Coleshill nr. Birmingham / Coleshelle
Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
Results: 32 records
B01: New Testament - Passion of Christ - Crucifixion - Mary - John the Evangelist - Sun - Moon
Scene Description: in a beaded-tape circle; East side of the font
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 July 1998 by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
B02: cleric - monk - with fleur-de-lis or keys - St. Peter - ?
Scene Description: Tonsured figure carved on south-west side. He holds a fleur-de-lys or a key.
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 July 1998 by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
B03: Apostle or saint - Apostles - St. Paul?
Scene Description: No features indicate this is St.Paul, other than he is the other patron saint of the church, along with St.Peter.
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 July 1998 by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
B04: cleric - priest
Scene Description: North-west side of font.
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 July 1998 by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
B05: human figure - female - holding ointment jar
Scene Description: The figure has long hair or braids. (St. Mary Magdalene?)
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 July 1998 by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
B06: symbol - tree - Tree of life?
Scene Description: in one of the arches of the basin side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 July 1998 by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
view of font
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 July 1998 by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
view of font
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © David Taylor, 2006
Image Source: digital photograph 2006 by David Taylor
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 13 March 2006)
view of font
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © David Taylor, 2006
Image Source: digital photograph 2006 by David Taylor
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 13 March 2006)
view of font - east side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image of a B&W photograph in Bond (1908)
Copyright Instructions: PD
view of font - west side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image of a B&W photograph in Bond (1908)
Copyright Instructions: PD
view of font
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image of an illustration in Tyrrell-Green (1928: fig. 33)
Copyright Instructions: PD
view of font - southwest side - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Timothy Marlow, 2014
Image Source: photograph taken 25 May 1985 by Tim Marlow
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (letter of 26 October 2013)
design element - architectural - arcade - round arches - columns with capitals and bases
Scene Description: all around except on the side that has the Crucifixion scene
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Timothy Marlow, 2014
Image Source: photograph taken 25 May 1985 by Tim Marlow
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (letter of 26 October 2013)
view of font - east side - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Timothy Marlow, 2014
Image Source: photograph taken 25 May 1985 by Tim Marlow
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (letter of 26 October 2013)
view of font - southwest side - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Timothy Marlow, 2014
Image Source: photograph taken 25 May 1985 by Tim Marlow
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (letter of 26 October 2013)
view of font - west side - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Timothy Marlow, 2014
Image Source: photograph taken 25 May 1985 by Tim Marlow
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (letter of 26 October 2013)
view of basin - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image of an engraving in Parker (1850)
Copyright Instructions: PD
view of basin - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image of an engraving in Parker (1850)
Copyright Instructions: PD
view of basin - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image of an engraving in Parker (1850)
Copyright Instructions: PD
view of church exterior - south view
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Mark Walton, 2007
Image Source: digital photograph taken 6 April 2007 by Mark Walton [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/391007] [accessed 1 November 2014]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0
view of base
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 July 1998 by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
design element - motifs - moulding - graded
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 July 1998 by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
view of basin - detail
Scene Description: the Crucifixion scene
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © David Taylor, 2006
Image Source: digital photograph 2006 by David Taylor
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 13 March 2006)
view of font - north side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, 2014
Image Source: B&W photograph taken by Harry Bodenham; in the CRSBI [www.crsbi.ac.uk/site/1370/] [accessed 1 November 2014]
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
view of font - west side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, 2014
Image Source: B&W photograph taken by Harry Bodenham; in the CRSBI [www.crsbi.ac.uk/site/1370/] [accessed 1 November 2014]
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
view of font - south side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, 2014
Image Source: B&W photograph taken by Harry Bodenham; in the CRSBI [www.crsbi.ac.uk/site/1370/] [accessed 1 November 2014]
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
view of font - east side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, 2014
Image Source: B&W photograph taken by Harry Bodenham; in the CRSBI [www.crsbi.ac.uk/site/1370/] [accessed 1 November 2014]
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
view of font - west side - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, 2014
Image Source: B&W photograph taken by Harry Bodenham; in the CRSBI [www.crsbi.ac.uk/site/1370/] [accessed 1 November 2014]
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
view of font - north side - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, 2014
Image Source: B&W photograph taken by Harry Bodenham; in the CRSBI [www.crsbi.ac.uk/site/1370/] [accessed 1 November 2014]
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
view of font - northwest side - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, 2014
Image Source: B&W photograph taken by Harry Bodenham; in the CRSBI [www.crsbi.ac.uk/site/1370/] [accessed 1 November 2014]
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
view of font - south side - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, 2014
Image Source: B&W photograph taken by Harry Bodenham; in the CRSBI [www.crsbi.ac.uk/site/1370/] [accessed 1 November 2014]
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
INFORMATION
Font ID: 00104COL
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Date Visited: 1998-07-26
Font Date: ca. 1150-1160?
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th century, Norman
Workshop/Group/Artisan: Caen stone worksop?
Church / Chapel Name: Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
Font Location in Church: Inside the church, in the W end of the nave
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Peter & St. Paul
Church Address: Church Hill, Coleshill, West Midlands, B46 3AD
Site Location: Warwickshire, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located 18 km E of Birmingham, 30 km NW of Warwick
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Birmingham
Historical Region: Hundred of Coleshill
Additional Comments: disappeared font? (the one from the Domesday-time church here)
Font Notes:
Click to view
There is an entry for this Coleshill [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SP1989/coleshill/] [accessed 1 November 2014], and it reports one priest in it. The present font here is noted in Gough (1792): "round on a round shaft, and adorned with a relief of the Crucifixion". In Paley (1844). Lewis' Dictionary of 1848 notes: "an ancient Norman font, with an effigy of St. Peter, and a representation of the Crucifixion rudely sculptured on it." The east side of the font, showing the Crucifixion scene, is illustrated in an undated drawing by Henry E.L. Dryden, in the Sir Henry Dryden Collection, Northamptonshire. Illustrated in Parker's Glossary (1850), "a very curious and remarkable example" of Norman font, with date ca. 1150. Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as "one of the most beautiful late Norman fonts in the Midlands". Described and illustrated in Bond (1908): cylindrical, tub-like font, with graceful, delicate and symmetrical scroll-work of Gothic design; semi-circular arches rest on scalloped capitals and contain figures and ornamentation alternatively; larger Crucifixion scene within a circle on the east face of the bowl. Plain, short stem and base, both circular; the font is dated by Bond (ibid.) towards the late-12th or early-13th century. Described and illustrated in Tyrrell-Green (1928), who mentions a scene of the Crucifixion on it. The Victoria County History (Warwick, vol. 4, 1947) notes: "The ancient parish of Coleshill included the villages of Lea Marston, Over Whitacre, and Nether Whitacre, whose churches were chapels to Coleshill. Domesday records a priest, and it would seem that the advowson went with the lordship until at least 1259 [...] The building was very drastically restored in 1868–9 and much of the evidence of its historical development was lost. [...] The font is of mid- to late-12th-century date. The bowl is cylindrical and its side is carved with panels. The widest, towards the east, contains the Crucifixion; a large ring pierced with small holes or dots surrounds our Lord and crosses over the lower parts of the figures of our Lady and St. John. The other nine panels are narrow and are divided by pilasters with scalloped capitals supporting semicircular arches. Four of them contain low-relief carved standing figures of nimbed saints, apparently ecclesiastics. One holds an object probably a book and two others have short flowered staves resembling sceptres. The other five alternate panels are filled with scrolled foliage, and there is some foliage in the sides of the Crucifixion panel. The stem has a moulded top member of the 14th century. The base is hollow-chamfered and changes to octagonal plan in the lower half." Described and illustrated in Zarnecki (1957). Davidson (1985) suggests the four Evagelists are represented here. Described and illustrated in the CRSBI (2014), where no identification of the figures outside of the Crucifixion scene is attempted. On-site notes: inner basin well is lined with lead; the outside of the basin has a series of round arches in an arcade; the figures are interrupted by elaborate scroll-acanthus motifs (tree of life?); the central panel depicts the Crucifixion, the figure in the south-west panel is tonsured, beardless and holding a key (?), St. Peter (the identity of this figure may be wrong, as 'the key' looks a lot like a fleur-de-lis); the other figure is believed to be St. Paul, the second patron saint of the church; the northwestern panel contains a cleric, while the figure in the north arcade is a long haired female holding an ointment jar and therefore is probably St. Mary Magdalene.
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to David Taylor and Timothy Marlow for their photographs of this font
COORDINATES
UTM: 30U 587905 5817337
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 52.499077, -1.705052
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 52° 29′ 56.68″ N, 1° 42′ 18.19″ W
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material: stone, Caen stone?
Number of Pieces: two?
Font Shape: cylindrical, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
Drainage System: centre hole in basin & base
Drainage Notes: lead-lined
Rim Thickness: 10-12 cm*
Diameter (inside rim): 59-61 cm*
Diameter (includes rim): 81-83 cm*
Basin Depth: 40 cm*
Height of Basin Side: 64 cm*
Basin Total Height: 68 cm*
Height of Base: 60 cm*
Font Height (less Plinth): 128 cm*
Notes on Measurements: * BSI on-site
REFERENCES
- Victoria County History [online], University of London, 1993-. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk.
- Allen, J. Romilly, "Notes on Early Christian Symbolism", N.S., VI, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1884, pp. 380-464; p. 420fn2
- Bond, Francis, Fonts and Font Covers, London: Waterstone, 1985 c1908, p. 149, 151, 155, 157, 165, 206 and ill. on p. 163
- Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland. URL: http://www.crsbi.ac.uk.
- Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907, p. 223-224
- Crossley, Frederick Herbert, English Church Craftsmanship: an Introduction to the Work of the Mediaval Period and Some Account of Later Developments, London: B.T. Batsford, 1941, p. 16
- Davidson, Clifford, The Early Art of Coventry, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick and Lesser Sites in Warwickshire: a Subject list of Extand and LOst Art Including Items Relevant to Early Drama, Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval Institute Publications, Western Michigan University, 1985, p. 127, 149
- Davies, J.G., The Architectural Setting of Baptism, London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1962, p. 84
- Friar, Stephen, The Sutton Companion to Churches, Thrupp, Stroud (Gloucs.): Sutton Publishing, 2003, p. 202
- Gough, Richard, "Description of the old font in the Church of East Meon, Hampshire, 1789: with some observations on fonts", X, Archaeologia, 1792, pp. 183-209; p. 189
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England, Comprising the Several Counties, Cities, Boroughs, Corporate and Market Towns, Parishes, Chapelries, and Townships, and the Islands of Guernsy, Jersey, and Man, with Historical and Statistical Descriptions [...], London: S. Lewis, 1831, [www.british-history.ec.uk/report.asp?compid=50889] [accessed 24 January 2007]
- Paley, Frederick Apthorp, Illustrations of Baptismal Fonts, London, UK: John van Voorst, 1844, p. 14 et al.
- Parker, John Henry, A Glossary of Terms used in Grecian, Roman, Italian and Gothic Architecture, Oxford: J. H. Parker, 1850, vol. 1, pl. 8, 89
- Tyack, George Smith, Lore and legend of the English Church, London: W. Andrews, 1899, p. 156
- Tyrrell-Green, E., Baptismal Fonts Classified and Illustrated, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge: The Macmillan Co., 1928, p. 60 and fig. 33
- Zarnecki, George, English Romanesque Lead Sculpture: Lead Fonts of the Twelfth Century, London: A. Tiranti, 1957, p. 13, 14, 34 and fig. 38