Alphington No. 1 / Alfintone

There is an entry for Alphington [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/SX9189/alphington/] [accessed 26 June 2016] but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. Gough (1792) writes of a font "charged with interlaced arches and a fascia of birds, beasts, and hunters, in grotesque". Polwhele (1793-1806) suggests that the ornamentation on this font shares in pagan as well as Christian character. The Antiquarian Repertory (1807-1809) shows an engraving of the font and notes: "The font at Alphington Church in Devonshire, is generally allowed to be of great antiquity. Hunting monsters and other grotesque ornaments occurring more frequently in ancient sculpture, even on buildings appropriated to religious uses, than subjects from sacred history, or the symbols of christianity [...] As to the particular age of this font, or by whom it was made or given, there is neither record nor tradtion, nor is there sufficient data, whereon to form a probable conjecture." Noted and illustrated in Lysons (1806-1833) as a baptismal font "surrounded with pillars and interlaced arches in low relief, with an ornament of grotesque figures over them." Oliver (1840-1842) writes: "The Baptismal Font is of remote antiquity, and may have been here before the Conquest", and mentions Polwhele's conjecture [cf. supra] about the ornamentation themes. Oliver (ibid.) adds" "With deference I submit, that the scroll work is neither more nor less than a rude representation of the combat of St. Michael (to whom the Church is dedicated) with the great Dragon, as related in the 12th chapter of the Revelations. The embellishment of the lower part consists of circular arches intersecting each other; the point of intersection producing what is vulgarly called Gothic architecture. This may possibly be the earliest specimen of the kind in our Parochial Churches." Illustrated in Paley (1844). In Lewis' Dictionary of 1848. Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a Norman font. Studied in Clarke (1907) and (1913), who gives the following sequence of ornamentation in the seven rings which surround the basin sides: "1-2)St. Michael, slaying the Dragon; 3)a bird falling head downwards; 4)another dragon; 5-6)an archer whose arrow has pierced a composite animal with goat's head and lacertine tail; 7)interlacings; 8)a large flower; 9)a man carrying a hareon an axe (much damaged); 10)two animals -- otterand crocodile (?); 11)a large bird, probably a swan; 12)a quadruped -- pard or panther (?)". Clarke informs that "a copy of this font was made for Temple Church, London, when it was restored in 1841. It is not quite accurate; the bird No. 3 is flying instead of falling, and several details are faulty, but it is useful as it shows the subject of No. 9, which at Alphington is so badly damaged that it can hardly be decyphered." Described and illustrated in Stabb (1908): "the bowl is ornamented with a design of interlaced arches, surmounted by a band of carving. On the south-east side are two panels representing St. Michael's contest with the Dragon, rather an unusual subject for a font; possibly the fact of the church being dedicated to St. Michael was the reason for which it was chosen. The dragon is given plenty of tail, divided into two parts, spreading into the panels on either side. On the left of St. Michael is an animal which from its spots is probably meant for a panther. Following round the font to the left, the next panel represents an eagle. The eagle is often carved on fonts, and is symbolical of baptism. An old idea was that when the eagle got old, and its wings heavy and sight failing, it mounted high in the air and scorched its wings in the heat of the sun, after which it dipped itself three times in a fountain of clear water and became young again. Another panel represents a bird falling head downwards with the wings outstretched. Another panel has an archer shooting an animal most probably intended for a goat, as it has horns and a beard; another bears a large flower, possibly a rose; another the figure of a man carrying a stick. In Paley's Baptismal Fonts it is stated that one of the carvings on the Alphington font is of a man carrying a hare on an axe. The reference is probably to this panel, but it is not easy to discern the hare. The crocodile and hydra are also carved on the bowl. This subject will be found [in St. Mary's Church] at Melbury Bubb, Dorset." In Pevsner (1952) as Norman. In Stone (1955) dated ca. 1120-1140. On-site notes: the basin well is lined with lead and has a central drainage hole; the centre and lower part of the basin are covered with a blind arcade of intersecting round arches; the upper basin side has an ornate band all around comprised of interlace forming circles in which three men appear involved in a hunt of wild beasts or monsters; the beasts, men and foliage are all intertwined - a technique reminiscent of manuscript decoration: 1)hunter slaying a dragon [it has been suggested that it may represent St. Michael slaying the dragon]; 2)hunter with bow and arrow slaying fabulous animal; and 3)man returning from a hunt with axe and kill; 4)mythical beasts and ornametal leaves; the short round lower base is plain, as is the equally round plinth. The stone of the font was identified by Paley (1844) as "Beer oolite, a stone much used in Devonshire". [NB: the 19th-century font at Bockleton is said to have been designed based on this font [Henry Woodyer, 2002)]. Blatch (1995), in his entry for Temple Church, London, writes: "The 1842 font is a replica of the one at Alphington Church". [cf. Index entry for Alphington No. 2 for an early holy-water stoup also in this church].