A Touch of the Blues
Dozmary Pool, which can be accessed via a minor road from Bolventor, is steeped in mystery. Many believe that it was here that King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, was thrown upon his death, only to be caught by the deathly hand of the 'Lady of the Lake'.
According to local folklore Dozmary Pool was also the setting for one of Jan Tregeagle's impossible tasks, designed to protect his soul from the devil. Jan Tregeagle was a magistrate in the early 17th century, and was known for being particularly harsh. Darker stories circulated as well, that he had murdered his wife or made a pact with the Devil. As a lawyer, he was a peculiarly evil agent, and very hard upon the tenants.
Many legends have grown up around him, and he has evolved into Cornwall's version of Faust, having bargained his soul for power, fame and success. One story goes that sometime after his death, a case was going through the courts in which the defendant had illegally obtained some land. The defendant, sure that the dead Tregeagle could not testify against him, cried, "If Tregeagle ever saw it, I wish to God he would come and declare it!" To the court's astonishment, Tregeagle materialised in the witness box and testified that he had forged some crucial document or other. Justice having been done, the court would not countenance sending him back to Hell, and so set him a series of impossible tasks to while away the time until Judgment Day. He was set the task of dipping the water out of Dozmary Pool with a limpet shell.
A Touch of the Blues
Dozmary Pool, which can be accessed via a minor road from Bolventor, is steeped in mystery. Many believe that it was here that King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, was thrown upon his death, only to be caught by the deathly hand of the 'Lady of the Lake'.
According to local folklore Dozmary Pool was also the setting for one of Jan Tregeagle's impossible tasks, designed to protect his soul from the devil. Jan Tregeagle was a magistrate in the early 17th century, and was known for being particularly harsh. Darker stories circulated as well, that he had murdered his wife or made a pact with the Devil. As a lawyer, he was a peculiarly evil agent, and very hard upon the tenants.
Many legends have grown up around him, and he has evolved into Cornwall's version of Faust, having bargained his soul for power, fame and success. One story goes that sometime after his death, a case was going through the courts in which the defendant had illegally obtained some land. The defendant, sure that the dead Tregeagle could not testify against him, cried, "If Tregeagle ever saw it, I wish to God he would come and declare it!" To the court's astonishment, Tregeagle materialised in the witness box and testified that he had forged some crucial document or other. Justice having been done, the court would not countenance sending him back to Hell, and so set him a series of impossible tasks to while away the time until Judgment Day. He was set the task of dipping the water out of Dozmary Pool with a limpet shell.