Saint Neot

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St Neot was born in Saxon times, living as a monk in Cornwall, England most of his life. He died around AD 870.

Neot seems to have begun his adult life as a soldier, later renouncing a martial lifestyle for life in a monastery. He served as sacristan at Glastonbury Abbey but later lived in Cornwall, at first alone, then with a growing group of other monks near Bodmin Moor. He was remembered (and given the status of a saint) because of his good work in caring for the poor. The Cornish village of St Neot and the Cambridgeshire town of St Neots are named after him.

His bones were preserved as a holy relic but were later taken by monks to the medieval priory at St Neots on the River Great Ouse near Bedford. They returned with their prize, pursued (according to some versions) by angry Cornishmen.

The bones were housed in the priory for many years but were finally lost during the reign of Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

The image above shows the commemorative mosaic of the saint in the Market Square in St Neots. The mosaic is based on a Saxon ornament, the Alfred Jewel.

[edit] References

• Young, Rosa (1996). St Neots Past, pp. 15-18. Phillimore and Co Ltd. ISBN 1-86077-025-8
• BHL 6052 (1101-1125) : Vita (AASS 31 jul.)