller lettering, "17th Century Cornish Inn." It is closed.

I also asked the young lady at the office about plans for the inn. She didn't know, other than she thinks it's up for sale.

Times change but names remain. Cornwall understandably is a retreat and resort destination. Corn Port is no longer used to ship farm products or coal, wood or stone, as it has in the past. St. Julitta and the well associated with this 5th Century saint live on mostly in a parish church, a place name, and a vacation resort development.

That is what is intriguing to a history-buff and trivia-afficionado traveling around the Old World where so much written and physical history has been preserved. No matter where I look, there are endless layers of history.