Minstead / Menestede / Mintestede

There is an entry for Minstead [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SU2811/minstead/] [accessed 15 February 2015], but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. The font here is listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as Norman, ornamented with figured sculpture. Two photographs of this font, taken by Henry Taunt, 1908, can be found the Centre for Oxfordshire Studies [source: http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk with references HT10931 and HT10932]. The Victoria County History (Hampshire, vol. 4, 1911) notes: "The first mention of a church in Minstead is in 1272 [...] the font belongs to the latter part of the 12th century [...] The font stands in front of the pulpit and has a square Purbeck marble bowl with four restored angle shafts, stem and base. On its west face is our Lord's Baptism, on the east an Agnus Dei, on the north a lion with two bodies and a single head, and on the south two eagles having what may be a conventional tree between them. The surface is a good deal damaged, as the font has been buried in a garden." Tyrrell-Green (1928) describes it as an early baptismal bowl cast out to the parsonage stable but later recoverd and restored to its "sacred use". Historic England [Listing NGR: SU2593709486] (1959) dates to ca. 1200. Nordström (1984) mentions a representation of the Baptism of Christ on this font, which is also identified by Jenkins (2000), who adds that "the font appears to be pre-Norman". An illustration in Tisdall (1998) shows a badly worn side of the basin; the caption reads: "A double headed eagle, a dove? and a Tree of Life? Two symbols of the Holy Spirit". Betjeman (1958) notes an Agnus Dei on the side of the basin. The Rev. Peter Murphy, Rector of the three parishes in the New Forest [of which Minstead is part] described the font in a BBC interview [www.bbc.co.uk/southampton/features/newforest/for[...]]: "At Minstead we have a Saxon font. To keep it safe it was buried for more than 200 years in the Vicarage garden, then discovered after the Reformation, by an Abbott who was digging the shrub bed when his spade struck the edge. You can see where the damage has been repaired. The font was returned to the church in 1893." Described and illustrated in the CRSBI (2015): The faces of the font have been variously identied. The W is identified as Christ with the Cross and two assistant figures by Pevsner and Lloyd, and Our Lord’s baptism by VCH. For the S, Pevsner has stylized eagles, while VCH has two eagles having what may be a conventional tree between them. Both are agreed the the N face is carved with two lions with one head, and that the E has an Agnus Dei. Pevsner and Lloyd note that the position of the font in front of the pulpit was more usual in pre-Tractarian times (i.e. before the 1830s) than now. They date the font to the late 12thc as does VCH, while EH prefers c.1200. [...] The bowl is carved in relief on all four faces, but is set so close to the pulpit that the E face is difficult to see and all but impossible to photograph." The font, which is of the Romanesque table-top type, consists of a quadrangular basin [the CRSBi gives the measurements as 65 x 66 cm] basin with carved sides; the north side has a bi-corporal lion; the south side has a tree between two birds; the east side has a quadruped with staff and banner, likely an Agnus Dei; the west side has the figure of Christ holding a processional cross (?) in his right hand, a book in the left, while his body is covered from the waist down by the traditional representation of the waters of the Jordan; he is accompanied by two figures; the one on the right is in profile, wearing a cape or mantle (?) and raising an object towards Christ's head; the figure on the left is a winged angel; despite the crudeness and erosion of the carving, the combination is likely to represent the baptism of Christ in the Jordan; the base consists of a central shaft and four outer columns, and the square combination lower base-plinth usually found in this type of font; all the components of the base are modern replacements. No font cover present. Noted in Leach (1975) as a font made of Purbeck marble: "bowl with the Baptism of Christ, the Agnus Dei, a lion with two bodies and two eagles flanking a conventional tree on its respective faces; lower parts of central stem and subsidiary shafts restored" [source given: G.C. Dunning]
A 3-D model of this font made by squeakingcat may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/minstead-font-lion-carvings-f005767293de433aa28a49b16311b341] [accessed 25 July 2025]; its caption reads: "North face of font carved with lions in All Saints Church, Minstead, New Forest, Hampshire. The font was found in the early 1800s by the church gardener while digging the shrubbery. It was returned to the church on a new pedestal in 1893. The font is shaped from Purbeck marble and has four faces each decorated differently. The lions are carved in profile and both share a head. The font has been arged to date Saxon, late 11th century, circa 1200 or late 12th century."
Another 3-D model of this font made by Kenneth Lymer may be seen in Sketchfab [https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/minstead-font-raptor-carvings-6cfd1c18c8ad492ca8d4305a2071e692] [accessed 25 July 2025]; its caption reads: "Detail of the raptor carvings on the south face of the font in All Saints Church, Minstead, New Forest, Hampshire. The font was found in the early 1800s by the church gardener while digging the shrubbery. It was returned to the church on a new pedestal in 1893. The font is shaped from Purbeck marble and has four faces each decorated differently. The left raptor has 2 heads and could be the 2-headed eagle motif. The font has been argued to date either Saxon, late 11th century, circa 1200 or late 12th century."