Brighton / Bristelmestune / Brighthelmeston / Brighthelmestone / Brighthelmstone / Brighthelmston

Results: 30 records

Click to view images and/or subjects

B01: New Testament - public life of Christ - baptism of Christ

Scene Description: on the south side of the basin -- scene contained in an arcade: Christ in the centre, John to the right, and the angel to the left. Notice Christ's likeness: short 'imperial' beard, as pointed out in Tyrrell-Green (1928)

Image Source: BSI - Photographed July 1998

B02: New Testament - Passion of Christ - Last Supper

Scene Description: on the east side of the basin -- notice Christ's likeness: short 'imperial' beard, as pointed out in Tyrrell-Green (1928)

Image Source: BSI - Photographed July 1998

B03: Apostle or saint - St. Nicholas - story of the Devil desguised as a woman on a ship of pilgrims

Scene Description: on the west side of the basin -- the devil, disguised as religious woman appears to a shipload of pilgrims offering one of the sailors a box supposed to contain Holy Oil but which is in reality oil intended for the destruction of the Church. Bishop Nicholas appears, confusing the devil and orders the sailor to cast the oil into the sea where it promptly catches fire

Image Source: BSI - Photographed July 1998

B04: Apostle or saint - St. Nicholas - story of the innkeeper of Myra

Scene Description: on the north side of the basin - legend of the innkeeper of Myra confessing to the murder of three boys [NB: Hannah (1886) notes that this scene "may possibly represent the ordinance of marriage"]

Image Source: BSI - Photographed July 1998

BBL01: design element - motifs - foliage

Scene Description: a band of, around part of the lower basin side

Image Source: BSI - Photographed July 1998

BBL02: design element - motifs - floral - flower

Scene Description: several of them, on the lower basin side, under the Baptism of Christ scene

Image Source: BSI - Photographed July 1998

BBU01: design element - patterns - diaper

Scene Description: a band of, all around the upper basin side

Image Source: BSI - Photographed July 1998

view of basin - detail

Scene Description: Legend of St. Nicholas and the Devil desguised as a woman in a ship

Image Source: detail of an engraving in The Antiquarian Repertory (1807-1809)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - detail

Scene Description: Baptism of Christ

Image Source: detail of an engraving in The Antiquarian Repertory (1807-1809)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - detail

Scene Description: Last Supper

Image Source: detail of an engraving in The Antiquarian Repertory (1807-1809)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - detail

Scene Description: Legend of St. Nicholas and the innkeeper

Image Source: detail of an engraving in The Antiquarian Repertory (1807-1809)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - detail

Scene Description: photograph taken in Novenber 2007, after the renovations inside the temple and the cleaning of the font

Image Source: detail of a digital photograph taken 14 November 2007 by Holly Hayes, Sacred Destinations [www.sacred-destinations.com]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

view of basin - detail

Scene Description: photograph taken in Novenber 2007, after the renovations inside the temple and the cleaning of the font

Image Source: detail of a digital photograph taken 14 November 2007 by Holly Hayes, Sacred Destinations [www.sacred-destinations.com]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

view of basin - detail

Scene Description: photograph taken in Novenber 2007, after the renovations inside the temple and the cleaning of the font

Image Source: detail of a digital photograph taken 14 November 2007 by Holly Hayes, Sacred Destinations [www.sacred-destinations.com]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

view of basin - detail

Image Source: B&W photograph in Stone (1955)

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

view of basin - east side

Image Source: original drawing in Hannah (1886)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - north side

Image Source: original drawing in Hannah (1886)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - south side

Image Source: original drawing in Hannah (1886)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - south side

Image Source: engraving in Rouse (1825)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - upper view

Image Source: detail of an engraving in The Antiquarian Repertory (1807-1809)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - west side

Image Source: original drawing in Hannah (1886)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font

Image Source: digital image of an illustration in Bond (1908)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font

Image Source: digital image of an illustration in Bond (1908)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font - north, east and west sides

Image Source: engraving in Rouse (1825)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font - projection

Scene Description: showing the 18th-century inscription now erased

Image Source: engraving in Hussey (1852)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font and cover

Image Source: BSI - Photographed July 1998

view of font and cover in context

Scene Description: photograph taken in Novenber 2007, after the renovations inside the temple and the cleaning of the font

Image Source: digital photograph taken 14 November 2007 by Holly Hayes, Sacred Destinations [www.sacred-destinations.com]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

view of font and iconographic program

Image Source: engraving in The Antiquarian Repertory (1807-1809)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of iconographic program

Image Source: detail of an engraving in The Antiquarian Repertory (1807-1809)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of iconographic program

Image Source: detail of an engraving in The Antiquarian Repertory (1807-1809)

Copyright Instructions: PD

INFORMATION

FontID: 00192BRI

Church/Chapel: Parish Church of St. Nicholas

Church Patron Saints: St. Nicholas of Myra

Church Location: Dyke Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 3LJ

Country Name: England

Location: East Sussex, South East

Directions to Site: Located at Dyke Rd. and Church Rd.,

Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Chichester

Historical Region: Borough of Brighton -- Rape of Lewes -- Sussex

Font Location in Church: Inside the church, in the SW side of the nave, just to the left of the S door. Until its restoration 1853 the font had stood in the extreme western end

Date: ca. 1170 [altered]

Century and Period: 12th century (late?) [altered], Medieval [altered]

Cognate Fonts: The font at Winchester Cathedral includes another legend related to St. Nicholas of Myra

Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Holly Hayes, of Sacred Destinations [www.sacred-destinations.com] for her photographs of this font taken in November 2007, after the renovation of the church interior and the cleaning of the font

Church Notes: St. Nicholas is the only medieval church in Brighton proper. Most of its other churches are 19thC, except the Chapel Royal late 18thC) and St. Winifred (20thC)

Font Notes: Click to view font notes

Noted in Gough (1792) as a baptismal font "somewhat similar in shape" to the one at Hempsted, Gloucestershire. The Antiquarian Repertory (1807-1809), which provides an engraving of the iconographic program on the font sides, notes: "The font here delineated is undoubtedly of great antiquity, the figures and ship, in stile, greatly resembling those on the font at the Cathedral at Winchester, universally allowed to be of Saxon workmanship." [NB: as with the font of Winchester, the author is way off the mark on the origin and the date of the font, and fails to identify the scene related to the legend of St. Nicholas of Myra]. Described and illustrated in Rouse (1825), who notes: "This Font is said to have been brought to England by William the Conqueror; and a singular evidence in favour of this opinion is, that part of the border surrounding it, is the same pattern as that on Gundred's tomb". Described and illustrated in Hussey (1862): "The font is curious on account of the carving round it, but has suffered from the craving after immortality of some former churchwardens" [NB: Hussey refers to the engraving added to the font in 1745 with the names of H. Stanbridg and W. Buckoll, the two churchwardens who had their thirst for immortality forced upon the stone of the font -- the inscription was later removed, but Hussey's illustration of the font from ca. 1852 still shows it for posterity]. Described and illustrated in Hannah (1886), Vicar of Brighton, in a paper read to the The British Archaeological Society on 19 August 1885, with reference to Simpson [cf. supra]. Hannah (ibid.) offers the suggestion that the scene on the north side of the basin, elsewhere identified as the story of the inn-keeper in the legend of St. Nicholas of Myra, "may possibly represent the ordinance of marriage". Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as "a remarkable fine example" of the tub-shaped baptismal fonts of the Norman period in this county. Scenes on the basin sides of this font include a Lord's Supper showing only six Apostles; Christ wears a cruciferous nimbus and has moustache and beard; His left hand is on the loaf, the right hand blesses the cup; the Apostles wear cowls, have moustaches and four have beards; the legend of St. Nicholas follows with goddess Diana, dressed as a nun, is seen in the ship holding high up the vase of the fiery oil; next is the scene of the Baptism of Christ (Bond, 1908) and (Cox&Harvey, 1907). Until the restoration of the Church in 1853, the font had a circular bench around it providing additional seating in the church. Pevsner describes it as "the best piece of Norman carving in Sussex" (in Whiteman, 1998). Tyrrell-Green (1928) points out the "Our Lord's features differ from the conventional likeness in that He has no full beard, but a bare chin with a small beard of the 'imperial' type. He is depicted in the act of consecration, the left hand resting upon a flat loaf on the table, and the right hand raised over a chalice in the act of benediction". The Victoria County History (Sussex, vol. 7, 1940) notes: "A church is mentioned in 1086, when it belonged to the manor held by William de Wateville [...] The font is of exceptional interest. [...] It is of tub form, in Caen stone, and is obviously of foreign origin. It is apparently of early-12th-century date, and is covered with sculpture arranged in three bands. The upper and lower of these are narrow strips of conventional ornament, but the wide central section has figure sculpture, in markedly Byzantine style, arranged in four panels. Two of these represent the Baptism of Christ and the Last Supper, a third is a maritime adventure of St. Nicholas, and the fourth may also be an unidentified incident in the life of this saint. The sculpture was partly recut in 1745 at the instigation of two churchwardens, whose names, cut, with the date, into the base of the font, have since been erased." In Stone (1955 with date ca. 1150-1160. Described and ilustrated in Künstler (1973). On-site notes: this font is carved from a solid block of what appears to be Caen stone, the inner well of the basin lined with lead, and with a central drain. There are four scenes on the font, moving from left to right: Baptism of Christ, The Last Supper and two scenes from the legend of St. Nicolas. Described and illustrated in The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland [www.crsbi.ac.uk/ed/sx/brigh/index.htm] where it is noted that "the font was partly recut in 1745 at the instigation of two churchwardens whose names were cut into the base of the tub, together with the date. That inscription has since been removed" [cf. Hussey supra]. The CRSBI entry (ibid.) states that the font's "highly distinctive style is diffficult to parellel elsewhere", which has given base to all kind of speculations about its origin, and suggests that "an identification of the stone from which this font is carved may help determine its provenance" [NB: this is probably the original font -mentioned in Carte (1792) from the medieval town of Brighthelmstone burnt by French pirates in 1533; the church of St. Nicholas survived]

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 50.825358, -0.144853

Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 50° 49′ 31.29″ N, 0° 8′ 41.47″ W

UTM: 30U 701079 5634290

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, Caen stone?

Number of Pieces: one

Font Shape: tub-shaped

Basin Interior Shape: round

Basin Exterior Shape: round

Drainage Notes: lead lined basin well

Rim Thickness: 11-13 cm

Diameter (inside rim): 56 cm *[57 cm]

Diameter (includes rim): 81-82 cm

Basin Depth: 33 cm

Height of Basin Side: 61.5 cm *[60 cm]

Height of Base: 44 cm (2-parts)

Font Height (less Plinth): 105 cm

Font Height (with Plinth): 15 cm (single step) 120 cm *[118 cm]

Notes on Measurements: BSI on-site -- *[CRSBI (2008)]

INSCRIPTION

Inscription Language: English

Inscription Notes: the inscription, added ca. 1745, was erased sometime after 1852

Inscription Location: was around the lower side of the basin

Inscription Text: "H Stanbridg W Bucknoll. C.Wardens 1745"

Inscription Source: Hussey (1852)

LID INFORMATION

Date: 19th century / Victorian

Material: wood, oak?

Apparatus: yes; pulley

Notes: lower part is octagonal with vertical sides; upper part is an octagonal pyramid; all of it profusely carved and ornamented

REFERENCES

Antiquarian repertory: a miscellaneous assemblage of topography, history, biography, customs, and manners, intended to illustrate and preserve sevral valuable remains of old times, London: Printed and published for E. Jeffery, 1807-1809

Romanesque Art in Europe, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1973

Victoria County History [online], University of London, 1993-. Accessed: 2012-12-06 00:00:00. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk.

Bond, Francis, Fonts and Font Covers, London: Waterstone, 1985 c1908

Carte, Samuel, "Three letters from Mr. Samuel Carte to Dr. Ducarel, and one to Sir Thomas Cave, concerning fonts [or, Mr. Carte's Observations on ancient fonts]", X, Archaeologia, 1792, pp. 208-225; r["References"]

Clapham, Alfred William, English Romanesque Architecture after the Conquest, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1934

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. Accessed: 2006-07-19 00:00:00. URL: http://www.crsbi.ac.uk.

Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907

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

Davies, J.G., The Architectural Setting of Baptism, London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1962

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; r["References"]

Hannah, D. D. [Vicar of Brighton], "On the Church of St. Nicholas and its ancient font, with illustrations from other fonts of similar antiquity", XLII, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 1886, pp. 26-34; r["References"]

Harrison, Frederick, Notes on Sussex churches, Hove: Combridges, 1920

Hussey, Arthur, Notes on the churches in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey mentioned in Domesday Book and those of more recent date [...], London: John Russell Smith, 1852

Rouse, James, The Beauties and antiquities of the County of Sussex: forming a general illustration on one hundred and forty-nine spirited views from original drawings […], London: J.F. Setchel, 1825

Stone, Lawrence, Sculpture in Britain: the Middle Ages, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1955

Tyrrell-Green, E., Baptismal Fonts Classified and Illustrated, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge: The Macmillan Co., 1928

Whiteman, Ken, Ancient Churches of Suffolk, Seaford, East Sussex: S.B. Publications, 1998