Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 2.djvu/261

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ANCIENT ORATORIES OF CORNWALL.
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8 in. in width, and 7 in. in thickness; it lay at the west end of the little ruin, against the south wall, and had evidently been removed thither from its original proper place against the east wall, where traces of recent excavation were visible. There is a spring near the north-east angle of the edifice. Nothing is known of the history of these buildings, or of the saints in honour of whom they were dedicated.

There was also a "church" at a place called Tregominion, in the parish of Morvah, westward from Zennor, in ancient times, but no trace of it remains to the present time.

At St. Just, the adjacent parish, near Cape Cornwall, there is a small chapel at a spot called Parkan-chapel, that is, chapel field; a small water-course runs near it, and the remains of a small dwelling-house appear at the west end. This chapel has evidently been rebuilt; over the Altar is a pointed window, the tracery and mullions of which are lost, probably they were of the Decorated style. This chapel was doubtless rebuilt on the site of an ancient oratory which was there in the time of the Conqueror. The dimensions are about the same as those of the ancient structure we have been considering. A small stone cross was found in the water-course near the chapel, and it is now preserved in the parish church.

The original name of this parish was Lafrouda; it seems probable that an early church once stood on the site now occupied by the parish church; a vestige of some ancient fabric may be seen in a garden wall near the church; it is a head and face rudely carved in a soft stone, corresponding precisely with the heads which once ornamented the doorway at St. Piran's. In taking down the chancel wall in order to rebuild it in the year 1838, a monumental stone was found built into the ancient masonry, bearing the following inscription—SILVS HIC IACET, and on the adjoining side a cross, with one of its limbs formed like a crook. This stone must be of great antiquity, and is possibly a monument of the church of Roman times.

At Sennen, the next parish, there was a church in Norman times; the present parish church probably occupies its site; there is a well in the church-yard. St. Sennen, or Sennanus, came over from Ireland, where he had built several churches, and where his name is still reverenced.

At St. Levan, the adjoining parish, which lies between the Land's End and the famous Logan Rock, there is a well and