Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 2.djvu/262

236 baptistery, rudely but strongly built, which however has been destroyed, and now is overgrown with brambles. Although the building is only 9 ft. in length, and 7 ft. in width, the walls are not less than 2 ft. 9 in. thick, and are constructed of un- usually large and heavy stones. The remains measure about 3 ft. in height. I could not examine the internal arrangement of this little building, which is now full of large stones, and overgrown with thorny brambles; it is literally buried in its own ruins, but there are other wells of this kind in the county which will enable us to form some opinion of the original state of St. Levan's. Like all the wells of Cornwall, their primary use was clearly for sacramental purposes, but these larger ones were doubtless resorted to with other intentions, as we have noticed in Madron and Gulval. This one was probably about 9 or 10ft. high, with a rude arched entrance; in the interior was the usual stone bench at each of the side walls, and opposite to the entrance the little arch and basin for the water. In an ancient well, not long since discovered in the parish of Eglos Mertyn, near Truro, the basin, now broken, resembled the bowl of a font. It had a few rude circular ornaments on the outside, similar to those which appear on the oldest Cornish fonts, and which bear much resemblance in character to some existing in Anglesea, as I believe, in Wales, and Ireland. The comparison of these with specimens of Norman art, which in some cases are to be found in the same church, seems to indicate that they are of an age more remote than Norman times. St. Levan's baptistery stands in a valley opening to the sea shore; it is, as usual, beside a little stream, and higher up the valley, somewhat further from the sea, are, as I was informed, the remains of the little oratory of St. Levan. They are about 20 ft. in length, and 8 or 9 in breadth, the foundation walls alone being visible, which were described as of great thickness. Probably these ruins shewed the thickness both of the walls and the stone benches formed at their base, which together would be about 3 ft. 6 in. or 4 ft. One of the purposes of these stone benches may have been to strengthen the foundations of these little structures. The parish church of St. Levan is situated close beside the ruin in the same valley; it contains a simple Norman font, which is at present thickly coated with white-wash, and stands not in its original place but within the rails of the Altar. The church is of the Perpendicular style, as are most of the parish churches in the county; there are