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A SERIES OF 
 
 Ancient 
 BAPTISMAL FONTS. 
 

 
A SERIES OF 
 
 &nctent 
 
 BAPTISMAL FONTS, 
 
 CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED. 
 
 DRAWN BY F. SIMPSON, JUN. 
 ENGRAVED BY R. ROBERTS. 
 
 Time cannot make such waste, but something wil appeare, 
 
 To shewe some little tract of delicacie there; 
 
 Or some religious worke, in building manie a day, 
 
 That this penurious age hath suffred to decay, 
 
 Some lim or modell, dragd out of the ruinous mass, 
 
 The richness will declare in glorie whilst it was. 
 
 Drayton's Polyolbion, First Song. 
 
 LONDON : 
 SEPTIMUS PROWETT, 
 
 55, PALL MALL. 
 1828. 
 
Tliomas White, Printer, 
 Johnson's Court* 
 
TO THE MOST HONOURABLE 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS OF EXETER, 
 
 BY WHOM ITS MERITS (IF ANY) WILL BE WELL APPRECIATED, 
 
 AND ITS MANY DEFECTS INDULGENTLY CONSIDERED, 
 
 THIS WORK IS, 
 
 BY HER LADYSHIP'S PERMISSION, 
 
 MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
 BY HER MOST OBEDIENT 
 
 AND VERY HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 FRANCIS SIMPSON, JUN. 
 
 Stamford, 
 June, 1828. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 As we have attempted in the following work a 
 chronological arrangement, it became necessary in 
 order to render it intelligible, either to invent a 
 nomenclature of our own, or to adopt one already 
 formed ; not having hardihood for the first we have 
 followed the second course, and to that end we have 
 taken our mode of classification and terms, from a 
 work which, as it is the most clearly and accurately 
 written, so it is deservedly the best known, of any 
 of the essays on our ancient architecture, namely, 
 Mr. Rickman's Outlines of English architecture. 
 
 It will be found that of Saxon architecture we 
 have taken no notice, and for this reason— we have 
 never yet seen any remains which, by the united 
 testimony of style and record, could be proved to be 
 of that period. We certainly think the testimony 
 of both, nearly, if not quite necessary ; for if style 
 alone be relied on, it will be requisite before any 
 conclusion can be drawn from it, to compare the 
 building supposed to be Saxon, with work of ac- 
 knowledged Norman date ; and if they be found 
 (as we have always yet experienced) similar in style, 
 there is an end in such a case of reliance upon that 
 
11 PREFACE. 
 
 evidence only ; otherwise how can the one be dis- 
 tinguished from the other ? In the examination of 
 styles, it is essentially necessary that the enquirer 
 should have a clear head, free from system, and that 
 he be a careful collector and comparer of facts ; and 
 in this, above all noting carefully the construction 
 of the masonry;* for from the state of it much 
 may be learned of the then skill of the work- 
 men and progress of the art of building. As 
 to evidence drawn from record only (unsupported 
 by the style of the building) that is of itself insuf- 
 ficient ; for although it affords undoubted proof that 
 at the period mentioned a building of some kind 
 then was in existence at that spot, yet it is no proof, 
 nor does it affect to be so, that what remains now 
 is the same. Further, tradition is least of all to be 
 trusted, for she is usually in the custody of the 
 ignorant, and with them the greater their ignorance 
 the older the building. 
 
 We have therefore divided our subjects into 
 four distinct periods or styles, viz. Norman, Early 
 English, Decorated English and Perpendicular Eng- 
 lish. 
 
 The Norman style was in use from the Con- 
 quest down nearly to the end of the 12th century. 
 Its leading feature is the arch being usually semi- 
 circular, but occasionally it is pointed.-)- Semicircular 
 
 * Without faithfully doing this, an antiquarian draughtsman is 
 little better than nothing, yet how few attend to it. 
 
 f Chancel arch of Essendiue church Rutland, ditto of Lewknor 
 church Oxon, south door Downhain church Cambridgeshire. 
 
FUEFACE. Ill 
 
 arches interlacing are also very common, for these 
 we refer to the Osbournby and St. James Deeping 
 Fonts. The ornaments, of which the zigzag is the 
 most common, are very bold and generally very 
 rude, though late in the style as it grew richer, so 
 the character of the ornamental part became more 
 graceful. In the early work scarcely any ornament 
 was used, and in the Tower of London, which is 
 one of the earliest Norman buildings, not a zigzag 
 is to be seen, nor in that part of the west front of 
 Lincoln cathedral, which was built by Remigius, the 
 first bishop there about A. D. 1088.* There is a 
 considerable number of specimens of transition 
 work between this and the next style, by which the 
 very gradual progress from one to the other may 
 very clearly be traced. 
 
 To the Norman succeeded the Early English 
 style, which continued to the commencement of the 
 14th century. The arches of this style are usually 
 pointed, but in the early part of it not unfrequently 
 semicircular, the windows long, narrow and without 
 any tracery. The mouldings and foliage are gene- 
 rally very well executed, the latter from its very 
 bold design and relief very singular, as may be seen 
 in our engravings of the All Saints, Leicester, and 
 Weston fonts. There is an ornament nearly pecu- 
 
 * The examiner must be careful in this west front to distinguish 
 the early from the later Norman work, which was probably inserted 
 by Bishop Alexander nearly half a century afterwards. Our search 
 among Saxon MSS. has been very limited, but, so far as it has 
 gone, we have never yet seen in the illuminations the zigzag once 
 used. 
 
 B 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 liar to this style, of which the base of the Burrow, 
 and the angle of the Twyford fonts, afford examples. 
 Then followed the Decorated English style, 
 which was in use until about the end of the reign 
 of Edward the Third, in 1377. The windows were 
 now enlarged, the heads filled with tracery running 
 in flowing lines, forming circles, trefoils, quatrefoils, 
 &c. Of tins kind of tracery examples may be seen 
 in the Fonts of Noseley, St. Mary Magdalen, Ox- 
 ford, Haydor and Carleton Scroope. Sometimes 
 the windows have the tracery running below the 
 spring of the arch, but this is not common.* An 
 ornament almost peculiar to this style is the ball- 
 flower, which is a ball placed in the centre of three 
 leaves forming a cup round it ; it may be found in the 
 Swayton, Knaith and Horbling fonts. The corbels, 
 whether of figures or foliage, are generally very 
 admirably carved, but the foliage is more flat than 
 that of the preceding style. 
 
 Lastly came the Perpendicular English, a style 
 which struggled for existence down even to 1649, 
 when Plaxtol Church in Kent was built, which still 
 retains the features of late Perpendicular work. The 
 tracery of the windows now assumed a very diffe- 
 rent character, running in perpendicular lines : the 
 windows also had generally transoms, first in the 
 lower part and afterwards in the head. We refer 
 for these features to the Heme, St. Mary Notting- 
 ham, Towcester and Broughton fonts, and the 
 cover of that at Fosdyke. With respect to tran- 
 
 * Chapel at Thame Park, Oxon ; Northfleet church, Kent. 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 soms, it may be observed tbat they appear to have 
 been first introduced in domestic work, we suppose 
 on account of the casement being made to open, 
 for they are to be found even in Early English do- 
 mestic work.* In domestic work, during the Deco- 
 rated period, they are very common. They do not 
 appear to have been used in the windows in the 
 body of the church until the Perpendicular style was 
 thoroughly established ; but in Decorated towers and 
 spires they are not uncommon ;-f for as there was in 
 these windows no glass, and consequently no iron 
 work, the mullions required the additional strength 
 afforded by a transom. Sometimes the weather- 
 moulding, in late work, does not run so low as the 
 tracery,:[. and in one instance we have seen it 
 lower :§ in neither case should we call it good work, 
 worthy of imitation. Angels bearing shields, were 
 used in great profusion in the latter part of this 
 style ; we refer to the Fosdyke font. Four centred 
 arches became latterly almost universal ; an example 
 of this may be seen in the Font of Broughton, and 
 so in the same Font, and on the top of the Bourn 
 Font, may be seen specimens of an ornament much 
 used at the latter end of the style, and frequently 
 called the Tudor battlement. Towards the latter 
 
 * Woodcroft and Longthorpe, Northamptonshire. 
 
 t Exton Rutland, St. Mary's Stamford, St. Mary's Oxford, 
 and many others. 
 
 % Cherry Hinton Church, Cambridgeshire ; Notley Abbey, 
 Bucks. 
 
 § Browne's Hospital, Stamford : we should observe that this is 
 otherwise good late Perpendicular work. 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, 
 in tabernacle work and in windows, the Decorated 
 tracery was not unfrequently partially resumed ;* for 
 comparison may be made between the Knaith Font 
 and the running pannel on the base of the St. Mary 
 Beverley Font. 
 
 In the foregoing outline of the features by which 
 the different styles are to be distinguished from each 
 other, we have noticed principally those of which 
 the Fonts comprised in this work may afford ex- 
 amples ; for the remaining features, and there are 
 of course many, we must refer our readers to Mr. 
 Rickman's work. 
 
 It was our intention to have given an outline of 
 the History of Baptism, including some account of 
 the ceremony as practised at different periods down 
 to the Reformation, but want of time has not per- 
 mitted us to do so. 
 
 " Edidi quae potui, non ut volui, sed ut me temporis angustiae 
 coegerunt." 
 
 The execution of such a plan would also have ma- 
 terially lengthened our preface. For these reasons 
 we have confined our notice to those points by which 
 the size, material, or preservation of the Font may 
 have been affected. Those who may wish for fur- 
 ther information, may find it in the works from which 
 we should have principally drawn our materials.-^ 
 
 * Chest at the Mote, Ightham, Kent; clerestory windows, 
 Henry VII. 's chapel, Westminster, and windows of the chapels on 
 each side of King's College Chapel, Cambridge. 
 
 t Martene de Antiquis Ecclesia? Ritibus, 3 vols. 4to. Rotomag. 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 As immersion was practised by the church in 
 this country until the Reformation, and perhaps 
 occasionally later (as will afterwards appear) all 
 Fonts were up to that period made sufficiently large 
 for the purpose. Hence, by a constitution of Ed- 
 mund Archbishop of Canterbury, A. D. 1236, the 
 Font is directed to be " competens."* The size of 
 them however varies considerably ; thus at Thorpe 
 in Surrey, the Font, which is Norman, is only nine 
 inches in depth and 17 inches in diameter ; and at 
 Borden in Kent, is a late Perpendicular Font 
 7 2 inches in depth, and I5h inches in diameter, nei- 
 ther of them approaching the size of the St. Mary 
 Beverley Font. The late Perpendicular Fonts are 
 generally quite as large as those of earlier periods. 
 
 Edmund by the same constitution also directed, 
 that every Baptismal -j- Church should have a Font 
 of stone or other material, which Lyndwood inter- 
 prets to mean, " de alia materia congrua et honesta, 
 tali, viz. quae sit solida, durabilis et fortis, ac aqua; 
 nfusae retentiva."£ Although, therefore, stone and 
 marble are the materials of which Fonts are usually 
 made, yet there are several of lead,§ which are all 
 
 1700; there are two subsequent editions. Robinson's Hist, of 
 Baptism, 4to. Lond. 1795. Lyndwood's Provinciale, fol. Oxford 
 1679. 
 
 Sic quod baptizandus possit in eo mergi. Lyndwood, p. 241. 
 
 f For the explanation of the term " Baptismal Church," see 
 note m in Lyndwood, p. 241 ; also Martene, lib. i. c. i. art. 2. 
 
 % Page. 241. 
 
 § Ashover, Derbyshire ; Avebury, Wilts ; Woolston and Chil- 
 drey, Berks; Warborough and Dorchester, Oxon. In the Archa?ol. 
 vol. x. p. 187, Mr. Gough mentions also Brookland, Kent, and 
 
Vill PREFACE. 
 
 circular in their form, and we believe all Norman. 
 That at Ashover is of stone, with leaden figures of 
 the Apostles placed round it. In Holyrood Chapel 
 was a brazen Font, in which the children of the 
 Kings of Scotland were baptized. In 1544 it was 
 carried off by Sir Richard Lea, captain of the Eng- 
 lish pioneers, and presented to the church of St. 
 Albans ; it was afterwards destroyed by the Round- 
 heads.* The Font at Canterbury cathedral was of 
 silver, and was sometimes sent for to Westminster 
 on the occasion of a royal christening, f At Chob- 
 ham in Surrey, is a Font of oak, or rather the lead 
 is surrounded by pannels of oak ; its date is early 
 in the l6th century. 
 
 The archbishop also directed that the Font, 
 " decenter co-operiatur ;"£ and in another part of the 
 same constitution, he says, " Fontes baptismales sub 
 sera clausi teneantur propter sortilegia."§ Hence 
 arose the custom of placing covers upon Fonts, some 
 of which are very magnificent, || as may be seen by 
 
 Wareham, Dorsetshire. Mr. Dawson Turner, in bis letters from 
 Normandy, vol. ii. p. 97, says there are some in Norfolk. 
 
 * Martene, lib. i. c. i. art. ii. s. xi. Provincial Scenery and Anti- 
 quities of Scotland, p. 119. The word used by Martene, how- 
 ever, is " cupreum." 
 
 t Harl. MSS. 6079. 
 
 % Lyndwood, p. 241. 
 
 § Ibid. p. 217. 
 
 || Thaxted Essex ; Ewelm Oxon ; St. Gregory Sudbury, and 
 Worlingworth Suffolk; North Walsham Norfolk; and others. 
 This last Font is surrounded by a railing, the date of which appears 
 to be about the latter end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th 
 century. See Neale's Churches where there is an engraving of this 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 our representation of that at Fosdyke. The cover 
 at Thaxted is very singular, as it is fixed and the 
 whole Font completely enclosed by it ; on one 
 side of the cover, or case as it may be more pro- 
 perly called, a portion opens, by which access is ob- 
 tained to the bowl of the Font ; but no part of the 
 Font, except the top and interior of the bowl, is 
 visible. We do not suppose that a cover is to be 
 met with which is coeval with Edmund's constitu- 
 tion ; perhaps a Decorated one may be found,* but 
 generally the covers are of Perpendicular character ; 
 that at Sudbury is early in the style. Although a 
 cover to the Font was not required either by the 
 canons of 157 If or of 1603,+ yet long after the Re- 
 formation they seem to have been thought neces- 
 sary, as appears from the enquiry frequently directed 
 to be made by the churchwardens, whether the Font 
 has " a decent covering :" § it also appears to have 
 
 Fout, and mention made that by a Ritual published at Antwerp in 
 1659, it is required that the Font be " cancellis circumseptum." 
 The date of this Ritual, which we have not been able to meet with, 
 shows that it was not compiled for the use of our church. We know 
 of no other Font which possesses this singular feature, nor have we 
 been able to find that in this country such a defence was required 
 to be set up. 
 
 * We rather think the cover to St. Dunstan's Font, Canterbury, 
 may, upon examination, prove to be Decorated. 
 
 f Liber quorundam canonum discipline Ecclesiae Anglicana?. 
 Anno 1571. 
 
 | Constitutions and canons ecclesiasticall treated upon, &c. at 
 London, A. D. 1603. Lond. 1633. 
 
 § Articles to be enquired of within the diocese of Norwich, 1618 ; 
 ditto in the Archdeaconry of Norwich, 1638; ditto in Durham, 
 1662. 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 been thought necessary that the cover should be 
 locked.* Hence there are several covers which were 
 made during the first half of the 17th century. 
 
 The constitution of Edmund also directed " aqua 
 " vero in qua baptizatus fuerit puer, ultra septera 
 " dies in Baptisterio non servetur." f Stone being 
 usually of a very porous nature, a lining of lead was 
 used so long as dipping continued to be practised, 
 and perhaps occasionally afterwards : J in the bottom 
 of the Font was a hole, through which the water 
 after it had remained the allowed time was made to 
 pass. This time was extended to a month by Ed- 
 ward the \Tth.§ 
 
 The Font, where it has not been disturbed, is 
 always to be found near the entrance of the church, 
 and generally to the left of the south door.|| 
 
 In Italy and in some other parts of the conti- 
 nent, Baptisteries, distinct from or adjoining to the 
 
 * Articles to be inquired of in the diocese of Exeter, 1638. 
 In the parish accounts of St. Martin Leicester occur the following 
 entries : 
 
 1557— Paid for a lock for the Font, 2d. 
 
 1571 — Paid for taking down things over the Font, I2d. 
 
 Paid for cutting down a board over the Font, lid. 
 1573 — For making the cover over the Font, 4s. 
 
 For 31bs. of lead, to set fast the hook over the Font, 3d. 
 
 Received for the cover that did hang at the Font, ISd. 
 Nicholls's Leicestershire, vol. i. p. 572, et seq. 
 •f Lyndwood, p. 241. 
 
 J Fonts at St. Andrews and St. Peter's Droitwich Worcester- 
 shire, and at Ockham Surrey. 
 
 § Book of Common Prayer, 1549, p. 131. 
 || Martene, lib. i. c. i. art. 2, s. 8. 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 churches, are not uncommon.* We have not been 
 able to learn that any such building ever existed in 
 England, except indeed that it has been commonly 
 said, that the circular building on the north side of 
 Canterbury cathedral, and in which the Font now 
 stands, was built for that purpose :f upon this we 
 would observe that it is not near the entrance of the 
 cathedral, and that if what Hasted says be true, X 
 that prior to the erection of the present Font in 
 1636, there was a moveable one, and that the pre- 
 sent was at first placed in the usual situation near 
 the entrance to the church, the opinion that this 
 building was originally a baptistery has, we think, 
 been adopted too hastily. 
 
 The subject of our frontispiece is, we believe, the 
 only erection of the kind in the kingdom. 
 
 As the Font is the only relic of our ancient archi- 
 tecture, which in its form is at all analogous to the 
 Grecian and Roman vases, the shape which lias at 
 
 * Martene, lib. i. c. i. art. 2. s. 7. Piobinson's Hist, of Bapt. chap. 
 12 to 16. Martene, lib. r. c. i. art. 2. s. 6. gives the following- names 
 by which Baptisteries were called, " Baptisteria vulgo nuncupant, 
 " Gra?ci llluminatoria, Sidonius Apollinaris libro 2. epist. ad Domit. 
 " Piscinam, Fortunatus libro 2. Carmine 12. Aulam Baptismalis, 
 " Gregorius Turonensis libro 2. Historiae Francorum Templum 
 " Baptisterii, Capitularia Pippini regis Italia? anni 793. n. 7. et 1 J. 
 " Baptismales Ecclesias, ejusdem Capitularia excerpta ex lege 
 >' Longobardorum, num. 16. Oracula, Capitularia Caroli Calvi, anni 
 " 876. Plebes, denique Flodoardus in libro 2. Histories Remensis, 
 «• cap. 19. Baptismales titulos." 
 
 t As this building stands in a private garden, we have never had 
 an opportunity of examining it thoroughly . 
 
 X Hist, of Kent, 8vo. Edit. vol. xi. p. 353. The moveable Font 
 mentioned is without doubt the silver one spoken of before. 
 
 C 
 
XU PREFACE. 
 
 different periods been given to it, is a subject of 
 some interest. Norman Fonts are generally square, 
 or circular, the first frequently placed on five legs. 
 As to which may be the older form, the square or 
 circle, we cannot positively say, possibly the square. 
 The fact appears to be that at the same period dif- 
 ferent forms prevailed in different districts ; thus in 
 the neighbourhood of Aylesbury,* there are many 
 late Norman Fonts, all assuming the form of a cup 
 richly ornamented : in Northamptonshire and Lin- 
 colnshire, during the same period and for some little 
 time after, there are many circularlike tubs, the 
 later ones having four columns set against them.-f- 
 But we do not say that the rule has not its excep- 
 tions. In adjoining parishes the Fonts, where of 
 the same date, are often so similar to each other, as 
 to leave little or no doubt but that they were exe- 
 cuted by the same workman ; and this is consonant 
 with common sense, for whatever form the work- 
 man thinks the most beautiful and convenient, that 
 he will usually adopt. Thus the taste of the work- 
 man who executed the Fonts at Aunsby and As- 
 warby in Lincolnshire, led him to prefer, as a form, 
 the circle, while he who at the same period executed 
 those at Waltham and Stonesby, in Leicestershire, 
 chose the octagon.:!"- Although the octagonal form 
 
 * Aylesbury, Bledlow, Haddenhain, Kimble, Monks Risbo- 
 rough, all in Bucks. 
 
 t Greens Norton, Paulers Pary, Tiffield and Wausford North- 
 amptonshire ; Coleby, Fulbeck, Bracebridge, Aunsby, Aswarby 
 and Helpringham Lincolnshire. 
 
 X Vide post, p. 19 and 21. 
 
PREFACE. Xili 
 
 was introduced in the bowl before the end of the 
 Norman style,* and was in the next style also 
 adopted in the shaft, yet the circle continued to be 
 much used during the Early English period ;-j- so 
 occasionally was the square. J Throughout the con- 
 tinuance of the Decorated style the octagon was 
 generally used, sometimes the hexagon, § but we do 
 not remember to have seen the circle. During the 
 Perpendicular style, the octagon was almost always 
 used. At Dinton church, Bucks, is a Font of this 
 style, circular and in the form of a cup, but we 
 apprehend the shape has been governed by the 
 base, which appears to be considerably older than 
 the bowl ; the latter is of Tottenhoe stone, the 
 former a coarse oolite with very bold mouldings. 
 The Font at Trinity church Hull || presents the 
 latest example we have yet seen of a bowl placed on 
 five legs, for this custom appears to have been gene- 
 rally abandoned before the commencement of the 
 Decorated style. 
 
 Norman Fonts, although the oldest of the four 
 classes, are yet the most common, or nearly so ; as 
 they are generally very rich, this may have been the 
 reason why they have been so frequently preserved, 
 whatever alterations the church may have under- 
 gone, for it is very usual to find a rich Norman 
 Font in a church of which no part is near so old ; 
 
 * Belton Lincolnshire. 
 
 ■(- This our Early English selection will show. 
 
 J Twyford Leicestershire, Heveningham Norfolk. 
 
 § Heckington Lincolnshire ; Lindfield in Sussex, is square. 
 
 || See our plate post. 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 and indeed, in some parts of the kingdom, the Nor- 
 man and Early English Fonts although plain, ap- 
 pear to have been held in great veneration, and 
 were therefore allowed to remain when the church 
 itself was rebuilt in a totally different style. 
 
 Early English Fonts are not very common, at 
 least not subjects in which the style is clearly 
 marked ; but there are many plain square and circu- 
 lar Fonts, of which it is difficult to say, whether they 
 belong to the commencement of this or the end of 
 the preceding style. 
 
 As the Decorated style was in use but little 
 more than seventy years, very few Fonts of that 
 character are to be found, and of these some, though 
 good in design, are very indifferent in execution.* 
 
 The Perpendicular English Fonts are very 
 common, nearly if not quite equal in number to the 
 Norman, and many of them are very splendid. 
 
 We have stated that until the Reformation, and 
 perhaps occasionally after it, dipping was practised 
 in this country. That pouring or sprinkling were 
 not unusual previous to the Reformation is very 
 probable, for, so early as the year 7o4>, pouring in 
 cases of necessity was declared by Pope Stephen 
 the Third to be lawful;! and in the year 1311 the 
 council of Ravenna declared dipping or sprinkling 
 indifferent.."]: Yet dipping appears to have been in 
 
 * Ketton Rutland, St. Martin's Stamford, Somerby Lincoln- 
 shire. 
 
 f Robinson's Hist, of Bapt. p. 429. 
 
 J Ibid. p. 430. See also Martene, lib. i. c. 1. art. 14. 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 this country the more usual mode ; for from an illu- 
 mination in Rous's life of Richard Beauchamp Earl 
 of Warwick, who was born in 1381, it appears that 
 the earl was baptized by dipping ;* so Prince Arthur 
 (eldest son of Henry VII.) King Edward VI. and 
 Queen Elizabeth were all dipped.f Not one of the 
 rituals which we have examined contains any permis- 
 sion to use pouring or sprinkling when the child is 
 brought to the church. The first instance of pouring 
 being allowed in public baptism is in the first prayer 
 book of Edward VI. which says, " And if the childe 
 be weake, it shall suffice to poure water upon it." J 
 In all probability dipping was from this time, by de- 
 grees, abandoned; but many years elapsed ere it 
 was so entirely ; for a century later Dr. Featley says, 
 " Dipping may be used in baptisme ; and if the 
 childe be strong, and the weather and climate tem- 
 perate, it is very fit to be used, and the church of 
 England both mloweth it and practiseth it ;"§ and 
 again he says, " sprinkling may be done, and is 
 usually without any dipping at all." il Of two anony- 
 mous writers at the same period, one says, " The 
 manner in which baptism is there ' (church of Eng- 
 land) " administered, is by sprinkling or casting a little 
 water upon the head or face of the child baptized ;"% 
 
 * Cott. MSS. Julius, E. IV. 
 
 t Robinson's Hist, of Bapt. p. 120; also Had. MSS. 6079. 
 
 % Common Prayer, A. D. 1519, p. 128. 
 
 § KaTaGaTZTHTTai x*rawm«rToi. The dippers dipt, or, the Anabaptists 
 dvck'd and plvng'd over head and eares at a disputation in South- 
 wark. By D. Featley, D. D. Lond. 1645, p. 33. 
 
 il Ibid. p. 35. 
 
 ^ A Treatise of the Vanity of Childish Baptisme. By A. R. 
 Lond. 1642, p. S. 
 
Xvi PREFACE. 
 
 the other, " The Romanists some of them, and some 
 of the poore ignorant Welch do use dipping."* So 
 the thirty-third canon of 1603 says, " the minister 
 dipping the infant in water, or laying water upon the 
 face of it (as the manner also is.") f Of the few 
 Fonts which we have been able to find, the date of 
 which may be placed between the Reformation and 
 the Rebellion, some are large enough for immersion 
 and some not. X 
 
 From the time of the Reformation to the days of 
 puritanic fury in the reign of Charles I., there was a 
 strong propensity to remove or neglect the Font> 
 and use a basin instead. This was checked so long 
 as it was possible; thus in 1564 it was directed, 
 " That the fonte be not removed, nor the curate do 
 baptize in the parishe churches in any basons, nor 
 in anye other forme then is alredie prescribed."§ 
 In 1 57 1 it was directed, " Curabunt ((Editui) ut in 
 singulis ecclesiis sit sacer fons, non pelvis, in quo 
 
 * A discourse tending to prove the Baptisme in or under the 
 defection of Antichrist to be the ordinance of Jesus Christ. By 
 P. B. Lond. 1642, p. 15. By handwriting, nearly or quite coeval 
 with the date of the publication in the copy in the British Museum, 
 this work is attributed to the celebrated Praise-God Barebone. 
 
 ■f Constitutions and canons'ecclesiasticall treated upon, &c. at 
 Lond. A. D. 1603. Lond. 1633. 
 
 j; Bedminster Somerset, Brewood Staffordshire, St. Andrew 
 and St. Peter Droitwich Worcestershire, Maiden, Ockham and 
 Wisley Surrey. 
 
 § Advertisements partly for due order in the publique admi- 
 nistration of common prayers, aud usinge the Holy Sacramentes, 
 and partly for the apparrell of all persons ecclesiasticall, by virtue 
 of the Queene's Majestie's letters commanding the same, the 25th 
 day of Jan. in the 7th yeare of the reigne of oure Soveraigne Lady 
 Elizabeth. London. 
 
PREFACE. XV11 
 
 baptismus ministretur, isque ut decenter et munde 
 conservetur."* Again the 81st canon of 1603 says, 
 " According to a former constitution too much neg- 
 lected in many places, we appoint that there shall be 
 a Font of stone in every church and chapel, where 
 baptism is to be ministred : the same to be set in 
 the ancient usuall places. In which onely Font the 
 minister shall baptize publickly."f Among the 
 enquiries directed to be made by the churchwardens, 
 one is, whether the Font has been removed from its 
 accustomed place, and whether they use a basin or 
 other vessel..!' That all these efforts were ultimately 
 in many cases of no avail, may be learned from the 
 fate of a Font which we have before-mentioned, 
 that at St. Martin's church Leicester ; the following 
 extracts from the parish accounts will tell the tale : 
 
 1615 — " For a bason to be used at baptism, 5s. 
 
 " For a standard to bear the same, 15s. 
 
 " For laying the same in marble colour, 5s. 
 1051, May 7 — " Received of George Smith, for a stone belonging 
 
 to the Font, 7s. 
 
 * Liber quorundam canonum discipline Ecclesiaj Anglicanae. 
 Anno 1571. 
 
 ■\ Constitutions and canons ecclesiasticall treated upon, &c. at 
 Lond. A.D. 1003. Lond. 1633. 
 
 % Articles to be enquired of, &c. within the deanerie of Shor- 
 ham. Lond. 1597. Ditto within the diocese of London. Lond. 
 1601 ; do. do. Lond. 1604; do. m the dioceses of Exeter, Nor- 
 wich, Chichester, St. Davids, Landaffe, Heriford, Worcester, 
 Bristol, Bath and Welles, and Coventrie and Litchfielde, 1605 ; 
 do. in the dioces of Norwich, 1618; do. do. 1019; do in the 
 archdeaconry of Canterbury, 1630; do. in the diocesse of Exeter, 
 1638; do. in the archdeaconry of Norwich, 1638 ; do. in the dio- 
 cesse of Winton, 1639. 
 
XV111 PREFACE. 
 
 1GG1, Feb. 4 — Agreed, that the Foot of stone formerly belonging 
 to the church shall be set up in the antient place, and that the 
 other now standing near the desk be taken down. 
 
 *' At a parish meeting, the new Font, fashioned and placed agree- 
 able with the puritanic times, was ordered to be taken down, 
 and the old stone one to be erected where it formerly stood. 
 
 1662, April 8—" Paid widow Smith, for the Font stone, being the 
 price her husband paid for it, 7s." * 
 
 It does not appear, however, that the Fonts 
 were destroyed by authority ; for by the journal of 
 a parliamentary visitor appointed to destroy super- 
 stitious ornaments, he does not seem to have done 
 more than in one place to have given order to take 
 down the cover of the Font, and in others to have 
 given directions for the destruction of such orna- 
 ments upon the Fonts as in his godly eyes were 
 superstitious.- j- 
 
 Of the indecency with which Fonts were at that 
 time treated, and of the impiety with which such 
 indecency was accompanied, there are two eminent 
 instances ; one the baptizing a colt in the Font at 
 Yaxley in Huntingdonshire ; I the other the same 
 
 * Nicholls's Hist, of Leicestershire, vol. i. p. 572, et seq. As 
 there is now a modern Font in this church, the words used by 
 Hearne respecting the fate of that in St. Peter's church, Oxford, 
 may be applied to this unfortunate one at Leicester; " CEdilis 
 quidam sacrilegus amoveri jussit, alio (louge viliori) substituto." 
 Hearne's pref. to Leland's Collectanea, p. 29. 
 
 f The journal of William Dowsing of Stratford, Parliamentary 
 visitor appointed under a warrant from the Earl of Manchester, for 
 demolishing the superstitious pictures and ornaments of churches, &c. 
 within the county of Suffolk, in the years 1643 and 1644, 4to. 
 Woodbridge, 1786. 
 
 I Edwards's Gangrama. Lond. 1646, part iii. p. 18. 
 
PREFACE. XIX 
 
 ceremony on a similar subject in St. Paul's Cathe- 
 dral.* 
 
 For the assistance of those who may be search- 
 ing for good Fonts generally, or of a particular date, 
 we have added a list of several, classed according to 
 their style : we have made this classification as cor- 
 rect as was in our power, but it must be remem- 
 bered that we have sometimes obtained our infor- 
 mation from a print or a drawing, which upon an 
 examination of the Font itself, may prove unworthy 
 of the credit we have attached to it. 
 
 And now having brought our work to a conclu- 
 sion, we will, with many thanks to those from whom 
 in the progress of it we have received assistance, 
 take our leave with these words, " Quod commodius 
 esset in hoc libro, id nostrum non esset; quod 
 asperius et inusitatum, id proprie nobis attribue- 
 retur." 
 
 * Newes from Powle's, &c. one sheet qto. 1649. Gough's 
 Topography, vol. i. p. 609. 
 
 D 
 
NORMAN FONTS. 
 
 Ancaster, Lincolnshire. 
 Aspatria, Cumberland. 
 Avebury, (lead) Wilts. 
 Aylesbury, Bucks. 
 Alphington, Devon. 
 Avington, Berks. 
 Ashcombe, Devon. 
 Ashover, (lead) Derbyshire. 
 Aunsby, Lincolnshire. 
 St. Austel, Cornwall. 
 Blackauton, Devon. 
 Braceborough, Lincolnshire. 
 Bracebridge, Ditto. 
 Beddington, Surrey. 
 Berkeley, Gloucestershire. 
 Bledlow, Bucks. 
 Brent, South, Devon. 
 Biddeford, Ditto. 
 Bishop's Teignton, ditto. 
 Bridekirk, Cumberland. 
 Brighton, Sussex. 
 Bristol, St. Philip and St. Jacob, 
 
 Somerset. 
 Bodmin, Cornwall. 
 Bromley, Kent. 
 Broxbourne, Herts. 
 Burnham Deepdale, Norfolk. 
 Bury, Huntingdonshire. 
 Camborne, Cornwall. 
 Cambridge, St. Peters, (later base). 
 Canon Peon, Hereford. 
 
 Casterton, Great, Rutland. 
 Castle Rising, Norfolk. 
 Claverley, Salop. 
 Clee, Lincolnshire. 
 Chiklrey, (lead) Berks. 
 Christowe, Devon. 
 Coleby, Lincolnshire. 
 Coleshill, Warwickshire. 
 Coton, Cambridgeshire. 
 Cross, St., (later base) Hants. 
 Drayton, Norfolk. 
 Dearham, Cumberland. 
 Dodford, Northamptonshire. 
 Dorchester, (lead) Oxon. 
 Dunchurch, Warwickshire. 
 Enoder, St., Cornwall. 
 Fincham, Norfolk. 
 Fulbeck, Lincolnshire. 
 Grimstone, Yorkshire. 
 Haddenhani, Bucks. 
 Haddon, East, Northamptonshire. 
 Hales Owen, Salop. 
 Hampton in Arden, Warwickshire. 
 Hanbury, Somerset. 
 Harlington, Middlesex. 
 Harpole, Northamptonshire. 
 Harpswell, Lincolnshire. 
 Harrietsham, Kent. 
 Hartlebury, Worcestershire. 
 Hasfield, Gloucestershire. 
 Hayes, Middlesex. 
 
XXII 
 
 Hereford Cathedral. 
 
 Hook Norton, Oxon. 
 
 Ilornclon, East, Essex 
 
 Iffley, Oxon. 
 
 Ipswich, St. Peter, Suffolk. 
 
 Kimble, Bucks. 
 
 Kirkbourne, Yorkshire. 
 
 Landwednach, Cornwall. 
 
 Lanercost, Cumberland. 
 
 Lanreth, Cornwall. 
 
 Lewknor, Oxon. 
 
 Lockington, Leicestershire. 
 
 Loxbeare, Devon. 
 
 Luddesdown, Kent. 
 
 Maids Morton, Bucks. 
 
 Malton, New, St. Leonard, Yorkshire. 
 
 Melbourn, Derbyshire. 
 
 Meon, East, Hants. 
 
 Mickleham, Surrey. 
 
 Milton, South, Devon. 
 
 Monks Risborough, Bucks. 
 
 Monks Wearmouth, Durham. 
 
 Morvingstow, Cornwall. 
 
 Newenden, Kent. 
 
 Newington, South, Oxon. 
 
 Neswick, Yorkshire. 
 
 Oakington, Cambridgeshire. 
 
 Pool, South, Devon. 
 
 Porchester, Hants. 
 
 Puddington, Bedfordshire. 
 
 Purley, Berks. 
 
 Rainham, Essex. 
 Rattery, Devon. 
 Rotherfield Grays, Oxon. 
 Sham bourn, Norfolk. 
 Sesincote, Oxon. 
 
 St. Stephen near Launceston, Corn- 
 wall. 
 Ditto by Saltash, Ditto. 
 Silk Willoughby, Lincolnshire. 
 Southampton, St. Michael. 
 Southrop, Gloucestershire. 
 Shoreham, Old, Sussex. 
 Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. 
 Stow, Lincolnshire. 
 Sutton Courtney, Bucks. 
 Stukeley, Ditto. 
 Taplow, Ditto. 
 Thame, Oxon. 
 Tickencote, Rutland. 
 Tiffield, Northamptonshire. 
 Tintagel, Cornwall. 
 Thorpe Salvin, Yorkshire. 
 Twywell, Northamptonshire. 
 Ugborough, Devon. 
 Warborough, (lead) Oxon. 
 Warbustow, Cornwall. 
 Wilbraham, Great, Cambridgeshire. 
 Winchester Cathedral. 
 Woodford, Northamptonshire. 
 Woolfardisworthy, Devon, 
 
 Allwalton, Huntingdonshire. 
 
 Adderbury, Oxon. 
 
 All Saints Aldwinkle, Northamp 
 
 tonshire. 
 Ashbourne, Derbyshire. 
 Bainton, Northamptonshire. 
 Barnwell, Cambridgeshire. 
 
 EARLY ENGLISH FONTS. 
 
 Battle (transition from Norman) 
 
 Sussex. 
 Belaugh, Norfolk. 
 Beverley Minster, Yorkshire. 
 Brington, Northamptonshire. 
 Cranborne, Dorset. 
 Chedder, Somerset. 
 
XX111 
 
 Chewton Mendip, Ditto. 
 
 Cogenhoe, Northamptonshire. 
 
 Conington, (transition from Nor- 
 man) Huntingdonshire. 
 
 Corse, Gloucestershire. 
 
 Cottenham, Cambridgeshire. 
 
 Coventry, St. Michael, Warwickshire. 
 
 Darlington, Durham. 
 
 Durham, St. Mary. 
 
 Eastby, (transition from Norman) 
 Yorkshire. 
 
 Eaton Bray, Bedfordshire. 
 
 Grimsby, Great, Lincolnshire. 
 
 Haconby, Ditto. 
 
 Helmsley, Yorkshire. 
 
 Hemstead, Gloucestershire. 
 
 Heveningham, Norfolk. 
 
 Hexham, Northumberland. 
 
 Heydon, Norfolk. 
 
 Hibalstow, Lincolnshire. 
 
 Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire. 
 
 Hildersham, Cambridgeshire. 
 
 Hitchenden, Bucks. 
 
 Ilmington, Warwickshire. 
 
 Irchester, Northamptonshire. 
 
 Kirkby Underwood, Lincolnshire. 
 
 Kirkdale, Yorkshire. 
 
 Laxton, Northamptonshire. 
 
 Leighton Bussard, Bedfordshire. 
 
 Lowick, Northamptonshire. 
 
 Malton, New, St. Michael, York- 
 shire. 
 
 Newbold, Ditto. 
 
 Oxford, St. Giles. 
 
 Ozleworth, Gloucestershire. 
 
 Peterborough Cathedral. 
 
 Polbrook, Northamptonshire. 
 
 Ramsey, Huntingdonshire. 
 
 Rodney Stoke, Somerset. 
 
 Rushden, Northamptonshire. 
 
 Stafford, St. Mary. 
 
 Swarby, Lincolnshire. 
 
 Shepton Mallet, Somerset. 
 
 Stevenage, Herts. 
 
 Stiftbrd, Essex. 
 
 Stonesby, (transition from Norman) 
 Leicestershire. 
 
 Studham, Bedfordshire. 
 
 Stuntney, Cambridgeshire. 
 
 Upton, (basin Norman) Hunting- 
 donshire. 
 
 Waddon, Bucks. 
 
 Walcot, Lincolnshire. 
 Walsham, North, (perpendicular co- 
 ver) Norfolk. 
 Warboys, Huntingdonshire. 
 
 Wells Cathedral. 
 
 Worth, Sussex. 
 
 York, St. Mary Bishop Hill the 
 younger. 
 
 DECORATED ENGLISH FONTS. 
 
 Asgarby, Lincolnshire. 
 Bakewell, Derbyshire. 
 Barnwell, St. Andrews, Northamp- 
 tonshire. 
 Bradfield, Suffolk. 
 Bridgenorth, Salop. 
 
 Bottisham, Cambridgeshire. 
 
 Boxworth, Ditto. 
 
 Burford, Oxon. 
 
 Bythorne, Huntingdonshire. 
 
 Canterbury, St. Dunstan, cover only. 
 
 Carlton, (?) Cambridgeshire. 
 
XXIV 
 
 Caythorpe, Lincolnshire. 
 Chettisham, Cambridgeshire. 
 Childerditch, Essex. 
 Chipping Norton, Oxon. 
 Denford, Northamptonshire. 
 Downham, Cambridgeshire. 
 Elsing, (?) Norfolk. 
 Elton, (?) Huntingdonshire. 
 Enstone, Oxon. 
 Foulmire, Cambridgeshire. 
 Hemingwell, Lincolnshire. 
 Holton, (transition to Perpendicular) 
 
 Suffolk. 
 Ingworth, (?) Norfolk. 
 Ketton, Rutland. 
 Kidlington, ( ? bowl) Oxon. 
 Kilby, Lincolnshire. 
 Langham, Rutland. 
 Lechlade, Gloucestershire. 
 Lindfield, Sussex. 
 Lostwithiel, Cornwall. 
 Meridew, Warwickshire. 
 Mytton, Yorkshire. 
 Northampton, St. Giles. 
 Oxford, St. Aldate. 
 
 Padstow, Cornwall. 
 
 Raunds, Northamptonshire. 
 
 Ringstead, Ditto. 
 
 Ramsey, Hants. 
 
 Salwarp, Worcestershire. 
 
 Sandhurst, Kent. 
 
 Stanton, Long, All Saints, Cam- 
 
 brideshire. 
 Stanwick, Northamptonshire. 
 Staunton, Worcestershire. 
 Swavesey, Cambridgeshire. 
 Solihull, Warwickshire. 
 Somerby, Lincolnshire. 
 Sudbury, Suffolk. 
 Shurdington, Gloucestershire. 
 Trumpington, Cambridgeshire. 
 Uphill, Somerset. 
 Ware, (?) Herts. 
 Weedon Beck, Northamptonshire. 
 Whethamstead, (transition from 
 
 Early Eng.) Herts. 
 Wilbraharu, Little, Cambridgeshire. 
 Wilby, Northamptonshire. 
 Wittiugham, Cambridgeshire. 
 
 PERPENDICULAR ENGLISH FONTS. 
 
 Abbots Langley, Herts. 
 Aslackby, Lincolnshire. 
 Axbridge, Somerset. 
 Ayot St. Lawrence, Herts. 
 Bangor Cathedral. 
 Barnwood, Gloucestershire. 
 Brancepeth, Durham. 
 Brant Broughton, Lincolnshire. 
 Bray, Berks. 
 Beer Ferrers, Devon. 
 Bennington, Lincolnshire. 
 Bigbury, Devon. 
 
 Binhara, Norfolk. 
 
 Blickling, Ditto. 
 
 Bolton, Yorkshire. 
 
 East Bourne, Sussex. 
 
 Bloxham, Oxon. 
 
 Byfleet, Surrey. 
 
 Blyborough, Lincolnshire. 
 
 Blythborough, Suffolk. 
 
 Cambridge, All Saints. 
 
 Ditto St. Mary the Less. 
 
 Ditto St. Edward. 
 
 Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire. 
 
XXV 
 
 Clare, Suffolk. 
 
 Cotterstock, Northamptonshire. 
 Crosscombe, Somerset. 
 Crowland, Lincolnshire. 
 Deddington, Oxon. 
 Dereham, East, Norfolk. 
 Dinton, Bucks. 
 Doulting, Somerset. 
 Dullingham, Cambridgeshire. 
 Dundry, Somerset. 
 Dunsby, Lincolnshire. 
 Duston, Northamptonshire. 
 Elkstone, Gloucestershire. 
 Evesham, All Saints, Worcester- 
 shire. 
 Dittto, St. Lawrence, Ditto. 
 Ewelm, Oxon. 
 Fairford, Gloucestershire. 
 Fen Stanton, Huntingdonshire. 
 Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire. 
 Grantham, Lincolnshire. 
 Goodmanham, Yorkshire. 
 Haddenham, Cambridgeshire. 
 Harbledown , Hospital Chapel, Kent. 
 Harlaxton, Lincolnshire. 
 Histon St. Andrew, Cambridgeshire. 
 Hitchin, Herts. 
 Horsham St. Faith, Norfolk. 
 Howel, Lincolnshire. 
 Kilhampton, Cornwall. 
 Kilvington, (South) Yorkshire. 
 Kirby Laythorpe, Lincolnshire. 
 Kislingbury, Northamptonshire. 
 Layton, Essex. 
 Leicester, St. Margaret. 
 Letheringham, Suffolk. 
 Leverington, Cambridgeshire. 
 Lincoln, St. Mary. 
 Ludham, Norfolk. 
 Malton, Old, Yorkshire. 
 Market Deeping, Lincolnshire. 
 
 Melton, Suffolk. 
 
 Minster Lovel, Oxon. 
 
 Morton, Lincolnshire. 
 
 Moulsey, West, Surrey. 
 
 Moulton, North, Devon. 
 
 Neots, St., Huntingdonshire. 
 
 Newcastle, St. Nicholas, Northum- 
 berland. 
 
 Northampton, St. Peters, early. 
 
 Norwich Cathedral. 
 
 Offley, Herts. 
 
 Otford, Suffolk. 
 
 Oxford, St. Martin. 
 
 Penshnrst, Kent. 
 
 Pitsford, this has a very singular 
 bracket the use of which we 
 are unable to explain, North- 
 amptonshire. 
 
 Great Ponton, Lincolnshire. 
 
 Quarrington, Ditto. 
 
 Quy, Cambridgeshire. 
 
 Ropsley, Lincolnshire. 
 
 Saffron Walden, Essex. 
 
 Sandwich, St. Clements, Kent. 
 
 Snape, Suffolk. 
 
 Stalham, Lancashire. 
 
 Stamford, All Saints. 
 
 Ditto St. John. 
 
 Stanton Harcourt, Oxon. 
 
 Stratford-on-Avon, (in a garden) 
 Warwickshire. 
 
 Swanton Abbot, Norfolk. 
 
 Shrewsbury, St. Mary. 
 
 Stidd, Lancashire. 
 
 Southfleet, Kent. 
 
 Shorne, Ditto. 
 
 Stow, near Lichfield, Staffordshire. 
 
 Thaxted, Essex. 
 
 Teignmouth, East, Devon. 
 
 Tew, Great, Oxon. 
 
 Tor Mohun, Devon. 
 
XXVI 
 
 Tutbury, Staffordshire. 
 Upminster, Essex. 
 Walsingham, Norfolk. 
 Wlialley, Lancashire. 
 Wells, Norfolk. 
 
 Wilsford, Lincolnshire. 
 Whiston, Northamptonshire. 
 Worfield, Salop. 
 Worlingworth, Suffolk. 
 Worstead, Norfolk. 
 
LUTON, BEDFORDSHIRE. 
 
 (vide frontispiece.) 
 
 The Font in this church is not worthy of any other 
 notice, than that it stands on five circular legs 
 which we suppose to be older than the bowl. On 
 the top of this is placed a flat stone on which stands 
 a basin, now used for baptism. But the magni- 
 ficent baptistery erected over it, is so intimately con- 
 nected with the class of antiquities of which this 
 work is an attempted illustration, that we have adopt- 
 ed it as a frontispiece. The design is eminently 
 beautiful, but the workmanship is not delicate and 
 contains variations, some of which appear to have 
 arisen from caprice and some from carelessness. To 
 the first motive may be attributed the variations in 
 the pinnacles of the buttresses ; our experience has 
 hitherto led us to notice, that these varieties occur 
 more frequently in Decorated work than in any 
 other. The unequal height of the finials to the 
 canopies gives our representation an awkward 
 appearance, and may have arisen from carelessness 
 in the original construction of the building, or from 
 mutilations caused by the frequent removal of it 
 from one part of the church to another. The height 
 of it is about 19 feet; the roof is groined. About 
 
54 LUTON, BEDFORDSHIRE. 
 
 40 years since this splendid fabric stood under the 
 third arch from the west end of the south aisle ; it 
 was then moved to the centre of the west end of the 
 nave, where it must have added greatly to the 
 beauty of the church. About six years since it 
 was moved to its present station, viz. the south 
 transept. 
 
 For any notice of the church, we have little 
 space. Much has been mutilated, but much of very 
 good work still remains. The tower, which is partly 
 Decorated and partly Perpendicular, is built of flint 
 and Tottenhoe stone placed in chequers. The door 
 to this tower contains, particularly in the inside, some 
 very admirable Decorated oak pannels. In the 
 church is some good screen work ; there are also 
 some late tombs, to one of which is a chapel with a 
 very singular double arch. 
 

 
 Wsmm 
 
 ■ 
 
 ' 
 
 
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 
 
 We commence our series of Norman Fonts with this 
 subject, as we consider it to be the most ancient of 
 those here represented. We conceive its date to be 
 rather early in the Norman aera. In its general out- 
 line it is very similar to the Fonts at Winchester 
 Cathedral, East Meon, Hants, Burnham Deepdale, 
 Norfolk, Ifley, Oxfordshire, and Newenden, Kent. 
 The material is a dark marble, containing organic 
 remains of Madrepore. The two sides not shewn 
 in the engraving, have grotesque figures of quad- 
 rupeds and birds, similar to those here represented. 
 It is now situated in the Morning Prayer chapel 
 which opens into the north aisle of the nave, near 
 the west entrance. About thirty-five years since it 
 stood in the nave, from which place it was then 
 moved to its present station. The dimensions, 
 which are very considerable, are thus : 
 
 Feet Inches 
 
 Height of the whole - -36 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 3 8 
 
 Ditto of the inside or howl - - 2 8 
 
 Depth of the bowl - 1 1 
 
 To attempt any thing more than a general notice 
 of the splendid Cathedral in which this Font stands, 
 would here be inconsistent. It is sufficient to ob- 
 
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. 
 
 serve, that the general character of the building is 
 very rich Early English ; of all the other styles, it 
 also contains very excellent examples. Mr. Rickman 
 very justly observes, that " most of our Cathedrals 
 would form a sufficient basis for several years' study, 
 and none more than Lincoln." 
 

 
 
 ' 
 
DEEPING, ST. JAMES, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 This Font, from its simplicity, may be considered 
 of rather early date than otherwise. It is composed 
 of Barnack stone, painted, but in good preservation. 
 It is not now lined with lead, though most probably 
 it was so originally. It has two holes in the bottom, 
 one in the centre, with four channels leading to it ; 
 the other towards the side, and very possibly not 
 original. The whole of the circular base on which 
 it stands is not now visible, as a great part of it is 
 hidden by a wooden platform. The height of this 
 Font is unusually great. The measurement is as 
 follows : 
 
 Height of the whole including the base 
 Ditto seen in the engraving 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 Ditto of the inside or bowl 
 Depth of the bowl 
 
 The church of Deeping, St. James, contains some 
 very good remains of the Early English style, parti- 
 cularly a trifolium to the south arches of the nave 
 and the south porch. There is also some good screen- 
 work and a little stained glass. South-east of the 
 church stands a large cross, which in 1819 under- 
 went fearful discipline in its conversion into a cage. 
 Before the inclosure there were as many as four or 
 five crosses in this parish. 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 

 MAK.T" 
 
 
ST. MARTIN'S, CANTERBURY. 
 
 This celebrated Font is particularly remarkable on 
 account of the great number of stones with which 
 it is constructed, thirty-five in number; viz. the 
 cornice (if so it can be called) consists of eight 
 stones of unequal sizes ; the tier next below (be- 
 tween which and the cornice are inserted tiles) 
 comprizes nine stones very unequal in size ; in 
 the second tier are eight stones, which are more 
 equal in size, and the third and last tier con- 
 tains ten stones of unequal sizes. The material 
 is a very hard limestone. That side of the Font 
 which is not shewn in the engraving is orna- 
 mented in the same manner as that here repre- 
 sented ; but the ornaments of the cornice are not 
 the same on all of the stones. The work is very 
 rude and shallow. At first we had a strong impres- 
 sion that this Font had at some period been taken 
 to pieces and put together again carelessly, which 
 would account for the disunion of the patterns : 
 with this idea we traced off each stone upon separate 
 pieces of paper, and put them together in various 
 ways to ascertain whether any other arrangement 
 than the present would be more correct, but in vain. 
 We are not inclined to place this subject very high 
 in the Norman asra. It is in a good state of pre- 
 servation, and the thick coat of whitewash which 
 
6 ST. MARTIN S, CANTERBURY. 
 
 formerly covered it is now nearly gone. It is lined 
 with lead, but as this does not extend to the whole 
 depth of the stone-work, there is a hollow space be- 
 tween the lead and the bottom of the Font, which 
 is partly filled with rubbish : the hole in the bottom 
 of this lead is unusually large. This Font is situated 
 in the centre of the church, to which there are no 
 side aisles. The dimensions are thus : 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 Ditto of the interior 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
 Depth of leaden bowl 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 The church has very little to attract notice, but 
 the chancel has always been celebrated among the 
 antiquaries of the last century as a Roman building, 
 and is said* to be built almost wholly of Roman 
 bricks laid in the same manner as in other buildings 
 of the same date in this island ; but the whole of 
 the exterior is now covered with plaster, so that, 
 except from the account of others, no opinion can be 
 easily formed on the subject. 
 
 * Hasted's Canterbury, 8vo. edit. vol. i. p. 283. 
 
■ 
 
 Engraved by R<* 1 - 
 
 .COTE. 
 
 ■ 
 
 . 
 
SAPCOTE, LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 We are very glad to seize the opportunity of giving 
 a representation of this fine subject, before its de- 
 struction has been entirely effected by the various 
 causes which are at present rapidly bringing it to 
 decay. It was turned into the churchyard about 
 thirty years ago, and placed at the west end of the 
 north aisle as a cistern for the rain water from the 
 church, where it now stands, to the disgrace as well 
 of those who originally placed it there, as of those 
 who still suffer it to continue in that situation. 
 Surely they, whose duty it is to preserve this relic> 
 might at a trifling expense remove it into the church. 
 From the style of the ornaments on it, this Font 
 may be placed about the middle of the Norman 
 period. The lead which originally lined it is now 
 gone. The dimensions are thus : 
 
 Feet Inches 
 
 Height above the ground - 2 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside -27 
 
 Ditto of the inside - - 1 10 
 
 Depth of the bowl - - 1 2 
 
 The church is altogether devoid of interest. 
 

 ~-C~ v 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
PAULER'S PURY, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 
 
 This very beautiful and singular Font is not later in 
 date than the last preceding subject. In the festoon 
 (if so it can be named) are the bead and nail head 
 ornaments. The whole is in tolerable preservation, 
 and has lately been carefully cleaned. It is, or 
 lately was (for we understand it has been in con- 
 templation to move it) situated on the south side of 
 the west end of the nave. The measurement is as 
 follows : 
 
 Height of the whole above the pavement 
 
 Ditto of the bowl 
 
 Depth of ditto 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 Ditto of the interior 
 
 Of this church, which contains some good screen 
 work, the chancel is by far the most interesting 
 part, having very rich graduated stalls and a double 
 piscina in the Perpendicular style. Under an arch 
 which divides the rectorial chancel from one be- 
 longing to the manor, is a tomb having recumbent 
 on it two figures carved in wood of a knight and his 
 wife. This latter chancel contains also some very 
 good Early English windows. 
 
 Feet 
 
 laches 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
GREENS NORTON, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 
 
 There is, most probably, no great difference between 
 the date of this and the Pauler's Pury Font. It 
 is very much choked by whitewash ; its situation is 
 at the east end of the south aisle against the wall ; 
 but this cannot have been its original station, as 
 there is a piscina close to it, consequently before the 
 Reformation there must have been an altar where 
 the Font now stands. The dimensions are thus : 
 
 Feet Inches 
 
 Height of the whole above the pavement - 3 
 
 Ditto of the bowl - - - 1 7 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside - 2 J 
 
 Ditto of the interior - - - 1 1 1 
 
 The church, as a building, has nothing of any great 
 interest about it, except some fine stained glass in 
 the north aisle windows. Within these few years 
 there was much more, but it came to a disgraceful, 
 though we are sorry to say, not an uncommon end, 
 namely, to be broken by the villagers. In the wall 
 of the north aisle are the remains of a large tomb, 
 and in the chancel are some fine brasses to the 
 memory of Sir Thomas Green and his wife. There 
 is also an alabaster tomb with two figures on it, 
 one a man in armour, the other a female. It is 
 much neglected, and consequently much decayed. 
 
^JSf^ 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
WANSFORD, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 
 
 It is most likely that by the leaden Font at Walms- 
 ford, Northamptonshire, which Mr. Gough speaks 
 of,* he by some mistake meant this, which is indeed 
 of stone, Barnack we believe. There is no place 
 named Walmsford, or any leaden Font in this county 
 that we are aware of; the date of this subject we 
 should think is about the middle of the twelfth 
 century. The scroll of foliage which runs round the 
 top is very usual in late Norman work, and also in 
 the commencement of the Early English style, as 
 will appear hereafter. Mr. Dibdin indeed, in his 
 Tour in France,f- gives an engraving from a MS. 
 Bible of the ninth century, in which this ornament 
 is used. There are eight arches round this Font, 
 six of which contain figures, the two remaining an 
 ornament of foliage, also of late Norman style. The 
 costume of the figures is much too rude safely to 
 hazard any conjecture as to date upon it. The two 
 figures to the left are possibly priests ; the two next 
 evidently combatants ; of the remaining two (neither 
 of which are shewn in the engraving) one is a female 
 the other a male, the latter mutilated ; the sculpture 
 is very rude, and has been both painted and white- 
 washed, but these disfiguring incumbrances are now 
 
 * Archaeol. vol. x. p. 187- t Vol. ii. p. 162. 
 
14 WANSFORD, NOUTHAMPTONSHIRK. 
 
 nearly removed. This Font formerly stood imme- 
 diately opposite the south door (which is the only 
 entrance to the church) but it is now placed in 
 the north wall of the church, about two feet from 
 the ground, so that half only of it is seen. Through 
 the kindness of the churchwarden it was removed 
 for the purpose of making the drawing for this 
 work. The measurement is thus : 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height - 
 
 - 1 
 
 10 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 - 2 
 
 6 
 
 Ditto of the interior 
 
 - 1 
 
 8 
 
 Depth of the howl 
 
 - 1 
 
 1 
 
 The church is very small, and is principally Early 
 English ; it is in good repair, but contains very 
 little work of interest. 
 

 
QSBOURNBY, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 This, as well as the preceding Font, maybe dated 
 about the middle of the twelfth century. The evi- 
 dent struggle in it between the octagon and the 
 circle, shews that we are approaching a change of 
 style. The top of the bowl is a very rude octagon, 
 and this shape is gradually converted into a circle 
 towards the bottom ; the base is entirely octagonal. 
 The whole subject is very rude, and the work on it 
 shallow and a good deal choked by yellow wash; 
 the top is much broken. At Ancaster, which, in a 
 direct line, is about eight or nine miles from this 
 place, is a circular Font, the ornamental part of 
 which is very similar to that of our present subject. 
 This Font is situated under the westernmost of the 
 north aisle arches. The dimensions are thus : 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height of the whole from the pavement 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 Ditto of the howl 
 
 - 1 
 
 6 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 Ditto of the interior 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 Depth of the bowl 
 
 - 
 
 11| 
 
 This church has some good Decorated work in it. 
 Nearly the w T hole of the old open seats are still in 
 existence ; they are perpendicular, very richly carved, 
 and scarcely two alike ; on some of them are carved 
 figures. Over some good screen-work between the 
 
16 
 
 OSBOURNBY, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 chancel and the nave, are the remains of the Rood- 
 loft, now enlarged by modern work and used as a 
 gallery : the original staircase is still in use. The 
 chancel contains some good Decorated stalls. 
 
BE1L1 
 
 ■ 
 
 
BELTON, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 In this singular Font the octagonal form is perfect; 
 it may therefore be placed late in the Norman 
 period. The observation which was made on the 
 costume of the figures on the Wansford Font, will 
 also apply to the costume of those on this. The 
 sculptures on this subject are as follows: On the 
 left hand side (shewn in the engraving) is an orna- 
 ment of some beauty, which has rather a tendency 
 to the Early English style ; it has been suggested by 
 a friend, that the figures on the two next sides (also 
 shewn in the engraving) represent the induction 
 and reading in of a priest; the next side has a figure 
 which has the appearance of a bishop, holding up 
 his hands, as though conferring a benediction ; then 
 follows another figure also not unlike a bishop ; next 
 to tins is some rude animal rampant, possibly a 
 horse with the tail of a lion ; on the two remaining 
 sides is sculptured what is most probably intended 
 to represent some long-forgotten legend; one side 
 contains a man with a sword in Iris hand, about 
 to cut off the head of a boy, who is fastened by his 
 neck by means of a rope to the capital of the 
 column which divides this side from the next ; the 
 end of this rope is held by a figure on the next 
 side; he is kneeling, and on his head is perched a 
 bird. All the figures are very rude, but the Font 
 
 D 
 
18 BELTON, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 is in good condition, and about five or six years 
 since was entirely freed from whitewash, when some 
 small decayed parts were restored. The lead 
 with which it is lined is new, and consequently there 
 is no hole in the bottom. It formerly stood at the 
 west end of the north aisle, but when cleaned, it 
 was moved to the east end of the same aisle, its 
 present situation. The dimensions are thus : 
 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height of the whole from the pav 
 
 ement 
 
 o 
 
 6 
 
 Ditto of the bowl 
 
 
 - 1 
 
 81 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 
 . o 
 
 ~i 
 
 Ditto of the interior 
 
 
 - 1 
 
 lOi 
 
 Depth of the bowl 
 
 
 - 1 
 
 1 
 
 The church in which this Font stands is small, and 
 has undergone much alteration ; there is a good 
 Decorated tower, and in the interior is some Norman 
 work. There are several modern monuments to 
 different individuals of the Brownlow family. 
 

 ■ . ■ ■ 
 
 
 
 
ASWARBY, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 With this Font our Norman series is brought to 
 a close ; it is a specimen of what may be called 
 transition work, the capitals Norman, so far as 
 relates to the abacus, but otherwise inclined to the 
 Early English style, and the bases more decidedly 
 so. In the church of the adjoining parish of Aunsby 
 is a Font of the same date, and very similar in 
 design, a circumstance upon which we have made 
 some observations in the preface. This Font is in 
 good preservation, though black washed. The cir- 
 cumstance of its being pushed partly off the upper 
 step, gives it a singular appearance ; when or how 
 this was done is not known, but that the whole 
 has been moved within the last century is evident, 
 as the steps are placed partly over two modern 
 tomb-stones; it now stands next to the western- 
 most arch of the north aisle. The fragment at the 
 foot of the lower step is not part of that or of the 
 upper one, as upon measuring it, it proved to be 
 part of a circle of a diameter less than the lower 
 step, but greater than the upper one. The dimen- 
 sions of this Font are as follows : 
 
 
 Feet Inches 
 
 Height of the bowl 
 
 - 2 1| 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 - 2 10| 
 
 Ditto, including the abacus 
 
 - 3 5| 
 
 Ditto of the interior 
 
 - 2 1| 
 
 Depth of the bowl 
 
 - 1 4 
 
20 ASWARBY, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 The church has a very good Decorated north aisle, 
 and the tower arch communicating with the body 
 of the church is still open, which has always a fine 
 effect. The south door is a very fine late Norman 
 one. The tower and spire are handsome, though of 
 plain Perpendicular work. 
 

 
 WALT 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
WALTHAM, LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 As our series of Norman Fonts was closed by a spe- 
 cimen of transition work, so we commence our 
 Early English series with a subject of the same kind, 
 but which, in its form and design, is totally different 
 from the last. The intersecting arches with the use 
 of the square abacus mark very strongly the Norman 
 style ; while on the other hand, the toothed or- 
 nament and character of the foliage are clearly Early 
 English ; and to these may perhaps be added the form, 
 namely, an octagonal bowl and shaft, which we do 
 not remember to have seen united in a pure Norman 
 Font. There is in the adjoining parish of Stonesby 
 a Font very similar in design to this, but of rather 
 earlier date. Our present subject is in fair preser- 
 vation, but very much choked by repeated coats 
 of yellow ochre : it is situated at the west end of the 
 south aisle. As the measurement below will prove, 
 this Font is rather small : 
 
 
 Feet Inches 
 
 Height, exclusive of the step 
 
 - 3 
 
 Ditto of the bowl 
 
 - 1 3 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 - 2fej 
 
 - 1 *8 
 
 Ditto of the interior 
 
 Depth of the bowl 
 
 - 1 
 
 Waltham church is in bad repair and does not 
 contain much worthy of notice. In the chancel are 
 
 E 
 
22 WALTHAM, LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 some very elaborate stalls of indifferent workmanship. 
 There are some good Decorated and Perpendicular 
 windows, and the capitals and bases of the piers of 
 the two aisles are good and very early specimens of 
 Early English work, of the same date as the Font. 
 

 Ingrave 
 
 
 
 
HELPRINGHAM, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 To what the rude sculpture on this mutilated Font 
 alludes, we are unable to say with any degree of 
 certainty ; it may possibly relate to a part of the 80th 
 Psalm. On the other side are shallow pointed arches, 
 in some of which runs the nail-head ornament. The 
 whole is in a very neglected and disgraceful state, 
 mottled with black and white paint and the inside 
 entirely filled with plaister ; the latter we have in 
 our annexed plate removed. This Font is situated 
 at the west end of the nave immediately opposite the 
 west door : these are its dimensions : 
 
 Feet Inches 
 
 Height of the whole above the pavement - 3 1£ 
 
 Ditto of the bowl - - - 1 6 J 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside - 2 St 
 
 Ditto of the inside - - -22 
 
 The church is a very fine specimen of Decorated 
 work, admirable both in design and execution. The 
 nave, aisles and tower are all of that style, and the 
 arches on which the tower (placed at the west end of 
 the church) stands, are particularly fine ; the same 
 may be said of the west door and of a plain but bold 
 canopy over the north door. The spire is of Per- 
 pendicular work. In the chancel, the sides of which 
 are Early English, are three very good Early English 
 stalls and a piscina of the same date. 
 
' 
 
 
 
 THORPE ARNOLD. 
 
 
 
THORPE ARNOLD, LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 We are inclined to think that the mis-shapen figures 
 on this Font, are intended to represent the combat 
 between St. Michael and the Great Dragon ; Rev. 
 chap. 12. On the other side are two crosses similar to 
 that shewn in the engraving of the Twyford Font, 
 with the addition of human heads in the centre. It 
 is placed under the western arch of the south aisle, 
 and the following are its dimensions : 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height, exclusive of the lower step 
 
 - 3 
 
 1 
 
 Ditto of the bowl 
 
 - 2 
 
 2 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 - 2 
 
 2i 
 
 2 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 - 1 
 
 9 
 
 Depth of the bowl 
 
 - 1 
 
 
 
 The church of Thorpe Arnold has in the south 
 aisle a piscina of rather singular design but no beauty. 
 The building generally, like most of the village 
 churches in the neighbourhood, is poor in execution. 
 

 
 burp 
 
 . ■ 
 
 
 
BURROW, LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 We have little to remark on this Font. If the 
 foliage which runs round the top be compared with 
 that on the top of the Wansford Font, it will be seen 
 that here the Norman style was yet lingering. The 
 use of the toothed ornament in so unprotected a 
 place as the edge of the base is singular ; although 
 taken altogether this Font is very handsome, yet the 
 sculpture is rude. Its situation is towards the west 
 end of the church under one of the north aisle 
 arches, and the following are its dimensions : 
 
 Feet Inches 
 
 Height - - - - . :j 5 
 
 Diameter (at the upper rim) from outside to outside 2 3 
 
 Ditto of the interior - - - - 1 9 
 
 Depth of the howl - - - - 1 
 
 There is no feature of the church worthy of 
 remark except a Decorated parapet to the tower : it 
 is placed upon a species of corbel, common in the 
 Early English and Decorated styles and which at a 
 little distance resembles a grotesque head; the 
 parapet itself consists of a series of ogee arches pierced 
 and with the ball flower running in them. In the 
 church are the effigies, in stone, of a knight and his 
 wife. 
 

 
 ■ 
 
 Enj^avedby Robert Roberts. 
 
 Twyfo: 
 
 Leicester; 
 
 
TWYFORD, LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 We remarked in our observations on the last subject, 
 that the use of the toothed ornament in so unpro- 
 tected a situation as the edge of the base, was 
 singular ; the same remark may be made on the use 
 of that ornament at the angle of this Font. The 
 only other instance in English architecture in which 
 we have seen an angle ornamented, is the tower of 
 Canon's Ashby church, Northamptonshire ; there the 
 ball flower is used. There may be other instances. 
 That corner of the Font which is not shewn in the 
 engraving, has on the greater part of it an ornament 
 of stiff foliage, similar to that which appears on the 
 stem of the Waltham Font. The cross is carved on 
 one side only, the other sides are plain. The situation 
 of this Font is under the western arch of the north 
 aisle. The dimensions are : 
 
 Height ... 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 Ditto of the inside - - 
 
 Depth of the bowl - 
 
 There is a good Perpendicular wooden roof to the 
 church, and the centre column of the north aisle has 
 a very fine capital partaking both of the Norman 
 and Early English styles ; though plainer, it is yet so 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 o 
 O 
 
 s 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 10 
 
30 TWYFOKD, LEICESTERSH1 U£. 
 
 very similar in its design to the fine capitals at 
 Oakham castle, from which Twyford is only ten 
 miles distant, that we attribute both to the same 
 artist. 
 

 
 AI 
 
ALL SAINTS, LEICESTER. 
 
 When we first saw this Font, the bowl, the upper 
 part of which is very deeply carved, was so completely 
 filled with repeated coats of white-wash over red 
 ochre, that it looked like a plain rude stone: it 
 amply repaid the labour of cleaning. The foliage on it 
 may easily be traced back to that on the Wansford 
 Font. The other parts of this Font are rude : its 
 situation is against the western column of the north 
 aisle. The measurement is as follows : 
 
 Feet Inches 
 
 Height, exclusive of the step - - 2 1 1 
 
 Ditto of the bowl - - - 1 4 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside - 2 9 
 
 Diameter of the inside - - - 2 1 
 
 Depth of the bowl - . 1 j 
 
 There are some parts of this church deserving of 
 notice ; the west door is Norman, and there are some 
 portions in the Early English style. The roofs of 
 the aisles, the pulpit and some of the doors (all Per- 
 pendicular work) are good specimens of carving in 
 wood. 
 

 
 - 
 
WESTON, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 The high relief given to the foliage on this Font, 
 together with its general design, incline us to 
 place its date in the reign of Henry the Third. 
 The absence of bases to the columns at first in- 
 duced us to believe that the Font had undergone 
 mutilation, but as the lower part of each column is very 
 neatly finished, and the subject is otherwise in good 
 preservation, we cannot positively assert that it is 
 imperfect. The material is Barnack stone. It is 
 situated at the west end of the nave. The dimen- 
 sions are thus : 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 o 
 
 9 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 This is a cross church ; the piers of the nave, the 
 clerestory windows (particularly on the south side) the 
 chancel and south porch, are all excellent examples 
 of the Early English style. The windows of the 
 north aisle are Decorated, but those of the transepts 
 and south aisle have lost their tracery. The tower is 
 of Perpendicular character, and, as is not unfrequently 
 the case in this part of Lincolnshire where the ground 
 is fenny, has settled very much on one side. 
 

 
 ■ 
 
 ■ -fEo'bertHrAwrLi. 
 
 IGHLAM. 
 
 
 
THRECKINGHAM, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 This Font is made of a red stone, in three pieces; 
 the bowl one, the portion between that and the base 
 the second and the base the third ; the two lower 
 stones are much more fresh and sharp than the bowl : 
 this fact, joined to the kind of letter used on the 
 base, shews that the two lower stones are not so old 
 as the upper one. As to the inscription, 
 
 With sharpen'd sight, pale antiquaries pore, 
 
 but we fear must pore in vain ; the following is a 
 representation of it : 
 
 m® n$>® 
 
 All our endeavours either to make it agree with 
 Dr. Stukeley's interpretation,* which is Ave Maria 
 gratia p. d. t., or to put any of our own upon it, 
 have been fruitless: those letters which are but 
 faintly indicated, are very much worn and the space 
 between the p. and d. is so smooth, that we cannot 
 say with certainty that any thing has ever existed 
 there. The relief of the letters is very bold, and 
 we should say that they are of the fifteenth century. 
 This Font is on the north side of the nave towards 
 
 * Itin. 1. p. 10. 
 
36 ■ THRECKINGHAM, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 the west end opposite the south door. The follow, 
 ing are its dimensions : 
 
 Feet Inches 
 
 Height, exclusive of the step - 2 Sh 
 
 Ditto of the bowl - - 1 2| 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 2 8j 
 
 Ditto of the inside - - - 2 3 
 
 Depth of the bowl - - - 1 Oi 
 
 Threckingham church is well worthy of ex- 
 amination. The chancel is as curious an instance of 
 two styles struggling with each other, as we ever 
 remember to have seen ; the exterior good Norman, 
 but with late details, the interior as good Early 
 English. It contains a piscina and closet apparently 
 of the same period. The north and south piers 
 and arches of the nave and the two lower stages of 
 the tower are good specimens of Early English work. 
 The north aisle windows are Decorated, and the upper 
 stage of the tower and the spire, are early and good 
 examples of the same style. The monuments and 
 screen work in the church should also be noticed. 
 

 ' 
 
 Engrawd'tyEobm Roberts. 
 
 A1IACI. 
 ■ 
 
 
BARNACK, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 
 
 This very handsome Font is of Barnack stone, a ma- 
 terial which was much used in buildings of early date 
 in the neighbourhood ; the quarries are now nearly 
 exhausted. Our present subject is in some places 
 much broken, but greater care is now taken of it ; 
 it has lately been entirely cleaned : its situation is in 
 the centre of the nave at the west end. The depth 
 of the bowl is considerable ; 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height, exclusive of the step 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 Ditto of the step 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 Ditto of the bowl 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Depth of the bowl 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 The lower part of the tower of Barnack church is 
 one of the few buildings which have been said to be 
 remaining specimens of Saxon architecture ; be this 
 as it may, we feel that this is not the place to enter 
 into the question, even if we had the ability and in- 
 clination to do so. The church is otherwise an 
 object of considerable interest : the south piers are 
 tine specimens of Early English work and those to 
 the north equally good Norman. In the chancel, 
 which is Decorated, are some excellent stalls and a 
 piscina in the same style. The south porch is a very 
 valuable specimen of Early English work of the same 
 
 G 
 
38 BAENACK, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 
 
 date as the Font. Other parts of the church with 
 the tombs in it deserve particular attention, and it 
 gives very great pleasure to know that so valuable a 
 building is under the protection of one possessing 
 such good taste as the present incumbent, by whose 
 means the thick coats of whitewash, which have 
 heretofore disgraced this, as they still do most other 
 churches, are now nearly removed. 
 

 ' 
 
 
 WEST BE 
 
 
WEST DEEPING, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 All our endeavours to ascertain to whom the various 
 coats of arms exhibited on the different shields of 
 this Font belong, have terminated in discovering 
 but four out of the eight ; and that we have been 
 enabled to do even so much, has been entirely owing 
 to the kind assistance rendered to us by Mr. 
 Willement, the author of " Regal Heraldry" and 
 Mr. Baker the historian of Northamptonshire. 
 
 Baldwin Wake, who lived in the reign of Henry 
 the Third, and to whose family West Deeping 
 belonged, married Ela daughter of William de 
 Beauchamp, and the Wakes subsequently inherited 
 considerable property from the alliance and quartered 
 the arms of Beauchamp ; the arms of Clare were also 
 quartered by them. In the first shield are the arms 
 of Wake, in the third the arms of Clare and in the 
 fourth those of Beauchamp, except that there ought 
 to be three crosslets below as well as above the fess ; 
 those in the seventh shield very closely resemble the 
 arms more anciently borne by the Beauchamps. Of 
 the arms on the other shields we can give no account. 
 As the style of the Font places its date about the 
 
40 WEST DEEPING, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 reign of Edward the First, it most, probably was 
 p-iven to the church by the Wake family, not long 
 after their intermarriage with the Beauchamps. It 
 is placed at the west end of the south aisle. The 
 dimensions are : 
 
 Height ... 
 
 Ditto of the bowl 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 Depth of the howl - - 
 
 The church has nothing deserving of very 
 particular notice ; there are some remains of carved 
 bench ends and in the nave are some Early English 
 piers and arches. The chancel is Decorated and the 
 tower and crocketed spire are Perpendicular. 
 
 eet 
 
 Inches 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 G 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 11 
 

 
 
 
 
SWAYTON, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 This Font, as an early specimen of Decorated work, 
 may be considered valuable ; it is in very excellent 
 preservation, except that on the eastern side, a por- 
 tion of the bowl has been cut away to make room 
 for one of the splendid Perpendicular open seats, 
 with which nearly the whole of the church is fitted 
 up. When we saw it in 1824, it was under the 
 westernmost of the north aisle arches, and was 
 coated with yellow ochre, but this disfiguring in- 
 cumbrance was, as we were told, soon to be removed. 
 The dimensions of the Font are thus : 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 Depth of the bowl 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 o 
 
 6 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 The church of Swayton is a cross church with a 
 tower at the intersection : the body and side aisles 
 Decorated and very admirable, particularly the west- 
 end where the centre window is very large. The 
 tower, which stands on four very fine Early English 
 arches and is groined at the second stage, has its 
 two lower stages Early English, the last Perpendi- 
 cular. The south transept is mutilated, but the 
 
 n 
 
42 SWAVTON, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 north transept has an excellent Decorated window 
 and* a very beautiful corbel for an image. The 
 chancel, at its sides, is a good specimen of Early 
 English work : the east window has two lights with 
 shafts, the bases of which terminate in corbels; 
 this window is transition work from Early English 
 to Decorated. 
 
 * Since the above remarks were written, we have again visited 
 Swayton, just in time to record the destruction of this fine corbel ; 
 it had, shortly before, been carelessly broken during the repairs 
 of the roof to this transept. 
 
" 
 
 
 I 
 
KNAITH, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 This very splendid Font is we think altogether the 
 handsomest we ever saw. The heads are admirably 
 executed and all vary in design ; in the deep hollow 
 under the bowl is the ball flower. Its situation is in 
 the middle of the chapel at the west end. The 
 whole is in good preservation and the following are 
 its dimensions : 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 The church or chapel is by modern alterations 
 rendered quite unworthy of the Font which it con- 
 tains ; the few remaining original features, viz. a 
 door and two windows, are coeval with the Font. 
 
■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 NOSE1L1EY CHA3PEL 
 Lei 
 
 
NOSELEY, LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 The chapel of Noseley was founded* by Sir 
 Anketine de Martival in the second year of Edward 
 the First, A.D. 1273, for a college or chantry; it 
 was further endowed by his son Roger de Martival 
 in the thirty-fourth year of Edward the First 
 A.D. 1306". On this last occasion, an agreement f - 
 was entered into between Roger de Martival and 
 Sim6n de Rothwelle rector of the parish church, 
 containing the privileges allowed to the chapel and 
 which were confirmed by Bishop d' Alderby. One of 
 these was, " Pueri nati infra manerium, de libera 
 familia domini, de fontibus capelle baptismum reci- 
 pient." We can hardly place the date of this Font 
 so high as the year 1306, but it was very probably 
 erected in the chapel about the year 1344, after 
 which time.j- there is no further mention made of 
 the parish church, the use of it having been wholly 
 superseded by the collegiate church. The modern 
 wooden base to this handsome Font was doubtless 
 intended as an addition to its beauty, but the attempt 
 has not been eminently successful. Its state is good 
 
 * Tanner's Not. Mon. 
 t Nicholls's Leicestersh. vol. ii. p. 7.31. % Ibid. 
 
46 NOSELEY, LEICESTERSHIRE. 
 
 and the work cut deep ; it is placed at the west end 
 of the chapel against the wall. The following are 
 its dimensions : 
 
 Feet Inches 
 
 Height (without the wooden base) -23 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside -26 
 
 Ditto of the inside - 2 
 
 Depth - - .13 
 
 The chapel of Noseley contains three very good 
 Early English stalls and a double piscina, which 
 are, not improbably, the work of Sir Anketine de 
 Martival. The windows, except the east and west 
 windows which are Perpendicular, are of plain Deco- 
 rated work ; the east window has some very fine 
 stained glass which is nearly concealed by ivy. 
 There are several monuments to the Haselrigge fa- 
 mily, which, with the oak roof and more particularly 
 the wooden stalls, deserve much attention. 
 

 
 . 
 
 
 . 
 
HECKINGTON, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 The form of this Font is not very common, viz. 
 hexagonal. The design and execution are extremely 
 good, but its beauty is much injured by the removal 
 of the figures which once filled the niches, as also by 
 the frequent coats of paint and plaister with which 
 it is covered.* It is placed in the centre of the nave 
 at the west end and is raised on three steps, but the 
 size of our plate gave room only for the two upper 
 ones. The measurement is thus : 
 
 , 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height 
 
 3 
 
 n 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 Ditto of the inside or bowl - 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 Depth 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 The whole of the very large and magnificent 
 church of Heckington is of the same date as the 
 Font, and we do not remember to have seen a finer 
 specimen of the style. To attempt a description of 
 
 * Such was the state of the Font in 1824: in September 1827 
 we again saw it, and were much gratified by seeing the paint and 
 plaister fast disappearing, through the good taste of the vicar. 
 
48 HECKINGTON, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 it here would be vain; but it may be as well to 
 observe, for the information of those who may be 
 searching for such antiquities, that in the chancel 
 are the most gorgeous stalls and piscina we ever 
 saw, together with a sepulchre and also the tomb 
 of an ecclesiastic, the work of which is of equally 
 fine character. From the whole of these the thick 
 coats of whitewash, by which they were formerly 
 covered and disfigured, are now removed. 
 
' 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 LE 
 
 
LECKHAMSTED, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 
 
 Knowing how frequently thpse who are very posi- 
 tive in their interpretation of our ancient sculpture 
 fall into great error, we offer our explanation of the 
 animal on this Font, with a branch in his mouth, 
 with diffidence. We can only suppose, as in the 
 Helpringham Font, that it may relate to a part of the 
 eightieth Psalm. To the two next figures we can give 
 names with greater confidence ; the one is St. Cathe- 
 rine with her wheel, the other, the Virgin and 
 Child. The church is dedicated to St. Mary.* One 
 of the sides has the nail head ornament. The heads 
 of the figures, which are in very high relief, are 
 defaced ; but the Font otherwise is in good condi- 
 tion, save that the usual display of a churchwardens' 
 taste has been made upon it, by painting the bowl 
 bright blue. Its situation is under the westernmost 
 arch of the north aisle and its dimensions are, 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 Deptli 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Four Norman pointed arches (with rather sin- 
 
 * Ecton's Thesaurus, p. 213, Br. Willis's edition. 
 
 I 
 
50 LECKHAMSTED, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 
 
 gular drip-stones) upon large square piers divide the 
 nave and north aisle of Leckhamsted church. 
 Under the pulpit is a stone effigy of a knight in 
 armour. There is on the south side a very good 
 Norman door, and one in the same style, or early in 
 the next, on the north side. 
 

 
 
ST. MARY MAGDALEN, OXFORD. 
 
 
 Edward the Third, in the eleventh year of his reign, 
 A. D. 1337, renewed the south aisle of this church, 
 which still remains. The Font is nearly of the same 
 date. The shafts below the bases to the torus mould- 
 ing at each angle are fluted, which is not usual in 
 work so early. The execution is very good and the 
 tracery cut very deep, which, united to the beauty 
 of the design, renders the whole very handsome. It 
 stands under the westernmost arch of the south aisle. 
 The size is rather considerable : 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 
 
 H* 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 2 
 
 °5 
 
 Depth 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 The aisle above-mentioned is the handsomest 
 portion of the church which has other Decorated 
 parts about it. There is in the interior a good 
 Norman arch now blocked up ; and in the vestry is 
 a chest, the centre compartment of the front of 
 which is Decorated; the two divisions on each 
 side are later work. 
 
 * Wood's Ancient and Present State of Oxford, by Peshall. 
 

 ' 
 
 ■ 
 
 ■oTnsliire. 
 
 ZoaJm Rdlffy SeirtvnujrivwrXt.Z3.0ld£.: 
 
HORBLING, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 Th e stem of this Font has, we think, at some period 
 undergone alteration ; its sides are not placed 
 parallel with those of the bowl and the two torus 
 mouldings which run down it have no kind of finish 
 to them. Shields, having on them the instruments of 
 the Crucifixion, form a frequent ornament to Fonts. 
 There are here eight shields; on the first is the 
 cross ; on the second (the first of our plate) the 
 scourges ; on the third, the nails ; on the fourth, the 
 hammer and pincers ; on the fifth, the crown of 
 thorns ; on the sixth, the coat or shirt ; the seventh, 
 placed against a column and therefore not visible ; 
 on the eighth, a spear and some other weapon. The 
 lining of lead is gone. It stands under the western- 
 most arch of the north aisle and the following are 
 
 its dimensions : 
 
 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 
 
 5r 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 1 
 
 Hr 
 
 Depth 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 This is a cross church with the tower at the 
 intersection. The north aisle and north transept 
 are good specimens of Decorated work, the latter 
 
56" HORBLING, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 having in it a very rich corbel. The north aisle and 
 two of the south aisle arches are good Early Eng- 
 lish work, the remaining two Decorated. The west 
 end has some Norman remains and a fine Perpen- 
 dicular window. Two of the arches on which the 
 tower stands are Norman, and the two others Deco- 
 rated ; its upper stage is Early English. Some parts 
 of the chancel are Norman, of which the piscina 
 should be noticed as a Norman piscina is not very 
 commonly seen. 
 

 
 
 . 
 
HAYDOR, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 This and the following subject contain strong indi- 
 cations, in the form of some of the tracery, of the 
 change which was then in progress from the Deco- 
 rated to the Perpendicular style. It is in good pre- 
 servation, though white-washed, and is placed under 
 the second arch from the west end of the north aisle. 
 The following are its dimensions : 
 
 
 Feet 
 
 Inches 
 
 Height 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Depth 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 Except a good Norman door in the interior of 
 the tower, the church is almost entirely of Decorated 
 work, and good. Nearly all the windows in the 
 south and north aisles contain stained glass; but 
 two in the north aisle are almost filled with some 
 which is exceedingly good. 
 
' 
 
 v_ 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
CARLTON SCROOPE, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 The ingenuity here displayed in changing the form 
 of the Font from a square to an octagon, gives it a 
 very singular appearance. It is in tolerable preser- 
 vation and but indifferently executed. It stands 
 under the westernmost of the south aisle arches 
 and the dimensions are thus : the depth is unusu- 
 ally great : 
 
 
 Feet Inches 
 
 Height 
 
 3 3 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 11 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 2 1 
 
 Depth 
 
 1 44 
 
 The church has not much to attract notice. The 
 lower part of the tower is Norman, and has a large, 
 plain, bold arch of that style opening into the nave. 
 The east window of the chancel is a good specimen 
 of the Decorated style, and has in its head some fine 
 stained glass. 
 

 s 
 
 -Z?s ^ 
 
Perpei 
 
 :■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 7 F. Simp son J«o 
 
 
 rid£eshire 
 
 
OVER, CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 
 
 This Font, the design of which is eminently beau- 
 tiful, has been much injured and we fear wantonly, 
 the angels under the bowl and the niches in the 
 shaft having been, to all appearance purposely, mu- 
 tilated; one side is entirely plain. The whole is 
 painted white. Its situation is at the west end of 
 the nave near the westernmost arch of the north 
 aisle, and its dimensions are, 
 
 Feet. Inches. 
 
 Height exclusive of the step . 3 83 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside . 2 5 
 
 Ditto of the inside . .19 
 
 Depth of the bowl . .10 
 
 The nave of Over Church has some corbels, 
 which support the roof, of peculiar beauty ; they 
 consist of figures in niches. The north and south 
 aisles are very good specimens of Decorated work, 
 the tower and spire are in the same style ; the 
 chancel is of Perpendicular character. Under the 
 tower arch are the remains of a very magnificent 
 wooden screen, choked with whitewash. The south 
 porch is Decorated, and has great beauty both in 
 its design and execution. 
 

 
 ■ ■ 
 
 T ROOTY CHIDI- 
 
 Hull 
 
 
TRINITY CHURCH, HULL, YORKSHIRE. 
 
 This is a Font of great beauty, and is, as we have 
 observed in the preface, the latest specimen we have 
 seen of a Font placed on five legs ; the design is 
 altogether unusual for the period when the Font 
 was executed. The small clustered columns have 
 no capitals, but there is no appearance of any muti- 
 lation having been committed. It is in a good state 
 of preservation, and is placed in the middle of the 
 west end of the nave. The dimensions are, 
 
 Feet. Inches. 
 
 Height exclusive of the steps . 3 6 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 3 4 
 
 Ditto of the inside . .26 
 
 The church is almost entirely in the Perpendicular 
 English style, and the interior from its proportions 
 is very light and handsome. At the east end are 
 some windows of Decorated character, but late in 
 the style. 
 
Perpendicular English Fonts 
 
 fftrT 
 
 
 
 
 KERNE „ 
 Kent . 
 
 V-JI !.<-',< 
 
HERNE, KENT. 
 
 We have again to thank Mr. Willement for the 
 assistance he has given us in ascertaining to whom 
 
 the arms on this Font belong. 
 
 The first shield has the arms of Henry IV. ; 
 the second those of Holowe ; the third Saxton ; the 
 fourth Pelham ; the fifth Leveryke ; the sixth Hall ; 
 the seventh the see of Canterbury impaling the arms 
 of Archbishop Arundel ; and the eighth, the Em- 
 blems of the Passion. By means of these arms we 
 are enabled to fix with accuracy the date of the 
 Font. Arundel was Archbishop of Canterbury from 
 1396 to 1414; Richard II. was deposed in 1399, 
 and his successor Henry IV. died in 1413 ; the Font 
 therefore must have been made between those two 
 periods. The Halls about the same time acquired 
 by marriage the Manor of Hawe in Heme ;* there 
 were also Leverykes settled in Heme, but whether 
 so early as the date of this Font we cannot ascer- 
 tain.-f We do not find that the families of Holowe, 
 
 * Hasted's Hist, of Kent, vol. Lx. p. 86, Svo. edition, 
 t Ibid. p. 92 and 203. 
 
66 HERNE, KENT. 
 
 Saxton or Pelham, had any connection with Heme. 
 This Font has been a good deal injured ; and at the 
 time we made our drawing, in 1826, was covered 
 with a thick coat of whitewash, which has since 
 been removed. We have in our representation re- 
 stored some of the mutilated mouldings. It stands 
 in the centre of the nave at the west end, and its 
 dimensions are, 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Height 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 
 
 9| 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
 Depth of the bowl 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 The church is a much larger and finer building 
 than the villages of this county generally possess ; 
 the tower is a very good specimen of Decorated 
 work, and the arches on which it stands are very 
 handsome : we wish the same good taste which has 
 been exercised in cleaning the Font, would cause 
 these fine arches to undergo the same discipline. 
 The remainder of the church is chiefly in the Deco- 
 rated style ; but there are some handsome Perpen- 
 dicular windows, and the east window is a curious 
 mixture of that and the preceding style. 
 
1 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 E MAGMA 
 
 i . r 
 
 
GREAT HALE, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 We do not remember to have seen a Font similar 
 to this in design ; when the niches contained figures 
 it must have been very handsome. On the upper 
 part of the south side is the commencement, in 
 rough outline only, of that species of ornament which 
 may be seen in the same place in the Broughton 
 and Bourn Fonts. When we saw it in 1824 it was 
 painted red and blue, but its condition was otherwise 
 good, and we learned that it was soon to be cleaned. 
 It is in the centre of the nave at the west end, and 
 its dimensions are, 
 
 Feet. Inches. 
 
 Height exclusive of the step . 3 8 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 2 6f 
 
 Ditto of the inside . . 1 9| 
 
 Depth of the howl . .10 
 
 The exterior of the north aisle of this church, 
 together with the south porch, are good specimens 
 of Decorated work ; the south aisle windows are 
 early in that style, and the north and south aisle 
 arches are Early English. The tower is Norman, 
 with miserable pinnacles of late work. The chancel 
 has long been destroyed. 
 
■ -iicular English 
 
 
 
 EngYavc! i 
 
 3 TEE. , 
 
 Northamptonst 
 
 " 
 
TOWCESTER, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 
 
 Mutilated as this subject is, yet there is suf- 
 ficient left 
 
 " The richness to declare in glorie whilst it was." 
 
 The bowl, designed with much less taste than the 
 stem, has suffered the least injury of the two. Its 
 situation is under the westernmost but one of the 
 south aisle arches. The dimensions are, 
 
 
 Feet. Inches. 
 
 Height . 
 
 3 5 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 5 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 1 7 
 
 Depth of the howl 
 
 11| 
 
 This church is chiefly of Perpendicular work, 
 parts of the chancel are in the Early English and 
 Decorated styles, and there are some few remains of 
 good wooden screen work. 
 
 M 
 
I 
 
 ■ 
 
 ■ 
 
 ST MAIRYS , 
 
 
ST. MARY, NOTTINGHAM. 
 
 This Font is well executed and in good preserva- 
 tion. The inscription is, 
 
 NI'*ON- 'ANCyMHMA- MH'- MOWN' "OWN. 
 
 " Cleanse your sin not your face only." This in- 
 scription may be read either backwards or forwards, 
 a conceit not uncommon, for the same may be found 
 on the Font in Sandbach church Cheshire, and on 
 that at Harlow in Essex. This Font was a few 
 years since moved from the centre of the west end 
 of the nave to its present station under one of the 
 south aisle arches, the third from the west end of 
 the nave. The dimensions are, 
 
 Feet. Inches. 
 
 Height exclusive of the step . 4 2 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 2 9 
 
 Ditto of the inside . . Ill 
 
 Depth of the bowl . .12 
 
 The church of St. Mary is a large cross church 
 entirely of Perpendicular work, very good both in 
 design and execution, except the tower which is 
 heavy. The west front has suffered very materially 
 by some barbarous modern repairs, though it is but 
 just to say that the later repairs have been con- 
 ducted with great care and attention. There are 
 some fine Perpendicular tombs. 
 
 M 
 
 
 
I 
 
 
 3 BITE 
 
 
FOSDYKE, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 The base of this Font is concealed by the floor of 
 the pew in which it stands ; it is, as well as the very 
 handsome cover over it, in a good state of preser- 
 vation : We presume the sculpture in the centre 
 pannel of the Font to be intended for a representa- 
 tion of St. Michael and the great dragon Rev. 
 
 chap. 12. The dimensions of this Font are, 
 
 
 Feet. Inches. 
 
 Height . 
 
 3 6 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 9 
 
 Ditto of the inside 
 
 1 10 
 
 The church is modern. 
 
Perpei 
 
 .. . 
 
 
 
 hire . 
 
 ■ 
 
BROUGHTON, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 
 
 This is a Font of considerable beauty, and not very 
 common design ; it is in fair preservation, and is 
 placed at tbe west end of the nave. The dimen- 
 sions are thus, 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Height 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 
 
 2 
 
 4h 
 
 Depth of the bowl 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 The north door of Broughton church is deeply 
 groined, and is of late Early English or early De- 
 corated work. The south door is Norman ; and the 
 tower, spire and chancel, are in the Decorated 
 style. 
 

 ■P> 
 
 Bfit 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
BOURN, LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 This Font is very plain, but the design as a plain 
 one is good. The inscription, which occupies 
 seven sides of the Font, is, 
 
 &up. ome nom. 5* pf, &. est nom. qtjc* 
 
 The eighth side is against a column, and quite plain. 
 It is in good condition, but covered with a thick 
 coat of whitewash : it stands under the western- 
 most of the south aisle arches. The following are 
 its dimensions, 
 
 Feet. Inches. 
 
 Height . . . .39 
 
 Diarneter from outside to outside 2 6 
 
 Ditto of the iuside . .19 
 
 Depth of the bowl . . 1 OJ 
 
 The west front of Bourn church displays some fine 
 remains of Early English work, with insertions made 
 during the Perpendicular period ; it deserves very 
 attentive examination on account of the alterations 
 which it has undergone. The north and south 
 aisles have plain Norman arches. 
 
 N 
 

 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
ST. MARY, BEVERLEY, YORKSHIRE. 
 
 This very splendid Font has its history in the in- 
 scription round the top : 
 
 " ilrag for Mjc sottles of ©HgUm #err>ffa.rc ttrape* 
 " anU f)fs lupins tuincije mafce tin's dfont of ins pptr 
 " testes t\)t x Uag of piarrije f>t gere of our ILorlr 
 
 It is free from whitewash, and its condition is good, 
 except that an inscription in the spandrels is so 
 nearly obliterated as to be illegible, and the shields 
 under the bowl have been defaced. It stands at 
 the west end of the north aisle, and its dimensions 
 are, 
 
 Feet. Inches. 
 
 Height, exclusive of the steps 3 8 
 
 Diameter from outside to outside 3 10 
 
 Ditto of the inside . .32 
 
 Depth of the bowl . .12 
 
 This is a handsome cross church, having at the 
 east end some very fine Decorated windows, the 
 mouldings of which are extremely good. At the 
 west end there is some excellent Perpendicular 
 work. 
 
ADDENDA. 
 
 Belton, p. 17. — We have, since our plate of this 
 Font was published, received another explanation of 
 the figure ringing the bells, viz. that it alludes to 
 the name of the place— Bell Town. 
 
 Helpringham, p. 23.— The plaster has been re- 
 moved from the inside of this Font ; but although 
 not now mottled with black and white paint, it is 
 yet painted as gay a yellow marble as the village 
 painter could devise. 
 
 All Saints, Leicester, p. 33. — We should have 
 observed that the stem of this Font is clearly of a 
 different date from the bowl. 
 
DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER 
 
 FOR THE ORDER OF THE PLATES. 
 
 1. Luton Baptistery, opposite 
 
 the Title page. 
 
 2. Lincoln Cathedral. 
 
 3. Deeping, St. James. 
 
 4. St. Martin's, Canterbury. 
 
 5. Sapcote. 
 
 6. Pauler's Pury. 
 
 7. Green's Norton. 
 
 8. Wansford. 
 
 9. Osbournby. 
 
 10. Belton. 
 
 11. Aswarby. 
 
 12. Waltham on the Wolds. 
 
 13. Helpringham. 
 
 14. Thorpe Arnold. 
 
 15. Burrow. 
 
 16. Twyr'ord. 
 
 17. All Saints, Leicester. 
 
 18. Weston. 
 
 19. Threckingham. 
 
 20. Barnack. 
 
 21. West Deeping. 
 
 22. Swayton. 
 
 23. Knaith. 
 
 24. Noseley. 
 
 25. Heckington. 
 
 26. Leckhamsted. 
 
 27. St. Mary Magdalen, Oxford, 
 
 28. Horbling. 
 
 29. Haydor. 
 
 30. Carlton Scroope. 
 
 31. Over. 
 
 32. Hull. 
 
 33. Heme. 
 
 34. Great Hale. 
 
 35. Towcester. 
 
 36. St. Mary, Nottingham. 
 
 37. Fosdyke. 
 
 38. Broughton. 
 
 39. Bourn. 
 
 40. Beverley. 
 
 Pace 3, line 7— from the bottom, for " trifolium," read '* tiiforium."— p. 39 line 6— from the bottom 
 for " fourth," read " fifth. " 
 
 FINIS. 
 
Thomas White, Printer, 
 Johnson's Court* 
 
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