St. Keverne / Saint Keverne / St. Kevern

Lysons (1806-1833) write: "The font at St. Kevern [sic] is octagonal, with angels on four sides, and this inscription, -- [capital alpha and omega], IHS, on the others". 'On the ancient stone fonts of Cornwall' (1851) notes: "The Font at S. Keverne is perhaps Transitional, (circa 1385.) It is octagonal having angels on four of its sides, and the inscriptions, " I. H. C." ; " A Q."" Described in Blight (1862): "The font is an octagonal bowl, with four agels at the angles; the breast of each being crossed by bands forming a St. Andrew's cross. On four of the sides are the initials A.M., and the sacred monogram I.H.S. The bowl is supported on a square shaft, curved inwardly; this feature appears peculiar to some of the fonts of the district." Geldart (1899) notes: "I fancy the upper letters are alpha and omega, though the latter is a distinct M"; Geldart notes and illustrates the Pierced Heart with the scroll, which, Geldart suggests, may have contained a legend in it. Illustrated in Bond (1908); the basin is either round or square with rounded corners; at each of these corners an angel holding a shield, in high relief; the basin sides appear to be ornamented with foliage an sets of letters [cf. supra]; the lower basin side has a narrow band of foliage. The pedestal of the base, totally unmatched to the basin, is square and concave towards the centre, as if constrained by the centre ring moulding; the lower base is graded towards the outside. This font does resemble the traditional design of the Cornish fonts of Camborne, St. Ives and St. Winnow [cf. corresponding Index entries] but it appears of a later date, although Pevsner (1970) dates it as "C15". Noted in Cox (1912) as a "well-carved octagonal font" of the Perpendicular period [NB: the description as 'octagonal' may derive from the shape of the basin, square with rounded angles]