Northampton No. 2

Serjeantson writes in his guide [s.d.] of this church: "The font. The ancient font was apparently destroyed by the Puritans in the 17th century, and was replaced by a small one of very poor design, the shaft of which is still to be seen on the ledge which formerly supported the floor of the triforium on the north side of 'the Round'. The present font is a copy of the 13th century one in the German Cathedral of Hildesheim, save for the substitution in the base of knights in mail, for figures representing the four rivers of Eden. It was given in memory of the Rev. Canon James, Vicar of Theddingworth, who took an active interest in the restoration of the church" [NB: Serjeantson (ibid.) informs that restoration of the Round was started in 1868, with further work added in 1879 -- the font probably dates from that period -- cf. Index entries for Hildesheim]. The Victoria County History (Northampton, vol. 3, 1930) notes: "The churches of St. Peter, the Holy Sepulchre and All Saints are all, as we have seen, probably as old as the Norman Conquest. [...] Bishop Hugh of Lincoln's charter [...] specifies nine by name: All Saints', St. Giles', St. Michael's, Holy Sepulchre, St. Mary's (by the Castle), St. Gregory's, [...] St. Peter's, St. Edmund's and St. Bartholomew's, as well as the chapel of St. Thomas. All these churches then were in existence by 1200 [...] The church of The Holy Sepulchre [...] one of the four [...] remaining round churches in England, dates from the early 12th century, and probably owed its origin to Simon de Senlis earl of Northampton, by whom it was granted c. 1111 to the monastery of St. Andrew. [...] The font is modern and stands on three circular steps in the middle of the Round; it is a memorial to Canon James, who took an active part in the restoration, and is copied from the 13th century font in the cathedral of Hildesheim, save that the figures supporting the bowl are knights in mail. The font replaced a small circular stone basin, probably dating from 1660, the shaft of which is preserved in the churchyard." [NB: a round basin is kept on a window sill of the church; appears too small to be a font, but,,,] Cook (1954) lists a baptismal font of the Perpendicular period [cf. infra]. The font noted in Mee (1945), however, is not of that date, but matches Serjeantson description and illustrations: "the Round [...] in the centre of this interesting place the great font has been set on three round white steps, the Round being used as the baptistry. The font is not old, but is a fine reproduction of a famous old one. The great bowl is borne on the shoulders of kneeling Templars, and the deeply cut trefoil arches round it have rich sculpture in them." This font appears Victorian and is dramatically staged, raised on a three-step plinth, between the four thick columns of the Round; tall conical cover with decoration. [NB: other than Cook's [cf. supra] note, we have no information on the earlier font(s) of this church] -- [NB: double-check Cook ref above and ill. -- obvious contradiction, especially since Serjeantson and Mee are earlier than Cook -- the original church was a round Norman one -- to be completed]