Luton / Lectuna / Leweton / Loitone / Lutune / Lygeanburh / Lygetune

An anonymous communication to The Gentleman's Magazine (vol. XLVIII: Nov. 1778) describes the canopy over the font, dating the canopy "about the time of Richard II" [i.e., 1367-1400]; the article points out that a dozen people fit comfortably within, and that "what makes the font extremely remarkable is the singular situation thereof, viz. in the body of the church", as opposed to the more common placement of it in the west end of the nave. Carte (1792) describes the canopy as "a noble and antique structure". Gough (1792) writes: "The font at Luton is octagonal on steps, having over it an octagonal stone canopy, supported by eight pillars, about 25 feet high, and making a small freestone chapel round the font capable of containing seven or eight people with great ease. It may very properly be called a baptistery, and is the only one of the kind perhaps in England [fn1]. In the centre of the roof is a lion O. and a griffin V. rampant. Mr. Blomefield calls it a vine, a dragon, and the holy lamb, which lasts defends the vine from the injury of the dragon, signifying that baptism defends us from the devil, and that, by the assistance of the Lamb of God, the evil one should have no power to hurt the church, of which the vine is an emblem. On the top of all is a large bason, where the consecrated water used to be kept, which was let down out by a pipe at the priest's pleasure into the font [fn2]". Gough (ibid.) further adds the Luton font cover as an instance "of costly and laboured covers, finished in a rich Gothic style of wood-work". Noted in Lysons (1806-1833) as one of a group of octagonal fonts made mostly of Totternhoe stone: "Luton stands on five pillars, and is ornamented with Gothic arches; the font is inclosed [sic] within a baptistry of stone at the west end of the nave, enriched with pinnacles, quatrefoils, and foliage, in the style of the fourteenth century." Although neither Lysons nor any other bibliographic source mention it, there are ornamental details in the spandrels of the arcade around the font sides: triquetra or trefoil, alternating with masks or faces. Simpson (1828) writes: "The Font in this church is not worthy of any other notice, than that it stands on five circular legs which we suppose to be older than the bowl. On the top of it is placed a flat stone on which stands a basin, now used for baptism. But the magnificent baptistery erected over it, is so intimately connected with the class of antiquities of which this work is an attempted illustration, that we have adopted it as a frontispice [in Simpson's book] [...] About 40 years since [i.e., ca. 1788] this splendid fabric stood under the third arch from the west end of the south aisle; it was then moved to the centre of the west end of the nave, where it must have added greatly to the beauty of the church. About six years since it was moved to its present station, viz. the south transept." (ibid.). The crockets on the gables are richly flamboyant. Painted white, they should be coloured and gilded." Noted in Britton's Dictionary of 1838 [after Simpson]. Reported in Lewis' Directory of 1848: stone font supported on five pillars." In Batty (1848). The National Gazetteer of 1868 has: "A beautifully constructed baptismal font, said to be the finest in the kingdom, stands before the west door; in form it is hexagonal, supported upon five pillars, and enclosed in a baptistery, elegant in design and workmanship." A report in The Antiquary (July 1st, 1871, p. 62) on the visit to this church by an excursion of the Bedfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society describes the canopy structure over the font and notes: "It is said that in former times water was let down from the leads by a pipe to supply the font." The architect G.E. Street refers to the canopy, which he restored, in a letter to the Guardian reproduced in The Architect (issue of 30 August 1873: 101). Bond (1908) describes it as a 14th-century 20ft tall and very rich baldacchino-type stone cover [unfortunately Bond's photograph does not show the font itself]. Rickman & Parker [woodcut by Orlando Jewitt] (1881) describe the "beautiful chapel or baptistery, of very fine composition" and, again, fail to describe or illustrate the font itself. The Victoria County History (Bedford, vol. 2, 1908) notes: "Luton Church is mentioned in Domesday when it was held by William the king's chamberlain, having been held by Morcar the priest during the Confessor's reign [i.e., Edward (1003-1066); reigned 1044-1066]. [...] In spite of much enlargement and rebuilding, enough is left to show that a cruciform church existed here in the twelfth century, and the arches still existing in the west walls of the transepts prove that the nave had north and south aisles by the end of the century, if not earlier. [...] The font has an octagonal bowl with panelled sides and engaged shafts at the angles, standing on an octagonal stem, which is surrounded by smaller shafts, and is apparently of the same date, c. 1330, as the baptistery." Tyrrell-Green (1928) describes it as a baptismal font of the Decorated style with an octagonal basin ornamented with a blind arcade; it is mounted on a pedestal that also has an arcade ornamentation. Tyrrell-Green (ibid.) describes the font 'cover' at Luton as a "stone erection of the like kind [i.e., a tall cover conservative in its general design], surrounding and containing the font, and belonging to the Decorated style." Noted in Pevsner (1968) with date for the font "ca. 1330-40" of a bout the same date as the canpy. Described in Jenkins (1999) as "a superb work of early 14th-century carving with octagonal gabled canopy. The font itself appears now [September 2010] much as it did originally, with the exception of the eight outer colonnettes and the octagonal lower base, which are modern replacements; the central shaft, however, is probably the original one.