For a while she lived near Liskeard in Cornwall and there is a well nearby on which she put a curious spell. She said that whichever drank first of the water of this well, a man or his wife, would have the mastery in their wedded life.
Saint Keyne afterwards lived for some time in the neighbourhood of St Michaels Mount, and in the wall of the great building there is a chair-shaped excavation to which she is said to have given similar properties to those of the Well, that is to say, that the first to sit in the chair, a man or his wife, would gain the mastery. To get to this chair is a very dangerous undertaking and it seems that if anyone successfully accomplishes the feat they might be considered well worthy of the promised reward.
St Keyne was much loved by the people of West Cornwall and they tried hard to induce her to remain with them but, when she was becoming old, her nephew, Saint Cadock, came and persuaded her to accompany him back to Wales.
She retired to Llangenny, near Abergavenny, where another well is dedicated to her. It is said, that when she died a column of fire was seen standing over her cell and that two angels came and carried her up to Heaven.
St Keyne was the original patron of two Cornish parishes, St Keyne and St Martin by Looe. The Liskeard Old Cornwall Society, under the guidance of the late A.C. Glubb, Esq., undertook a complete rebuilding of the Well and the site in 1936.
There are many stories of people trying the effect of drinking this water. The poem The Well of St. Keyne was written by Robert Southey (1774-1843) and appeared on December 3, 1798 in the London Morning Post. Robert Southey was Poet Laureate from 1813-1843.
The Holy Well of St Keyne is situated adjacent to our property and feeds our ponds and stream.
This is the legend of St. Keyne Wyry (c. AD 461- AD 505)
In the fifth century there lived a king of Brecknockshire, named Brychan Brycheiniog, who had 26 children, 16 of whom became saints.
One of these Children, Saint Keyne Wyry (the Virgin), is said to have surpassed all the others in beauty of mind and body and, although the times were lawless and bands of robbers and evil living men roamed the land, Saint Keyne, because of her great beauty, was able to walk about the countryside performing miracles and healing the sick without being molested.
It is said that when Saint Keyne's mother was expecting her birth she was surrounded by rays of light and that she dreamed that she was nursing a dove in her lap and, as a small child, the little Keyne sometimes shone like the sun and sometimes appeared as white as snow.
When she grew to maidenhood, news of her great beauty and nature spread far and wide and many suitors sought her hand.
She rejected all offers of marriage, however, and journeyed into Somerset, where she retired to a cell to spend her days in prayer and performing miracles of healing. The place where she lived has since been known as Keynsham and it is said that in those days the district was infested with snakes, but Saint Keyne destroyed them all by changing them into coils of stone.
After a while she journeyed into Devon and Cornwall, where she founded a number of churches and performed many miracles.
Her great desire was for 'peace on earth' and she was also very concerned with the fact that in those days women were seldom allowed any authority and wives were merely their husbands' property.
