Hook Norton / Hocceneretune / Hochenartone / Hocnertune / Hogenarton / Hooknorton / Okenardton
Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
Results: 19 records
B01: Old Testament - Genesis from the creation to the expulsion from paradise, and later years of Adam and Eve - labours of Adam and Eve
Scene Description: on the east side of the font; Adam is actively engaged in agricultural toiling; not clear what Eve is at, other than demurely holding the fig leaf over her pudenda
B02: animal - fabulous animal or monster - amphisbaena
![to the right of Adam, therefore the north side of the basin, approximately -- Drue (1914) identifies it as an amphisbaena [cf. Font notes], even though there are no wings on the dragon part of the body -- notice the large damage at the upper rim, no doubt related to one of the metal staples of an old cover](/static-50478a99ec6f36a15d6234548c59f63da52304e5/compressed/HOO9802612_compressed.png)
Scene Description: to the right of Adam, therefore the north side of the basin, approximately -- Drue (1914) identifies it as an amphisbaena [cf. Font notes], even though there are no wings on the dragon part of the body -- notice the large damage at the upper rim, no doubt related to one of the metal staples of an old cover
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a 26 July 1998 photograph by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
B03: animal - mammal - lion - passant-regardant
Scene Description: above a low acanthus plant -- may represent the Leo sign of the Zodiac
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a 26 July 1998 photograph by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
B04: human figure - male - water carrier - zodiacal signs - Aquarius
Scene Description: carries an ax and a double-bag on a stick
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a 26 July 1998 photograph by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
B05: animal - fabulous animal or monster - centaur - zodiacal signs - Sagittarius
Scene Description: notice the large repair patch at the upper rim; it is located across from the large damage spot above the amphisbaena, and, like it, was probably caused by a metal staple from an old cover
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a 26 July 1998 photograph by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
B06: symbol - tree - Tree of life
Scene Description: next to the centaur/Sagitarius; decorated with beaded-tape pattern
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a 26 July 1998 photograph by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
view of font and cover - east side
Scene Description: the Jacobean lid is on the font
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a 26 July 1998 photograph by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
view of font
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: digital image of Frederick Mackenzie's copper engraving for Skelton's 1823 book 'Antiquities of Oxfordshire' -- Image source: [Sanders of Oxford print catalogue]
Copyright Instructions: PD
view of font - west side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Brian J. Curtis, 2004
Image Source: digital photograph by Brian J. Curtis [www.oxfordshirechurches.info]
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (e-mail of 5 October 2004)
view of font - north side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Brian J. Curtis, 2004
Image Source: digital photograph by Brian J. Curtis [www.oxfordshirechurches.info]
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (e-mail of 5 October 2004)
view of font - east and northeast side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Brian J. Curtis, 2004
Image Source: digital photograph by Brian J. Curtis [www.oxfordshirechurches.info]
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received (e-mail of 5 October 2004)
inscription
Scene Description: across the body of the centaur
design element - motifs - foliage - acanthus
Scene Description: a squat acanthus plant below the passant lion
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a 26 July 1998 photograph by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
design element - motifs - ball-in-socket
Scene Description: a band of it all around the lower side of the basin
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a 26 July 1998 photograph by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
design element - motifs - vine - acanthus
Scene Description: all around the upper side of basin
design element - motifs - zigzag
Scene Description: a narrown band, all around the upper side of basin, below the acanthus vine
inscription
Scene Description: incised on Adam and Eve's chests
design element - motifs - floral
Scene Description: between Adam and Eve
view of font cover
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023
Image Source: digital image of a 26 July 1998 photograph by BSI
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
INFORMATION
Font ID: 00228HOO
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Date Visited: 1998-07-26
Font Date: ca. 1100?
Font Century and Period/Style: 11th - 12th century, Norman
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Peter
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Peter
Church Notes: a church here is reported as early as 922 AD
Church Address: High Street, Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, OX15 5NH
Site Location: Oxfordshire, South East, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located about 13 km WSW of Banbury, about 40 km ENE of Oxford
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Oxford
Historical Region: Hundred of Shipton [in Domesday]
Font Notes:
Click to view
There is an entry for Hook Norton [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/SP3533/hook-norton/] [accessed 24 November 2016], but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it]. The baptismal font here is engraved in Skelton (1823). Reported in Tymms (1834): "circular, of the 12th cent. with very curiously sculptured figures of an attendant on a crusader, armed with a battle axe, and carrying the water-boudet". In Moule (1837). The Ecclesiastical and Architectural Topography of England: Oxfordshire (1850) notes: "The font is N[orman], round, with figures carved upon it." In Murray (1882). Described in Romilly Allen (1888) and in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Norman period, inscribed "with the names of Sagittarius, Adam, and Eve". Noted in Kelly's Oxford Directory (1911): "the font is Early Norman work, of unique character, cylindrical, and surrounded with rude sculptures in relief, of Adam and Eve, Sagittarius, and other zodiacal signs". Druce (1914) dates it to the 12th century and identifies one of the animals as an amphisbaena. Illustrated by Frederick Mackenzie in a copper engraving for Skelton's 1823 book 'Antiquities of Oxfordshire'. Described in Tyrrell-Green (1928) as a tub-shaped baptismal font of the Norman period ornamented with scroll work and a figure of Sagitarius and Aquarius, among other motifs. Zarnecki (1951) connects Adam and Eve's appearance here to "the absolution from the original sin through baptism"; the defeat of Aquarius by Saggitarius as the prevalence the baptismal water over the destructive waters of the Deluge." In Ettlinger (1962), with reference to Zarnecki. Sherwood and Pevsner (1974) note: "Font. Norman, circular, carved with rustic but lively figures, including Adam and Eve, and Sagittarius and other signs of the Zodiac." One of the scenes on the sides of the cylindrical font at Hook Norton shows a centaur armed with a bow and arrow on the right, his upper body turned to the left, pointing the arrow at the back of a figure carrying a double-bag from a stick on his shoulder; this figure carries also an ax. Tisdall (1998?) describes the scene as "A Sagittarius Centaur and Aquarius the water carrier." On-site notes: on the east side of the basin is the representation of Adam and Eve; on the north side the serpent; on the south-west side a lion, a man and a centaur; an acanthus vine motif encircles the upper rim of the basin, while a band of ball-in-socket motif goes all around the lower basin side. The font is in fair shape, but there is damage at opposite ends of the upper rim consistent with the forceful removal of the old cover iron staples. The font has now a wooden cover consisting of a flat base on which are a number (eight?) of ribs around a central pivot, in the Jacobean style of cover design. The font is raised on a modern plinth.
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Brian J. Curtis, of www.oxfordshirechurches.info, for his photographs of this font.
COORDINATES
UTM: 30U 604052 5761991
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 51.998814, -1.484326
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 51° 59′ 55.73″ N, 1° 29′ 3.58″ W
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material: stone, type unknown
Number of Pieces: one
Font Shape: cylindrical, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
Drainage System: centre hole in basin
Rim Thickness: 8-9 cm
Basin Depth: 40 cm
Basin Total Height: 54 cm
Height of Base: 26.5 cm
Font Height (less Plinth): 80.5 cm
Font Height (with Plinth): 104.5 cm
Notes on Measurements: BSI on-site
INSCRIPTION
Inscription Language: Latin
Inscription Location: incised on the bodies of the figures
Inscription Text: "SAGITTARIVS / EVA / ADAM"
Inscription Notes: Adam on the figure, Eve on the chest of the figure and Sagittarius across the body of the centaur
Inscription Source: Romilly Allen (1888: 169); Cox & Harvey (1907: 177)
LID INFORMATION
Date: Jacobean?
Material: wood, oak?
Apparatus: no
Notes: round flat platform with eight (?) vertical scroll ribs arranged around a centre pivot; Jacobean [or style]
REFERENCES
- Allen, J. Romilly, "Notes on Early Christian Symbolism", N.S., VI, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1884, pp. 380-464; p. 436
- Allen, J. Romilly, "On the Antiquity of Fonts in Great Britain", XLIV, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 1888, pp. 164-173; p. 169
- Betjeman, John, An American's Guide to English Parish Churches (including the Isle of Man), New York: McDowell, Obolensky, 1958, p. 307
- Bond, Francis, Fonts and Font Covers, London: Waterstone, 1985 c1908, p. 171
- Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907, p. 177
- Davies, J.G., The Architectural Setting of Baptism, London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1962, p. 76
- Druce, George Claridge, "Animals in English wood carving", 3rd, 1913-1914, Annual Volume of the Walpole Society, 1914, pp. 57-73; p. 3 [between pp. 57-73]
- Ettlinger, Ellen, "Folklore in Oxfordshire Churches", 73, 3 (Autumn 1962), Folklore, 1962, pp. 160-177; p. 169-170 and fn 46
- Friar, Stephen, The Sutton Companion to Churches, Thrupp, Stroud (Gloucs.): Sutton Publishing, 2003, p. 202
- Index of Medieval Art, The Index of Medieval Art, Index of Christian Art, Princeton, [s.d.]. URL: https://theindex.princeton.edu/.
- Kelly, Kelly's Directory of Oxfordshire, London: Kelly's Directories Ltd., 1911, p. 130 / [http://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/d.asp] [accessed 2July 2007]
- Kroesen, Justin E.A., The Interior of the medieval village church = Het middeleeuwse Dorpskerkinterieur, Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters, 2004, p. 329
- Moule, Thomas, The English counties delineated; or, A topographical description of England [...], London: George Virtue, 1837 [vol. 2], vol. 2: 74
- Murray, John [the firm], Handbook for travellers in Berks. Bucks and Oxfordshire, including a [...], London: John Murray, 1882, p. 293
- Parker, John Henry, The Ecclesiastical and architectural topography of England: Oxfordshire, Oxford, London: Published under the sanction of the Central Commitee of the Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland [by] John Henry Parker, 1850, [unpaged -- entry 76] / [http://books.google.ca/books?id=maikb1i3wSUC&pg=PT144&lpg=PT144&dq=longcot+church+font&source=web&ots=p3k5tJJE6J&sig=KYjkm8H5wOoAuH7BvnLp7JqMPus&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result#PPA17,M1] [accessed 31 December 2008]
- Pevsner, Nikolaus, Oxfordshire, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1974, p. 651 and pl. 14
- Skelton, Joseph, Skelton's engraved illustrations of the principal antiquities of Oxfordshire, from the original drawings of F. Mackenzie, Oxford: J. Skelton, 1823, plate
- Skelton, Joseph, Skelton's engraved illustrations of the principal antiquities of Oxfordshire, from the original drawings of F. Mackenzie, Oxford: J. Skelton, 1823, plate
- Tisdall, M. W., God's beasts: identify and understand animals in church carvings, England: Charlesfort Press, 1998?, p. 48
- Tymms, Samuel, Family Topographer, being a compendious account of the antient and present state of the counties of England: vol. IV, Oxford circuit, London: Nichols & Son, 1834, p. 137 / [http://books.google.com/books?id=qcouAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=kempsford+church+font&source=web&ots=h2yFXWCzVN&sig=wFjiUVbwBUazMXVSJwmmw5-jmlA] [accessed 23 September 2007]
- Tyrrell-Green, E., Baptismal Fonts Classified and Illustrated, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge: The Macmillan Co., 1928, p. 18, 56, 69
- Zarnecki, George, English Romanesque Sculpture, 1066-1140, London: A. Tiranti, 1951, p. 31