"Hec Taxatio vere est Registrata, "WILLELMUS GERMYNE."
The Editor points out, in an interesting note, that the certified copy of this, which was used by Mr. Hawker, has "Tidnacombis" instead of "Tunnacombis." In the Register itself the letter "u" is turned up at the end, the usual contracted form of "un," but the writing is obscure; and, although experts would read it correctly without hesitation, it might easily, in this case, be mistaken for "id" by others. One of Mr. Hawker's most beautiful poems is entitled "The Token Stream of Tidna Combe." It is interesting to note that Stanbury was the birthplace of John Stanbury, Bishop of Hereford, who died 1474. He was confessor to Henry VI., and was nominated the first Provost of Eton College, although he never took up the office.
The following curious tradition relating to the extremely rude font is quoted by Lieut.-Colonel Harding in a paper on Morwenstow Church in the "Transactions of the Exeter Diocesan Architectural Society" (Second Series, vol. i. p. 216). It has been preserved among some valuable MSS. which belong to the Coffin family of Portledge, near Bideford, and were collected by an antiquary of that family about three hundred years ago.
"Moorwinstow, its name is from St. Moorin. The tradition is, that when the parishioners were about to build their church, this saint went down under the cliff and chose a stone for the font which she brought up upon her head. In her way, being weary, she lay down the stone and rested herself, out of which place sprang a well, from thence called St. Moorin's well. Then she took it up and carried it to the place where now the church standeth. The parishioners had begun their church in another place, and there did convey this stone, but what was built by day was pulled down by night, and the materials carried to this place; whereupon they forbare, and built it in the place they were directed to by a wonder."
The date on one of the capitals seems to be 1564 instead of 1475. The inscription runs round the capital, each of the twenty letters being on a separate face, thus--
The next capital has the following inscription, _upside down_--
The supposed piscina, according to the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, is merely "the base of a small pillar, Norman in style, with a hole in it for a rivet which attached to it the slender column it supported" ("The Vicar of Morwenstow," ed. 1899, p. 60). It has also been stated that Mr. Hawker obtained the piscina from the ruined chapel at Longfurlong, Hartland, and placed it in his church at Morwenstow (Rev. T. H. Chope, "Hartland Parish," 1896, p. 17).[160]