WE often drive by them without a second glance, unaware of their history and mystery.

The holy wells of Cornwall are, so romantic legend has it, imbued with sacred and healing qualities.

These half-hidden and half-forgotten landmarks are the subject of a new book by Phil Cope, a photographic journey of holy wells from the wild, windswept Penwith peninsula to the sheer, Atlantic-defying cliff-face at Morwenstow in north Cornwall.

In between, at the delightfully named Menacuddle, near St Austell, is St Guidel Well where, in the early 19th century, according to a contemporary report, 'weakly children were carried thither to be bathed, ulcers have also been washed in its sacred water, and people, in seasons of sickness, have been recommended by the neighbouring matrons to drink of its salubrious fluid'.

Further east, in the attractive moorland village of St Neot, is another well famed for curing sick children, a practice with pagan origins which took place at the start of the pastoral summer season, a time of purification and hope.

Also in east Cornwall, St Melor's Well at Linkinhorne stands amid the wooded-edge of a meadow it shares with sheep. The 15th century granite construction is complete except for the door, although staples to hang the hinges remain.

But the most famous well in this area is near Callington. Dupath Well is the largest building of its kind in Cornwall, and has a less than therapeutic connection — it is said it was the site of a duel between two Saxon noblemen, fighting for the hand of a lady. One account has it that the dualist favoured by the lady was the victor and built the wellhouse as an act of penance and remorse. Perhaps it also helped soothe any wounds he may have sustained.

But it is not just enchanting and enticing wells that make this book a gem — Phil Cope is rightly praised as being 'a genius with a camera'. Photographs, such as that taken inside the well chapel at St Clether, near Launceston have a timeless beauty that evoke the mystical past of these fascinating structures.

Holy Wells: Cornwall by Phil Cope is published by Seren Books, price £20.

COLIN BRENT