Dozmary Pool is a small lake on Bodmin Moor

Bodmin Moor

Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in northeastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and originally dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history....

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, UK situated 16.9 km/10.5 mi from the sea. It lies about 15 km northeast of Bodmin

Bodmin

Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...

 and 2 km south of Bolventor

Bolventor

Bolventor is a hamlet on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated in Altarnun civil parish between Launceston and Bodmin.Bolventor is the location of the famous Jamaica Inn coaching inn...

: it originated in the post-glacial period. The outflow from the pool is into Colliford Lake

Colliford Lake

Colliford Lake is a reservoir on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Covering more than , it is the second largest lake in Cornwall, after The Loe...

. At one time the name was often spelled 'Dozmaré': at the end of the 19th century it was described by Sabine Baring-Gould

Sabine Baring-Gould

The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould was an English hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1240 publications, though this list continues to grow. His family home, Lew Trenchard Manor near Okehampton, Devon, has been preserved as he had it...

 as abounding in fish and surrounded by numerous remains of the working of flint in the Stone Age.

It was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 in 1951 for its biological

Flora and fauna of Cornwall

Cornwall is the county that forms the tip of the southwestern peninsula of England; this area has a mild and warm climate regulated by the Gulf Stream...

 interest.

Legendary tales

It is one site that is claimed to be the home of the Lady of the Lake

Lady of the Lake

The Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play parts in the Arthurian legend. These characters' roles include giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father...

. According to the legend, it is here that King Arthur

King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...

 rowed out to the Lady of the Lake and received the sword Excalibur

Excalibur

Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...

. The pool is also the place where Bedivere

Bedivere

In Arthurian legend, Sir Bedivere is the Knight of the Round Table who returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. He serves as King Arthur's marshal and is frequently associated with Sir Kay...

 returned Excalibur as Arthur lay dying after the Battle of Camlann

Battle of Camlann

The Battle of Camlann is best known as the final battle of King Arthur, where he either died in battle, or was fatally wounded fighting his enemy Mordred.-Historicity:...

. Another tale associated with Dozmary Pool is that of Jan Tregeagle

Jan Tregeagle

The historical Jan Tregeagle was a magistrate in the early 17th century, a steward under the Duchy of Cornwall, 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...

. In search of deviant exploits, Tregeagle makes a Faustian bargain with the Devil

Devil

The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...

 and is given money and power. At the conclusion of his life, he is damned to the bottomless Dozmary Pool, where he is tormented to this day; it is said that Tregagle's ghost can still be heard howling across the moor. (He was set the task of dipping the water out of Dozmary Pool with a leaking limpet shell, but decided to escape to Roche Rock before being set another task, weaving ropes from the sand of Gwenor Cove.)

Carew's account

Richard Carew describes the pool as a mile or more in circumference. He tells how some gentlemen of the district experimented to see whether the pool contained fish and found none, only eels, also that it was nowhere more than nine feet deep.