There are dozens of swimming spots across Dartmoor to choose from and they all have their own interesting tales behind them. One of these spots is Crazywell pool - and the name alone should leave you with a question or two.
Crazywell pool is located around three kilometres south of Princetown and was once upon a time thought to be Dartmoor's only natural lake, although later evidence pointed towards it being an old tin pit mine that was flooded following disuse.
However, the pool’s name can be traced back to 1642 when, according to the Place-Name Society, it was referred to as Clasiwell Pool while a nearby farm had the label of Crazywell.
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A nearby stone cross, also known as Crazywell Cross, shows the Abbots way path which linked the Tavistock and Buckfast monasteries across the moor.
All of this indicates a relatively harmless lake, but don't get too comfortable. Let's dive into some of the more mystifying tales told about Crazywell.
A pool with no end
Once rumoured to be Dartmoor’s only natural lake, Crazywell (or Clasiwell) pool attracted local legends for hundreds of years. One that was commonly shared was that the pool had a never-ending depth.
The story goes that local parishioners of Walkhampton and Sheepstor sought to find whether the pool was bottomless or not. They brought the ropes of their respective church bells, tied them together, weighted the end and let it drop into the pool.
To their shock, the combined length of 500 feet (152 metres) still didn’t reach the end.
As awe-inspiring as this may be, the truth is a little less impressive. A dry summer in 1844 called for Plymouth Dock Water Company to pump the water from the pool to have it sent to Devonport. The centuries-old legend was disproven in a matter of hours when it was discovered that the pool was a mere 16 feet or 4 metres.
The Witch of Sheepstor
This is where the spooky nature of Crazywell truly reveals itself. The pool is said to be haunted by the Witch of Sheepstor, who plagued the land by offering bad advice to those who consulted her.
In the 1300s, Piers Gaveston, first Earl of Cornwall, had sought advice from the witch after being banished from Edward II’s court. She advised him that if he returned to the Warwick court, his ‘humbled head’ would ‘soon be high’.
Incredibly enough, this came true, but alas not in the sense that the Earl had hoped for. Upon his return, he was beheaded and his head was presented on the battlements.
Perhaps it is from this rumour that the idea of ‘midsummer madness’ became tied to Crazywell. This proposes that anyone who stares into the pool on Midsummers eve (don’t worry for all those wanna-be swimmers, it’s already been and gone), will see the next life the pool will claim.
Terrifyingly, two young boys decided to try and take on this challenge by visiting the pool after a dare at a pub. Shockingly enough the story revealed that the pair died on their way home.
An Unidentified Body
Another tale that feeds the mythical status of Crazywell is the sad case of the person we know only as R.W. In 1903, John Pearce, a farmer local to the pool, was tending to his ponies when he spotted something ghastly in the lake.
A bloated body was floating in the lake, dressed in a dark blue suit and a moustache to match, which had been there for two weeks according to a later coroner's report.
No locals could identify the man, and there was no sign of any violence in his demise. The only thing that gave people some idea of who the stranger might be were the initials R. W. were embroidered and 'St. James' sewn into his shirt collar.
