So says the Cornish proverb.
men and women established a small cell, where they lived a quiet and spiritual existence.
These cells were often places where there was an existing well, a spring or some kind of natural monument, later of course larger monuments were erected in their names in the form of a church.
St Ives, St Mawes and St Just in Roseland you may have heard of already. These, and other little Cornish villages are
named after fifth/six century saints, many of whom were never officially granted their saintly status by the church.
Myths and legends associated with these saints feature highly in the Cornish culture. Many, like St Columba's story,
involve water. Columba was chased by her pursuers from her landing place at Porth and was beheaded at Ruthvoes, her
blood running into the nearby streams at Retalion and Treloy. St Mawgan preached from a tiny well that is still visible
in the grounds of the parish church.
the county. All have magnificent interiors, beautiful wood carvings and brasses of the ancient families that once frequented these buildings, and all owe their existence to these ancient saints.