Holdenby / Aldenesby

Parker (1849) writes: "Font and shaft octagonal, and quite plain." A number of interesting details on this font appear in Hartshorne (1868), information that was to prove crucial for the memory of this font, as it was broken up only a few years later [cf. infra]. Hartshorne (ibid) has an extract from the 5 November 1526 last will and testament of Sir Thomas Alen, "parishe preste of Holdenby", who bequeathed "to the font, a bason and a laver". Hartshorne (ibid.) provides a full description of the font: "The font is of octagon shape, attached to the pillar under the western arch of the south arcade. On each of the upper faces is a shield, containing--1.Holdenby, impaling, G., a chevron O between 10 besants, Zouch. 2.Holdenby, impaling, S., a rampant lion arg., Verdon. 3.Holdenby, impaling De la Carville. 4.Holdenby, impaling, S., a raven within a border ar., Raven of co. Beds. 5.Holdenby, impaling Mortimer of Grendon. 6.Holdenby, impaling, G. semee de cross crosslets (O), three lucies or pikes hauriant ar., Lucy. 7.Hatton impaling Holdenby. The whole of the font was repainted in 1861, by Mr. Albert Hartshorne." In the collection of documents accompanying Hartshorne's Memories (1868), is an entry from a personal journal dated 2 September 1716: "In the Church an ancient font, with the arms of Holdenbie impaling others; a helmet and a sword lies upon it." Described in Cox & Harvey (1907): "A particularly interesting heraldic font, giving all the alliances of the old family of Holdenby […] until a 'restoration' in the 'seventies', when it was broken up and buried beneath its modern successor!". Mee (1945), however, notes: "The font is an elaborate copy of the old one in which Sir Christopher Hatton was baptised, only the wreath of flowers below the bowl is original." Pevsner & Cherry (1973) offer still one other alternative: "Font. Perp[endicular], octagonal, much recut." The Churches Conservation Trust [http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/uploads/publications/50.pdf] [accesssed 13 April 2009] entry for this church notes: "The octagonal font in the south aisle was originally medieval but has mostly been replacen by Victorian stonework. The sides of the bowl are decorated with emblems of Christ's passion."