Finchingfield

Described and illustrated in Paley (1844) with an engraving by Orlando Jewitt on an sketch by J.H.: octagonal mounted font of the late 14th century in the Decorated style. Each one of the sides of the basin has a quatrefoil circle framing a shield with coat of arms (unidentified). The underbowl has an angel with spread wings at each of the eight angles. The stem of the base is octagonal and plain except for a moulding at the top. The font stands directly on the ground, without a plinth, a fact that, as Paley points out, lessens the effect of the good "design and execution of this Decorated Font." (ibid.). Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a noteworthy heraldic baptismal font of the Decorated period. Noted with an illustration in the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (Essex, 1916-1923): "octagonal bowl, supoorted on carved angels; in each side of bowl a quatrefoiled panel with a shield of arms, (a) a lion, (b) a cross, (c)fretty a fesse, for Helion, (d) quarterly with a molet in the quarter, for Vere, (e) two cheverons powdered with cloves (?), for Clovile, (f) a saltire engrailed, (g) a cheveron between three crosses formy fitchy, (h) a cheveron, late 14th-century; stem and base modern." Noted in Pevsner (1976): "Font. Octagonal with quatrefoils and shields." Bettley & Pevsner (2007) give the date of the font as C14, but the base and stem as C19. [NB: the engraving in Paley (1844) shows the basin mounted on a moulded block and a plain stem, but the photograph of the RCHM taken some years later [ca. 1916?] shows that the order of the two blocks that form the base had been re-arranged so that the moulded lower base would be at the bottom]