Brookland
Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
Results: 44 records
B1R01: symbol - zodiacal signs - Aquarius (zodiacal sign of January)
B1R02: symbol - zodiacal signs - Pisces (zodiacal sign of February)
B1R03: symbol - zodiacal signs - Aries (zodical sign of March)
B1R04: symbol - zodiacal signs - Taurus (zodiacal sign of April)
B1R05: symbol - zodiacal signs - Gemini (zodiacal sign of May)
B1R06: symbol - zodiacal signs - Cancer (zodiacal sign of June)
B1R07: symbol - zodiacal signs - Leo (zodiacal sign of July)
B1R08: symbol - zodiacal signs - Virgo (zodiacal sign of August)
B1R09: symbol - zodiacal signs - Libra (zodiacal sign of September)
B1R10: symbol - zodiacal signs - Scorpio (zodiacal sign of October)
B1R11: symbol - zodiacal signs - Sagittarius (zodiacal sign of November)
B1R12: symbol - zodiacal signs - Capricorn (zodiacal sign of December)
B2R01: nature - labours of the months - January - two-faced Janus? - man with drinking horn - sitting at a table
B2R02: nature - labours of the months - February - man sitting on stool and warming his feet
B2R03: nature - labours of the months - March - man pruning a plant
B2R04: nature - labours of the months - April - woman holding two plants
B2R05: nature - labours of the months - May - hunter - on horseback - with hawk
B2R06: nature - labours of the months - June - man working with scythe
B2R07: nature - labours of the months - July - man working with rake - wearing hat
B2R08: nature - labours of the months - August - man harvesting with sickle
B2R09: nature - labours of the months - September - man threshing sheaf with a flail
B2R10: nature - labours of the months - October - man with bunch of grapes - standing by vat - treading grapes - wine making
B2R11: nature - labours of the months - November - hooded man with raised cane - quadruped to the right - swineherd feeding pig?
B2R12: nature - labours of the months - December - man slaughtering pig
BBU01: New Testament - Passion of Christ - Crucifixion?
BBU02: New Testament - Passion of Christ - Crucifixion?
view of font - south side
view of font in context
view of basin - southwest side
design element - motifs - moulding
design element - motifs - rope moulding - parallel - 2
design element - motifs - sawtooth
view of basin - detail
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Julian P Guffogg, 2011
Image Source: digital photograph taken 1 October 2011 by Julian P Guffogg [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2627030] [accessed 26 August 2013]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-3.0
view of basin - detail
view of basin - detail
view of church exterior - south view
view of church exterior - west tower
view of church exterior - southeast view
Scene Description: notice the detached wooden bell tower
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Julian P Guffogg, 2011
Image Source: digital photograph taken 21 May 2011 by Julian P Guffogg [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2419161] [accessed 26 August 2013]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-3.0
view of font in context
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Julian P Guffogg, 2011
Image Source: digital photograph taken 1 October 2011 by Julian P Guffogg [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2627026] [accessed 26 August 2013]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-3.0
view of church interior - nave - looking east
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Julian P Guffogg, 2011
Image Source: digital photograph taken 21 May 2011 by Julian P Guffogg [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2419173] [accessed 26 August 2013]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-3.0
view of church interior - painting
Scene Description: [cf. ChurchNotes]
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Mark Collins, 2005
Image Source: digital photograph taken 21 July 2005 by Mark Collins [http://www.roughwood.net/ChurchAlbum/Kent/Brookland/BrooklandStAugustine2005.htm] [accessed 13 February 2010]
Copyright Instructions: Standing permission
view of iconographic program (related work)
view of iconographic program (related work)
INFORMATION
Font ID: 00213BRO
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Date Visited: 1998-07-22
Font Date: ca. 1200? [Zarnecki]
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th century [stone base 12th - 13th century] [composite font], Norman
Workshop/Group/Artisan: lead font
Cognate Fonts: the font at Saint-Évroult-de-Montfort, in Orne, France [cf. FontNotes below] -- an English font with the labours of the months at Burnham Deepdale
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Augustine
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Augustine of Hippo
Church Notes: church originally ca.1250 -- The Roughwood British Churches Album [www.roughwood.net/ChurchAlbum/Kent/Brookland/BrooklandStAugustine2005.htm] [accessed 13 February 2010] notes: "During repairs to the south wall in 1969, fragments of a 13th century wall painting were discovered which depict the martyrdom of St Thomas of Canterbury. The painting makes interesting comparison with the one at St Peter's Church, Preston in Brighton, East Sussex." -- for photo essay see http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/UK/Britain_South_and_West/Romney%20Marshes/St_Augustine_Brookland/St_Augustine.htm [accessed 26 August 2013]
Church Address: High Street, Brookland, Kent, TN299QR
Site Location: Kent, South East, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located on the A259, in the northern part of the Walland Marsh, 8 km W of New Romney, about 30 kms SE of Ashford.
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Canterbury
Historical Region: Hundred of Aloesbridge
Additional Comments: The bowl is moulded lead and has a central drain. It is dated to c. 1150 and probably the work of a Flemish artisan. At the top the ornament is of two lines of cable and one of tooth pattern. The upper tier of arcading contains the signs of the zodiac, the lower the occupations of the months. The design of signs and occupations are believed to have been taken from early psalters. The months are named in French names. The stone base and step is 12th or 13th century. The lead patches welded by the hinges of the cover are probably 13th century. Web site with photos of the font: http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/UK/Britain_South_and_West/Romney%20Marshes/St_Augustine_Brookland/St_Augustine.htm [accessed 25 November 2008]
Font Notes:
Click to view
No entry for Brookland found in the Domesday survey. Gough (1792) notes the Brookland lead font as "supposed to be of high antiquity [...], may have relation to the time of Birinus himself." [NB: St. Birinus, probably of Frank origin, preached Christianity in Mercia and Wessex, the latter serving as his see until his death in 649 -- Gough's dating is way off the mark]. Listed in Paley (1844) as a "leaden font". Described and illustrated in Nesbitt (1849). Noted in Hussey (1852), with reference to the earlier entry in the Archaeological Journal V entry. Illustrated with an engraving in Smith (1861). Described and illustrated in Glynne (1877) with reference to the 1849 issue of the Archaeological Journal, and to Archaeologia Cantiana (vol. VI: 87). Listed in Cox (1875). In Andre (1882) with Norman dating. Described in Romilly Allen (1883-1884, and 1888) as "a leaden font with the names of the signs of the Zodiac and of the months inscribed", with reference to the font at St-Evroult de Montfort. Described and illustrated in Lethaby (1893), who praises the rendering of the figures: "there is a great deal of character, appropriateness, and grace, in their gesture". In Fryer (1900). In Livett (1905): "the details of the ornamentation of the bowl point distinctly to a Norman date, before rather than after the middle of the twelfth century". Described in Cox & Harvey (1907): "The highly remarkable leaden font of Brookland, Kent, has figures symbolical of the months, as well as the signs of the Zodiac and other designs; it is fully described and illustrated in the Archaeological Journal for 1849." [NB: Guilford (1927), among others, notes a set of stones with the months of the year topic at Calverton St. Wilfrid's, in Nottinghamshire]. Tyrrell-Green (1928) gives a detailed listing of the images with the corresponding months and the associated Zodiac symbols. The 'labours of the months' program on this font is studied and catalogued in detail in Webster (1970 c1938) who states that this font "is of the late twelfth, possibly early thirteenth, century". Stone (1955) notes on the decoration: "These signs and months are taken from calendars attached to psalters for liturgical purposes, and there can be little doubt that this is the source for the iconography of this font.." Stone (Ibid.) further notes that some of the French names of the months (e.g., VITOVVRE) denote "the Norman-French form of the twelfth century. This, and the presence of an almost identical font from the same workshop at Saint-Évroult-de-Montfort, in Normandy, make it doubtful on which side of the Channel the Brookland font was actually cast." Described in Betjeman (1958) as "one of the show-pieces of the Romney Marsh." On-site notes: the basin is moulded lead and has a central drain; it is dated to c.1150 and probably the work of a Flemish artisan. At the top of the basin sides there are two lines of cable moulding and one of tooth pattern; below it, the upper tier of arcading contains the signs of the Zodiac; the lower one has the labours of the months. The months are named in French ["Iuillet, Aust, Setembre, Vitovre"...]. The stone base and step are of the 12th or 13th century. Clayton (1929) describes the scenes depicted in the labours of the months thus: March: a man pruning a vine; April: a figure holding a branch or flower in each hand (referring to the Rogationtide procession); May: a knight hawking; June: a man mowing with a scythe; July: a man apparently raking hay; August: a man reaping with a sickle; September: a man threshing with a flail; October: a man standing in a vat holding a bunch of grapes; November: a swineherd beating down acorns for the pig beneath; December: a man felling an animal with an axe; January: a two-faced Janus sitting at a table with a drinking horn; February: a man warming himself at a fire. The scenes are listed in Anderson (1955: 188), who points out that "the agricultural programme varies according to local climatic conditions", among other reasons for the different choice of matter and depiction of the Labours of the months [e.g.: she notes that the English sheep-shearing image is not shown in this font whereas vine tending is -- March/Aries]. Described and illustrated in Zarnecki (1957) who dates the font to ca. 1200; he adds that the "impressions on the mould were made carelessly and there are large gaps between the designs of each block. The plaques with the Resurrection of Christ on the rim were added in the thirteenth century". Jenkins (1999) refers that "a local legend holds that Brookland's [font] was stolen from a Normandy church by Romney raiders." Drake (2003) informs that Latin is used for the Signs of the Zodiac, whereas Norman French is used for the Labours of the Month. Several of the above sources note that March is captioned wrongly as CAPRICORNVS instead of ARIES, even though it displays the correct sign of the ram.
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Mark Collins, of www.roughwood.net, for his photograph of the mural painting inside the church (on the south wall); we are also grateful to Tim Marlow for his photos of this font
COORDINATES
UTM: 31U 347992 5651737
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 50.997107, 0.833737
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 50° 59′ 49.58″ N, 0° 50′ 1.45″ E
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material: metal, lead
Font Shape: cylindrical, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
Drainage System: centre hole in basin & base
Rim Thickness: 2-2.5 cm
Diameter (inside rim): 57-59 cm [55 cm*]
Diameter (includes rim): 60-63 cm
Basin Depth: 35 cm
Height of Basin Side: 40 cm
Basin Total Height: 40 cm [27.5 cm**]
Height of Base: 40 cm
Basin Upper Panel Dimensions: [ 35 x 18.75 cm*]
Font Height (less Plinth): 75 cm
Font Height (with Plinth): 86 cm
Notes on Measurements: BSI -- *[measurements in inches in Livett (1905)] -- ** [Lethaby (1893) writes: "very small, only 11 inches high"]
INSCRIPTION
Inscription Language: Latin & Norman French
Inscription Location: On the arches above the figures
Inscription Text: "JANVIER - FEVRIER - MARS - AVRIL - MAI - JVIN - JVILLET - AOVT - SETEMBRE - VITOVVRE - NOVEMBRE - DECEMBRE -- -- AQVARIVS - PISCES - CAPRICORNVS [instead of ARIES] - TAVRVS - GEMINI - CANCER - LEO - VIRGO - LIBRA - SCORPIO - SAGITARVS - CAPRICORNVS"
Inscription Notes: Latin for the Signs of the Zodiac, Norman French for the names of the months [an error in the month of March, which captions CAPRICORNVS for ARIES] -- The spelling varies depending on the transcribing source
Inscription Source: Drake (2003: 347-348)
REFERENCES
- "Les siècles romans en Basse-Normandie", Printemps 1985, 92, Art de Basse-Normandie, 1985
- Allen, J. Romilly, "Notes on Early Christian Symbolism", N.S., VI, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1884, pp. 380-464; p. 432
- Allen, J. Romilly, "On the Antiquity of Fonts in Great Britain", XLIV, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 1888, pp. 164-173; p. 169
- Anderson, M.D., The Imagery of British churches, London: John Murray, 1955, p. 188 app. 2 and fn
- André, J. Lewis, "Leaden Fonts in Sussex", 32, Surrey Archaeological Collections, relating to the history and antiquities of the county, 1882
- Betjeman, John, An American's Guide to English Parish Churches (including the Isle of Man), New York: McDowell, Obolensky, 1958, p. 210
- Bloxam, Matthew Holbeche, The Principles of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture, with an explanation of technical terms […], London: W. Kent, 1859, p. 366
- Bond, Francis, Fonts and Font Covers, London: Waterstone, 1985 c1908, p. 37, 79, 87, 189 and ill. on p. 80
- Clapham, Alfred William, English Romanesque Architecture after the Conquest, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1934, p. 156
- Clayton, Brian C., "English Church Fonts of Ornamental Lead Work", X, no. 57, Apollo: a Journal of the Arts, 1929, pp. 133-138; p. 133-138
- Cox, John Charles, 1875-1877
- Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907, p. 164, 177, 203, 204
- Davies, J.G., The Architectural Setting of Baptism, London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1962, p. 78
- Drake, Colin Stuart, "Romanesque Fonts in Kent: the French Connections", CXXIII, 2003, Archaeologia Cantiana, 2003, pp. 333-352; p. 346-348 and pl. VIII
- Friar, Stephen, The Sutton Companion to Churches, Thrupp, Stroud (Gloucs.): Sutton Publishing, 2003, p. 203
- Glynne, Steven Richard, Sir, Notes on the churches of Kent, London: John Murray, 1877, p. 265 and fn, and ill. on p. 264
- 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. 187
- Guilford, Everard Leaver, Nottinghamshire, London: Methuen, 1927, p. 69
- 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, p. 42
- Hutton, Graham, English Parish Churches, London: Thames & Hudson, 1976, p. 39 and pl. 43
- Jenkins, Simon, England's Thousand Best Churches, London and New York: Allen Lane, the Penguin Press, 1999 [2000 rev. printing], p. 308
- Lethaby, William Richard, Leadwork, old and ornamental, and for the most part English [...] with illustrations, London; New York: Macmillan & co., 1893, p. 54-57, 62, 64, figs. 27, 28
- Livett, G.M., "The Leaden Font at Brookland", 27 (1905), Archaeologia Cantiana, 1905, pp. 255-261; p. 255-261
- Nesbitt, Alexander, "Description of a curious leaden font in the church of Brookland, Kent", VI, Archaeological Journal, 1849, pp. 159-164; p. 159ff
- Newman, John, North East and East Kent, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1976, p. 46-47
- Newman, John, West Kent and the Weald, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1980, p. 46-47, 194
- Nordström, Folke, Mediaeval Baptismal Fonts: An Iconographical Study, Stockholm: Universitetet i Umeå, 1984, p. 73
- Paley, Frederick Apthorp, Illustrations of Baptismal Fonts, London, UK: John van Voorst, 1844, p. 24
- Smith, [?], "Some observations on the leaden font of Brookland", IV, Archaeologia Cantiana, 1861, pp. 87; p. 87
- Stone, Lawrence, Sculpture in Britain: the Middle Ages, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1955, p. 89 and pl. 66B
- Torrens Alzu, Miguel A., "Pilas plúmbeas II: los trabajos de los meses y los signos del zodíaco en las pilas románicas de plomo de Brookland y Saint-Évroult-de-Montfort", 6 (Junio 2008), Románico: revista de arte de Amigos del Románico, 2008, pp. 32-41; 32ff
- Tyrrell-Green, E., Baptismal Fonts Classified and Illustrated, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge: The Macmillan Co., 1928, p. 69, 70, 144, 146
- Webster, James Carson, The Labors of the months in antique and medieval art to the end of the twelfth century, New York: AMS Press, 1970 c1938, p. 89-91, 170 and fig. 90, pl. LVI
- Zarnecki, George, English Romanesque Lead Sculpture: Lead Fonts of the Twelfth Century, London: A. Tiranti, 1957, p. 17-19, 26, 37, 39, 40 and figs. 56, 59, 60, 65, 68, 69, 70