The Bucket of Blood and St.Pialas Well

Cornwall is one of the most distinct counties of the United Kingdom, where folklore, myth and history frequently merge to create beautifully characterful communities with people as vibrant as the tales that are shared.

One of these communities is Hayle. Hayle’s history stems back to the Bronze Age but its more recent past (past few centuries) has been grounded in mining and shipping, two significant industries that employed lots of people. This obviously resulted in several Inns being set up, including one established to the north of Hayle some time in the 13th or 14th Century, called The New Inn. A nearby well, possibly the holy well of St.Phillacks (or St.Piala's) Well, given its close proximity to the pub, was used by the Inn to brew Cornish Ale.

From this point onwards, we now venture firmly into territory that blurs history, with the allure of folklore, myth and stories that have been passed down through time and generations. What is true and what is made up, is now up to you to decide. 

As the pub’s version of the tale goes, one morning, the local Innkeeper pulled up the bucket from the well as he had done many times before. To his shock and horror, the bucket was filled with blood. An investigation found a body at the bottom of the well that was so horribly mutilated, it was never properly identified. The only theory behind the victim is that a local tax collector stumbled upon some bandits and met a brutal end before his corpse was dishonourably dumped down the well.

A different theory based in science is the local tin mining operations tinged the local soil with minerals, which then allowed rainwater which flowed into the well, to run red.

The New Inn was locally referred to informally as The Bucket of Blood. This unofficial name caught on so well that in the end, the Landlord grew tired of trying to fight the story and renamed the Inn: The Bucket of Blood. A name that sticks to this very day.

Another myth that cements this wells mysterious past comes from the 18th century and is tied to a very real man named:  Erasmus Pascoes, a local resident and eventually, Sheriff. Legends states he used the holy well to wash his diseased dog but shortly following this simple act of cleaning his companion, the local community fell ill. Explantions about this episode of Hayles history ranged from the act of an angry God or saint, to a spirits curse, to the dog contaminating the local water with diseases. Regardless of the cause and effect, the episode only worked to re-enforce the folklore behind both the well and the pub.

While the question of what is real and what is not real about this well and pubs history is up to you, what cannot be denied is the interesting tale behind why this local establishment has its name. It’s already colourful history that spans centuries is only made more unique by this horrific tale that may or may not have lent itself to the very name that the pub now is known by.