East Meon No. 1 / East Menes / Eastmeon / Estmeane / Estmene / Estmeone / Estmune / Estmunes / Mene / Meonis / Moene

Results: 40 records

Click to view images and/or subjects

B01: Old Testament - Genesis from the creation to the expulsion from paradise, and later years of Adam and Eve - Creation of Adam

Scene Description: on the north side of the basin

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 21 June 1998 by BSI

B02: Old Testament - Genesis from the creation to the expulsion from paradise, and later years of Adam and Eve - Creation of Eve - Eve emerges from Adam's body

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 21 June 1998 by BSI

B03: Old Testament - Genesis from the creation to the expulsion from paradise, and later years of Adam and Eve - Temptation and Fall - Adam, Eve and the Serpent

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 21 June 1998 by BSI

B04: Old Testament - Genesis from the creation to the expulsion from paradise, and later years of Adam and Eve - Temptation and Fall: Adam and Eve in paradise (after the Fall) (Genesis 3:8-21)

Scene Description: on the east side of the basin

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 21 June 1998 by BSI

B05: Old Testament - Genesis from the creation to the expulsion from paradise, and later years of Adam and Eve - labours of Adam and Eve

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 21 June 1998 by BSI

B06: design element - architectural - building

Scene Description: Supposedly the Gate of Paradise, from which Adam and Eve are being expelled

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 21 June 1998 by BSI

B07: design element - architectural - arcade - blind - round arches - columns - double columns with capitals and bases - columns with torsade pattern ornamentation

Scene Description: the arcade of 16 arches (8 per side) occupies the lower half of the south and west faces of the basin; seen here is the west side

Image Source: digital photograph taken 3 April 2016 by Michael Garlick [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4892672] [accessed 2 October 2016]

Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

animal - bird - dove - drinking from chalice - 2

Scene Description: in two of the spandrels

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 21 June 1998 by BSI

animal - bird - dove - facing each other - 2 - attacked by dogs

Scene Description: two doves, facing each other across a plant or tree, are attacked by two wild dog, one from each angle; on the south face of the font, upper side

Image Source: Ronse (1929: fig. 17)

Copyright Instructions: PD

animal - fabulous animal or monster - dragon - 4

Scene Description: all four winged, but only two hace long coiled tails; very Norman-looking; on the west side of the font, above the arcade

Image Source: digital photograph taken 3 April 2016 by Michael Garlick [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4892672] [accessed 2 October 2016]

Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

design element - motifs - vine - acanthus or grapevine - bearing fruit

Scene Description: all around the round edge of the well

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 21 June 1998 by BSI

design element - patterns - diaper - nested - dot insert

Scene Description: all around, between the carved animal freeze above and the arcade below

Image Source: digital photograph taken 3 April 2016 by Michael Garlick [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4892672] [accessed 2 October 2016]

Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

design element - patterns - wave - palmettes

Scene Description: on the south side of the basin, between the carved animal frieze above and the colonnade below

Image Source: digital photograph taken 3 April 2016 by Michael Garlick [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4892655] [accessed 2 October 2016]

Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

symbol - tongue of fire - 2

Scene Description: in two of the spandrels; symbol of Pentecost?

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 21 June 1998 by BSI

view of basin

Image Source: detail of a digital photograph taken 26 June 2012 by Colin Smith

Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (e-mail of 27 June 2012)

view of basin - east and west sides

Image Source: drawing by J. Basire in Gough (1792)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - east side

Image Source: Ronse (1929: fig. 42)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - east side

Scene Description: Expulsion from the Garden of Eden

Image Source: Eden (1909)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - east side

Image Source: drawing by J. Basire in Gough (1792)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - north and south sides

Image Source: drawing by J. Basire in Gough (1792)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - north side

Image Source: Ronse (1929: fig. 41)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - north side

Scene Description: Creation of Adam and Eve

Image Source: Eden (1909)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - north side

Image Source: drawing by J. Basire in Gough (1792)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - south side

Image Source: drawing by J. Basire in Gough (1792)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - south side - detail

Scene Description: Source caption: "East Meon: All Saints' Church: Detail from the south face of the Tournai font. The face represents the flat earth on its pillars; the scene above represents the doves of peace being pursued by the dogs of war, the struggle between good and evil."

Image Source: digital photograph taken 3 April 2016 by Michael Garlick [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4892655] [accessed 2 October 2016]

Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of basin - upper view

Image Source: drawing by J. Basire in Gough (1792)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - west side

Image Source: drawing by J. Basire in Gough (1792)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of basin - west side - detail

Scene Description: two of the beautiful dragons on the upper frieze of the west side

Image Source: digital photograph taken 3 April 2016 by Michael Garlick [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4892659] [accessed 2 October 2016]

Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of church exterior

Image Source: digital photograph taken 26 June 2012 by Colin Smith

Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (e-mail of 27 June 2012)

view of font

Image Source: digital photograph taken 26 June 2012 by Colin Smith

Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (e-mail of 27 June 2012)

view of font - east side

Image Source: drawing by J. Basire in Gough (1792)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font - east side

Image Source: B&W photograph in Bond (1908)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font - north side

Image Source: B&W photograph in Bond (1908)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font - northeast sides

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 21 June 1998 by BSI

view of font - southwest side

Scene Description: Norman arcading with frieze of animals

Image Source: Eden (1909)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font - upper view

Image Source: drawing by J. Basire in Gough (1792)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font and cover - northeast side

Image Source: Eden (1909)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font in context

Image Source: digital photograph taken 26 June 2012 by Colin Smith

Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (e-mail of 27 June 2012)

view of font in context - southwest side

Scene Description: the two sides are decorated with animal friezes at the top, a decorative pattern below, and an arcade of eight round arches on each side -- notide damage to the upper corner of the basin

Image Source: digital photograph taken 19 July 2012 by Colin Smith

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission / CC-BY-SA-2.0

INFORMATION

FontID: 00227MEO

Church/Chapel: Parish Church of All Saints

Church Patron Saints: All Saints

Church Location: Church Street, Eastmeon, Hampshire GU32 1NJ

Country Name: England

Location: Hampshire, South East

Directions to Site: Located about 30-35 km N of Portsmouth, accessible from West Meon via the A32

Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Portsmouth

Historical Region: Hundred of East Meon

Font Location in Church: Inside the church, in the W end just to the left of the S door

Date: ca. 1129-1171

Century and Period: 12th century, Late Norman

Workshop/Group/Artisan: Tournai font

Cognate Fonts: [cf. FontNotes]

Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Colin Smith for his photographs of this church and font

Church Notes: Church under the patronage of the Bishop of Winchester, Henry de Blois, 1129-1171.

Font Notes: Click to view font notes

There are two entries for [East] Meon [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/] [accessed 2 October 2016], one of which mentions a church in it. Described, and illustrated with drawings by J. Basire, in Gough (1792): "On two of the sides are carved in the rudest style of relief, on one the creation of the history of Man, the formation of Eve from Adam's side, and the eating of the forbidden fruit by them both; on the other, the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise is represented by the angel with a drawn sword driving them from a maginificent gate or portal; and then with a spade in his hands seeming to instruct Adam in the employment he was henceforth doomed to follow, while Eve, who, as well as her husband, is here represented as decently apparelled, is exercising his distaff. The other two sides are ornamented with arches supported by single and double columns, and the frieze over them charged with dragons, beasts, and birds." Gough (ibid.) goes on to compare this font with two others, Winchester and Lincoln, pointing out that, al though they have differences, "these varieties do not affect the correspondance between the fonts". Allen (1833) notes similarities between the fonts at Lincoln cathedral, East Meon and Winchester. Noted and illustrated in Britton's Dictionary of 1838. Lewis' Dictionary of 1848 reports: "a very ancient font, similar to that in Winchester cathedral, sculptured with symbolical figures representing the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, and their subsequent instruction in the arts of husbandry and spinning." Described in Poole (1848) with reference to the entry in Archaeologia (vol. X). White (1878) notes that this font "appears to be carved by the same hand and cut from the same metrials as the in Wichester Cathedral". In Stevens (1880). Hannah (1886) states that the programme on this font "depicts the history of that death of sin, from which we are restored through baptism to the new life of righteousness." The Antiquary (issue No. 22, vol. 6, September 1882: 126) notesg the similarity of the font at Southampton St. Michael's with the one at East Meon [the text actually reads "West Meon"]. The Hampshire Antiquary and Naturalist, vol. 1 (1891): 80ff, reprints an article originally from The Hampshire Independent (31 May 1890) which includes an account of a visit of The Hampshire Field Club to a East Meon and several other churches in its neighbourhood; on the East Meon visit: "Perhaps the most interesting archaeological feature of East Meon Church is the font, which is formed of a square stone, with carvings in relief on the four sides, and also in the spaces between the round basin and the four corners. This font is similar in character to those at Winchester Cathedral, at St. Michael's Church, Southampton, and at St. Mary Bourne. These lonts have given rise to much discussion amongst archaiologists as to the stone of which they are made and as to their origin. Some have pronounced them to be of slate and of Norman workmanship. Mr. Shore is of opinion that they are of Byzantine origin, being brought over to this country by early merchants, possibly at the time of the Crusades. The style of carving he pronounced to be nothing like a typical Norman font, but undoubtedly Byzantine; and it was stated in support ot this theory that a model of this font in the South Kensington Museum is labeled as Byzantine, and another of the Winchester one, now or lately at the Crystal Palace, is similarly labeled. The carvings on this font were described by the vicar, the Rev. Mr. Tomlinson, to represent the creation of Adam and Eve, the temptation, the expulsion, and the angel teaching Adam and Eve to dig; on the third side there are doves and dogs, and on the iourth dragons. In the top corners are birds drinking out of vessels, which Dr. Davies thought distinctly Byzantine. Around the sides were also represented series ot arches, and Mr. Shore suggested that these might be intended to represent the ancient idea of the baptistery. Mr. J.M. Peake, of Liphook, mentioned a tradition that there was formerly a similar font in Bramshott church; and the Rev. G.N. Godwin had seen another in the museum at Bruges." Described in Cox & Harvey (1907), Bond (1908), Eden (1909), Tyrrell-Green (1928), Ronse (1929), Jenkins (1999), among others. Illustrated in Needham (1944). The Victoria County History (Hampshire, vol. 3, 1908) notes: "At the time of the Domesday Survey there was a church in East Meon which was held by the bishop of Winchester [...] The font, at the west end of the south aisle, is one of the best examples of a class of black marble fonts, almost certainly of foreign origin, which occur in three other Hampshire churches, Winchester Cathedral, St. Michael's Southampton, and St. Mary, Bourne." [the VCH referes to a full entry for this font in vol. 2, p. 244]. On-site notes: black-marble font of the Tournai type; the square basin sits on five constructional columns, the centre one, as usual, very large. The lower base and plinth are square and, like the columnar base, of unpolished lighter coulored stone. The sides of the basin include: 1)(north side) from the right, God with cruciferous nimbus warns Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge; next left, God creates Eve from Adam's side; next left, Eve gets the apple from the serpent; next left, Adam eats the apple; 2)(east side) from the right, Paradise shown as a great church with pier arcade, triforium and clerestory; next left, an angel armed with a sword expels Adam and Eve; next left, an haloed and winged angel shows Adam -now clothed- how to use a spade, while Eve is already busy with a distaff [Bond's (1908) description of two of the sides of the basin]; 3) (south side) over an elegant arcade of round arches and twisted columns -alternatively singles and doubles- two facing doves in the centre, with a lion (or dog?) behind each bird. 4)(west face) an almost identical arcade to the one on the south side, over which four very Norman-looking coiled-tail dragons display prominent fangs; the two in the centre have their long necks tangled. On-site notes: the basin is lead lined and has a central drain; there is a hinge at the upper rim indicating the existance of an earlier lid. Jenkins (1999) makes an interesting point about the source of the iconographic program in this font: "Many of the scenes were taken from religious dramas. The Expulsion is thus (improbably) from a majestic Romanesque city and the serpent is portrayed as a large dragon, which is how an actor would have dresses the part on stage. Equally 'dramatic' is the portrayal of God re-entering the church after giving orders to Adam. The Temptation was enacted with an artificial serpent. This is a Bayeux Tapestry in stone." Illustrated in Ronse (1929). A pamphlet issued by the East Meon Vicarage, with text by Revd. Peter Wadsworth, adds that "the font was placed in its present position in the 1880's having been moved from between the arches of the south aisle which cannot have been its original position"; that the limestone base may have been the original [NB: in some of these fonts only the basin was imported, the locals being responsible for the provision of the base or support, perhaps following suggested model(s)]; also that the earlier lead lining "disappeared in March 1644 when General Waller's Parliamentary troops were billeted here before the Battle of Cheriton. Lead was taken to make bullets" and that, perhaps, "the damage to one of the corners happened at the same time."

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 50.9946, -1.03228

Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 50° 59′ 40.56″ N, 1° 1′ 56.21″ W

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, limestone (black and blue) (Tournai marble)

Font Shape: square (mounted)

Basin Interior Shape: round

Basin Exterior Shape: square

Drainage Notes: lead-lined [cf. FontNotes for fate of lead lining]

Rim Thickness: 15-16.5 to 37 cm

Diameter (inside rim): 67-69 cm

Basin Depth: 35 cm

Height of Basin Side: 34-35 cm

Basin Total Height: 50 cm

Height of Base: 38 cm (columns and shelf they rest on)

Font Height (less Plinth): 88 cm

Font Height (with Plinth): (14 cm for plinth) 102-103 cm

Trapezoidal Basin: 99 x 99 cm square

Notes on Measurements: BSI on site -- [Eden (1909: 20) has: total font height: 3' 3"; height of bowl: 1' 6 1/2"; depth of bowl at centre: 1' 3"; bowl diameter outside: 3' 4"; bowl diameter inside: 2' 4"]

REFERENCES

Victoria County History [online], University of London, 1993-. Accessed: 2011-08-10 00:00:00. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk.

Allen, J. Romilly, "Early Norman Sculpture at Lincoln and Southwell", 48, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 1892, pp. 296; r["References"]

Allen, J. Romilly, "Notes on Early Christian Symbolism", N.S., VI, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1884, pp. 380-464; r["References"]

Allen, Thomas, The History of the County of Lincoln, from the earliest period to the present time [...], London & Lincoln: John Saunders, Junior, 1833-

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

Britton, John, A Dictionary of the Architecture and Archaeology of the Middle Ages, including […], London: Longman, Orne, Brown, Green, and Longmann, Paternoster Row, and the Author, Burton Street, 1838

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

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

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

Drake, Colin Stuart, "Romanesque Fonts in Kent: the French Connections", CXXIII, 2003, Archaeologia Cantiana, 2003, pp. 333-352; r["References"]

Dru Drury, G., "The use of Purbeck in mediaeval times", 70, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1949, pp. 74-98; r["References"]

Eden, Cecil H., Black Tournai Fonts in England, London: E. Stock, 1909

Friar, Stephen, The Sutton Companion to Churches, Thrupp, Stroud (Gloucs.): Sutton Publishing, 2003

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"]

Holmes, Edric, Wanderings in Wessex: an Exploration of the Southern Realm from Itchen to Otter, London: Robert Scott Roxburghe House, [1922]

Jenkins, Simon, England's Thousand Best Churches, London and New York: Allen Lane, the Penguin Press, 1999 [2000 rev. printing]

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

Neeham, Albert, How to study an old church, London: Batsford, 1944

Oursel, Hervé, Nord roman: Flandre, Artois, Picardie, Laonnois, La Pierre-qui-vire, Yonne: Zodiaque, 1994

Poole, George Ayliffe, A History of Ecclesiastical Architecture in England, London: Printed by Joseph Masters, 1848

Poole, George Ayliffe, The Appropriate Character of Church Architecture, Leeds; London: T.W. Green; Rivington, Burns, and Houlston and Stoneman, 1842

Pugin, Augustus Northmore Welby, The Present State of Ecclesiastical Architecture in England, London: Charles Dolman, 1843

Ronse, F. T., Les fonts baptismaux de Zedelghem et les fonts romans tournaisiens du XIIe siècle, Bruges: Apostolat liturgique, 1929

Stevens, J., "The Font at St. Mary Bourne, Hants", 36, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 1880, pp. 30-33; r["References"]

Tisdall, M. W., God's beasts: identify and understand animals in church carvings, England: Charlesfort Press, 1998?

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

White, William, History, gazetteer and directory of the County of Hampshire including the Isle of Wight, and [...], Sheffield: William White, 1878