St Keyne was one of 15 children of King Brychan of Wales. The family were collectively responsible for the Christianisation of South Wales and Cornwall. When Keyne turned up at Keynsham in Avon she was not welcomed by the Lord of the Manor who did not want an outbreak of religious fanaticism in his area - and certainly not a crazy new 'Meek shall inherit the Earth' cult like Christianity. When Keyne asked for some land to use as her preaching HQ - he granted her an acre of scrub land plaqued by enough venemous snakes to keep her followers away. She dashed off a couple of prayers and the snakes all turned to stone. The large number of Ammonite fossils around Keynsham are said to be serpent proof of her petrifying powers.
St Keynes Well in St Keynes, Cornwall, offers an interesting prize to newly-weds. The first of the couple to drink from the well after the mariage will be the boss of that union. In Robert Southey's poem 'The Well of Sy Keynes' he tells of a groom being outsmarted by his wife.
"I hastened as soon as the wedding was o'er
and left my good wife in the porch.
But i'faith she had been wiser than I
for she took a bottle to church!"
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The Well of St. Keyne
And a clearer one never was seen;
There is not a wife in the west country
But has heard of the Well of St. Keyne.
An oak and an elm-tree stand beside,
And behind doth an ash-tree grow,
And a willow from the bank above
Droops to the water below.
A traveller came to the Well of St. Keyne;
Joyfully he drew nigh,
For from the cock-crow he had been travelling,
And there was not a cloud in the sky.
He drank of the water so cool and clear,
For thirsty and hot was he,
And he sat down upon the bank
Under the willow-tree.
There came a man from the house hard by
At the Well to fill his pail;
On the Well-side he rested it,
And he bade the Stranger hail.
"Now art thou a bachelor, Stranger?" quoth he,
"For an if thou hast a wife,
The happiest draught thou hast drank this day
That ever thou didst in thy life.
"Or has thy good woman, if one thou hast,
Ever here in Cornwall been?
For an if she have, I'll venture my life
She has drank of the Well of St. Keyne."
"I have left a good woman who never was here."
The Stranger he made reply,
"But that my draught should be the better for that,
I pray you answer me why?"
"St. Keyne," quoth the Cornish-man, "many a time
Drank of this crystal Well,
And before the Angel summon'd her,
She laid on the water a spell.
"If the Husband of this gifted Well
Shall drink before his Wife,
A happy man thenceforth is he,
For he shall be Master for life.
"But if the Wife should drink of it first,—
God help the Husband then!"
The Stranger stoopt to the Well of St. Keyne,
And drank of the water again.
"You drank of the Well I warrant betimes?"
He to the Cornish-man said:
But the Cornish-man smiled as the Stranger spake,
And sheepishly shook his head.
"I hasten'd as soon as the wedding was done,
And left my Wife in the porch;
But i' faith she had been wiser than me,
For she took a bottle to Church.
As quick as a flash,
And ever since then, well,
My teeth I did gnash."