'The following is recorded in the endowment deed, dated 1296, regarding this well on the eastern boundary of Morwenstow Glebe. It is preserved in Bishop Brantingham's Register : " The church land is said to extend eastward ad queridum fonlem Johannis. Water wherewithal to fill the font for baptism is always drawn from this well by the sacristan, in pitchers set apart for this purpose. It stands midway down the cliff on the present glebe ; around it on either hand are rugged and sea-worn rocks, before it the wide sea." This hallowed spot has been made by Mr. Hawker the subject of the following lines :
Mere dwelt in times long past, so legends tell,
Holy Morwenna, guardian of this well;
Here on the foreheads of our fathers pour'd
From this lone spring the laver of the Lord !
If, traveller, (liy happy spirit know
That awful font whence living waters flow,
Then hither come to draw—thy feet h.'tve found
Amid these rocks a place of holy ground !
Then sigh one blessing I breathe a voice of praise
O'er the fond labour of departed days !
Tell the glad waters of their former fame,
And teach the joyful winds Morwenna's name.
Holy Morwenna, guardian of this well;
Here on the foreheads of our fathers pour'd
From this lone spring the laver of the Lord !
If, traveller, (liy happy spirit know
That awful font whence living waters flow,
Then hither come to draw—thy feet h.'tve found
Amid these rocks a place of holy ground !
Then sigh one blessing I breathe a voice of praise
O'er the fond labour of departed days !
Tell the glad waters of their former fame,
And teach the joyful winds Morwenna's name.
Hope 1893
[I have been here, me and my future wife tied clouties - or in our case worn out friendship bracelets to the branches and made wishes - a different tradition, but felt like we aught to make some sort of an offering. The etching may be correct - except in scale - but the description seemed wrong unless the sea has moved a bit. It might have been that the trees hid the sea, but we didn't seem that close to it. It now appears to be almost in someones garden.]
[I have been here, me and my future wife tied clouties - or in our case worn out friendship bracelets to the branches and made wishes - a different tradition, but felt like we aught to make some sort of an offering. The etching may be correct - except in scale - but the description seemed wrong unless the sea has moved a bit. It might have been that the trees hid the sea, but we didn't seem that close to it. It now appears to be almost in someones garden.]
No comments:
Post a Comment