Written by David Caldwell · 1 August 2025

The Saint Who Tamed the Crows: Uncovering the Legend of St. Neot

In the windswept hills of Cornwall lies a little-known tale of sanctity and enduring local folklore. While the name St. Neot lingers in village signs and parish dedications, few today know the story of the saint who, according to legend, tamed a murder of crows and confined them in a granite ring. This article explores the many historical, literary, and folkloric sources that have preserved the legend and sheds light on the man behind the myth.

Who Was Saint Neot?

St. Neot lived in the 9th century and was believed to be of noble birth, related to the royal house of Wessex. Tradition identifies him as a learned and eloquent monk who gave up privilege for an austere life of devotion. According to The Hunts County News (1886), Neot began life as a soldier but soon sought the monastic path. He was unusually short in stature, barely four feet tall, and was described as modest, scholarly, and spiritually powerful beyond his size. The same article suggests that he may have been connected with a branch of the royal house of the West Saxons and that his name may derive from “Niot” or “Minihi,” hinting at earlier traditions or Breton influences.

Saintly Life and Miracles

Neot's life was marked by a series of memorable stories that elevated him to sainthood in popular imagination. One of the most well-known is the miracle of the fish. Near his hermitage was a pond containing three fishes. An angel instructed him to take only one fish per day, and miraculously the pond would replenish. When his servant once disobeyed and cooked two fish to tempt the saint during illness, Neot prayed, and the cooked fish came back to life when placed in the water. The miracle became a symbol of divine provision, moderation, and resurrection.

Other stories include sheltering a hunted doe from a royal hunt within the walls of his cell, an act that caused astonishment and admiration even among the hunters. According to the same 1886 article, a boiled fish was also raised to life when a Glastonbury monk placed it back in the saint’s pond, showing the continued potency of his legend.

The Miracle of the Pound

A unique local tradition holds that Neot once tamed a group of destructive crows that had been raiding crops. Instead of driving them away, he allegedly confined them within a circle of moor-stones near his church, a place still called "Crows' Pound." In exchange for their good behaviour during the day, he fed them. The birds remained in the ring by their own accord, bound by the saint’s moral authority. A 1923 newspaper report preserves this tradition and highlights how it was considered a miracle of peace rather than punishment.

Cultural Memory and Theft of Relics

After Neot’s death, his hermitage became a revered pilgrimage site. His bones were enshrined in Cornwall until a dramatic theft: monks from Eynesbury, seeking to transfer his relics to their monastery, allegedly stole his bones under cover of night, pursued by angry Cornish locals. According to accounts, blood was shed during the skirmish, but the relics were carried north.

The monks reestablished Neot’s shrine at what became St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, and built a thriving town around it. The story was remembered with such impact that in 1999, a symbolic return of replica bones was made in reconciliation. The town’s very name is a legacy of this transfer.

The Annals of St. Neot

Though once misattributed to Asser (King Alfred’s biographer), the Annals of St. Neot remain an important Anglo-Saxon chronicle. Published by Oxford University Press with commentary by W. H. Stevenson, the text includes the story of the fish miracle and connects Neot with King Alfred’s intellectual circle. The chronicle is believed to have been written near or at the monastic site of Neot himself, adding historical weight to the saint's cult.

A Saint of the People

Neot’s story resonated with the common folk as well as nobles. He is said to have advised villagers, resolved disputes, healed the sick, and provided spiritual leadership. According to legend, even while disguised and travelling in disguise through rough weather and hardship, he was recognised for his wisdom and sanctity.

One tale from the 1886 article describes how Neot rebuked a corrupt landholder and miraculously ensured the safe return of tithes owed to poor tenants. Another describes how his presence repelled a devilish storm during prayer.

Saint Neot

St. Neot remains a figure caught between history and legend, humility and miracle. Whether taming crows, reviving cooked fish, or challenging the powerful, his life embodies a tradition where sanctity blends with folklore to express deeper cultural values. The memory of St. Neot continues not only in church dedications and town names, but also in the landscape of story, miracle, and belief that has defined local tradition for over a millennium.

Crowpund, Goonzion Down

Crowpound is a scheduled monument on Goonzion Downs in the parish of St. Neot, Cornwall. Traditionally known as the site of one of St. Neot’s miracles, local legend holds that he confined a group of crows within this enclosure after they had been damaging crops — not by force, but through the saint’s moral authority and kindness. The pound itself is a rectangular earth-and-stone enclosure with entrance gaps and a central circular feature of uncertain origin. Despite later mining and military activity, it remains well-preserved and provides archaeological insight into medieval land use, animal husbandry, and the region’s rich religious folklore.