"...At the side of Madron well, which lies on the moor, a mile or so from the church, is a stone seat, formerly known as St. Madron's bed (Madron is spelt Madden in some old manuscripts). It was upon this that impotent folk reclined when they came to try the cold-water cure. There was also a chapel, about 200 yards away. The chapel was 25 feet by 16 feet, and contained an altar ; a sketch of the ground-plan is given above. It was partially destroyed by Cromwell; but the ruins remain, and still retain the old stone-altar--a rough slab of granite, with a small square hole in the centre, A. Those who were benefited gave alms to the poor and to the church. This was done down to the middle of the seventeenth century. The well of St. Madderne is still frequented at the parish feast, which takes place in July. On the top of the ruined wall is an old thorn-bush, covered with bits of rag fluttering in the wind, tied there as votive offerings."
Hope 1893
[the exact location of Saint Madron's Bed appears to have been lost]
Madron Well 2006 By Jim Champion [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)], from Wikimedia Commons |
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