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The village of St Neot borders the southern edge of Bodmin Moor. It contains a fine church dedicated to the eponymous saint whose bones were originally interred here but were stolen and moved to St Neots in Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire). This saint (variously known as Neot, Anietus or Aneitus) was originally a monk at Glastonbury Abbey in the C9th but moved to Cornwall where he became something of a hermit though he visited the Pope in Rome, who instructed him to found a monastery in Cornwall. He was blessed with a holy well which would always contain three fish, provided he only ever took just one to eat. This was fine until one day he was ill and his servant Barius (not knowing the interdiction) took two fishes and cooked them for his ailing master. On discovery of the faux pas, St Neot prayed for forgiveness and returned the two (very dead and cooked) fish to the well, whereupon they miraculously sprung back to life! There is a very fine mediæval window in the church recounting this tale in stained glass.

This holy Well is situated a short walk from the centre of the village beside the St Neot (or Loveny) River.
The village also contains a thriving pub called (somewhat incongruously) The London Inn (website Link )

The most notable building in the village however is the church itself. The church is officially St Anietus, though generally known as St Neot. It dates from the C15th though there was undoubtedly an earlier church on the site - possibly several dating back to Neot's own time. The truly splendid feature of this church is its tremendous collection of late mediæval stained windows. For an excellent resumé of these, see Link
Unsurprisingly the church is EH Grade I listed: Link

One of the more intriguing things about this church is the fact that the tower always sports a branch from an oak tree. This is because the staunchly Royalist parish still celebrates the return of the monarchy to England after the blighted years of the Commonwealth under Cromwell. On "Oak Apple Day" (29th May) every year since 1660 an oak branch has been hauled to the top of the tower in commemoration of Charles escaping arrest (and almost certain death) by hiding in an Oak Tree. I am surprised that the pub next to the church is not called The Royal Oak.

In the churchyard just beyond the church's South Porch are a collection of ancient crosses and monuments that are EH listed, many as Scheduled Ancient Monuments.

EH Listings:
The church (Grade I): Link
Trewane Cross - C15th lantern headed cross (Grade II): Link and S.A.M.:Link
Churchyard cross and three wayside crosses in St Neot churchyard S.A.M.: Link
St Neot's Holy Well (Grade II): Link

Created: Thu, 2 Oct 2025, Updated: Thu, 2 Oct 2025