East Ham / Hame / Hamme

Image copyright © John Whitworth, 2008
Standing permission
Results: 8 records
B01: coat of arms - Heigham family
B02: inscription
view of church exterior - northeast view
view of church exterior - southeast view
view of church interior - chancel arch and east side
view of church interior - plan
view of font and cover
INFORMATION
FontID: 01165EAS
Church/Chapel: Parish Church of St. Mary Magdalene
Church Patron Saints: St. Mary Magdalene
Church Location: Norman Road/High Street South, East Ham, London, E6 3PG
Country Name: England
Location: Greater London, South East
Directions to Site: Located just E of Barking, 13 km ENE of Charing Cross
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Chelmsford
Historical Region: formerly Essex -- Hundred of Becontree
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Date: 1639
Century and Period: 17th century[basin only] -- 18th century [base only] [composite font], Baroque [composite]
Workshop/Group/Artisan: heraldic font
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to John Whitworth, of www.essexchurches.info, for his photograph of this font
Font Notes: Click to view font notes
Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a heraldic baptismal font, an ill-proportioned marble basin bearing quartered arms of Heigham and inscription on rim dated 1639. Listed in Bond (1908). Noted with an illustration in the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (Essex, 1916-1923) as a Renaissance font: "white veined marble bowl, circular with shield of arms and inscribed, 'The gift of Sir Richard Heigham Knight to the parish of Eastham, Ao. Dni. 1639'--; baluster stem later." The Victoria County History (Essex, vol. 6, 1973) notes: "In 1086 Robert Gernon's estate in (East) Ham included 3 virgates which in 1066 had belonged to Edwin, a free priest. [...] This suggests the existence of a church there before the Conquest, though the present building of St. Mary Magdalene is thought to be no earlier than the first half of the 12th century. [...] The white marble font was given by Sir Richard Heigham, the impropriator, in 1639. The pedestal is an addition of about 1700 and the metal cover is a memorial to the Revd. Samuel H. Reynolds (d. 1897)." In Pevsner (1976): "Font. Bowl of 1639 on late C17 or early C18 baluster stem." [NB: the fabric of the church goes back to Norman times, but we have no information on the earlier font(s) of this church].
COORDINATES
UTM: 31U 295772 5713132
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material:
stone, marble (white)
Font Shape: hemispheric (mounted)
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
INSCRIPTION
Inscription Language: English
Inscription Notes: text contractions expanded
Inscription Location: Round the rim and side
Inscription Text: "The gift of S[i]r Richard Heigham, Knight, to this parish of Eastham : / A[nno]o D[omi]ni / 1639"
Inscription Source: Cox (1907: 181); RCHM (1916-1923, vol. 2: 59)
LID INFORMATION
Apparatus: no
Notes: low-dome shape; appears to be made of metal
REFERENCES
Victoria County History [online], University of London, 1993-. Accessed: 2012-04-12 00:00:00. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk.
Bond, Francis, Fonts and Font Covers, London: Waterstone, 1985 c1908
Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907
Great Britain. Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, An Inventory of the historical monuments in Essex, London: H.M. Stationary Office, 1916-1923
Pevsner, Nikolaus, Essex, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976