St. Sampson

Sampson

I encountered the church of St. Sampson, perched high on a hill above its village of Golant on the River Fowey, while walking the Saints Way in June 2006. St. Sampson became Abbot of Caldey Island near Tenby in Wales and was ordained Bishop by St. Dubricius. Soon after, an angelic vision told him to cross the sea. Above the River Fowey he founded a small monastic settlement by a well. Travelling on to Brittany he became Bishop of Dol. He was said to give sight to the blind, heal lepers and cast out devils. His holy well is just to the left of the porch which itself may originally have been a chapel for the well. Rebuilt in 1509, the church has a fairly unprepossing exterior: nave and aisle, stubby tower and small porch. Inside are two handsome wagon roofs and a small amount of original stained glass, some depicting St. Sampson and St. Anthony. Sadly, unlike so many Cornish churches, there are no original bench ends. Happily, some were re-used to create the present pulpit and an elaborate chair, not unlike a minor bishop's throne. Beneath one window, a slate slab remembers Edmund Constable - 'Short blaze of life, meteor of pride, essayed to live but liked it not and died'. Legend has it that King Mark and Queen Yseult worshipped at St. Sampson's. The south gate is marked with their names.

St. Sampson's Church, high above Golant village

The holy well is to the left of the porch