Sedgefield / Ceddesfeld / Seggefeld

Sedgefield does not appear in the Domesday survey; lands that later became part of the County Palatine of Durham were excluded from it. A font in this church is described as a copy or restoration "from such ancient basin" in Surtees (1823): "The font is a handsome octagonal basin of black marble. Each face bears an armorial shield. 1. Ermine, a lion rampant, Pickering, quartering .... three garlands, .... 2. A fleur de lis, Elstob of Foxton. 3. A chevron inter three trefoils, Hoton of Hardwick. 4. A chevron and chief indented, Thornton; impaling, two bars, over all three chaplets, Greystoke. 5. A chevron inter three covered cups, Butler of Oldacres. 6. A chevron inter three birds? ..... 7. A. fesse inter three lambs passant, Lambton of Hardwick; impaling Wright, as below. 8. A chevron engrailed, inter three fleurs de lis, on a chief three spear heads, Wright of Sedgefield; impaling, a bend charged with three pheons, inter two towers, on a chief a demi-lion rampant, inter two lozenges, Johnson. The preservation of the old coats of Hoton and Thornton (fn. 8) , as well as the handsome design of the font, seem to prove that it was copied or restored from some ancient basin of the same form." Noted in Hutchinson (1823): "The font is large black marble bason, of an octagonal form; each front richly sculptured with arms, and fluted" [NB: the footnote in Hutchinson lists: "Hoton, Hebborne, Elstobb, Lambton, Pickering."] Noted in Mackenzie (1834) in much the same terms. Described in Whellan's History, Topography and Directory of Durham (and Newcastle) (1856): “The font is an octagonal basin of black marble, sculptured with the arms of several of the old families of the neighbourhood” [source: www.original-indexes.demon.co.uk/DUR/SED/SED-SED.htm] [accessed 15 March 2012]. Fordyce (1857) writes: "The font, supposed to have been donated by [... Dr. Pickering], is a large octagonal basin of black marble, sculptured with the arms of Pickering, Elstob of Foxton, Hoton of Haedwick, Wright of Sedgefield, and another." Noted in Murray (1873) as a font deserving notice. Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a heraldic baptismal font of the Perpendicular period. Described and illustrated in Hodgson (1912). The Victoria County History (Durham, vol. 3, 1928) notes: "There was probably a church at Sedgefield in the time of Bishop William de St. Carilef (1080–96) [...] The church of St. Edmund the Bishop [...] stands on or near an ancient site, but no part of the existing edifice is older than about 1245, to which period the nave and aisles belong. [...] The font is of two dates, the earlier, or 15th-century portions, consisting of a broad octagonal step, base, and shaft of Frosterley marble, and the later of an elaborate bowl of grey Italian marble dating from the rectorate of the Rev. Theophilus Pickering, D.D. (1705–11). On each of the eight sides is carved a shield of arms, one of which, facing north-west, is the coat of Dr. Pickering, who was probably the donor. The other shields bear the arms of his contemporaries and predecessors, and are as follows: east, Lawson; south-east, Butler of Oldacres; south, Thornton impaling Greystock; south-west, Hoton; west, Elstob; north, Wright impaling Johnson; north-east, Lambton impaling Wright." The VCH (ibid.) further footnotes: "For the font see Trans. Dur. Arch. Soc. vi, 214. The bowl may be a copy of the original 15th-century one." Pevsner (1983) writes: "Font. Presented by the same vicar [i.e., previously referred to in Pevsner's text as the vicar of this church who donated the organ in 1707]. Of grey marble, octagonal, with concave foot, concave stem, and beautifully fluted bowl decorated by escutcheons in cartouches." A local brochure, 'Church of St Edmund's, Sedgefield', together with some updating, informs that: "The font was probably given in 1450 by a wealthy Newcastle merchant called Thornton. It was placed in its present position in 1870. The eight symbolic regeneration shields were carved on the orders of Rector Pickering, 1701 to 1711” [source: www.btinternet.com/~harry_buxton/StE7.htm] [accessed 15 March 2012]. Noted with references in Peter F. Ryder's asessment report of September 1997 to the Anglican Diocese of Durham [www.durham.anglican.org/userfiles/file/Durham Website/Diocese and Admin/Care of Churches/Archaeological Assessments/Sedgefield.pdf] [accessed 15 March 2012].