Woodchurch nr. Birkenhead

Lewis' Dictionary of 1848 notes: "the font is almost unique, of exquisite design, and emblematically sculptured." The Transactions of the Historical Society of Cheshire and Lancashire (1901: 75) [www.hslc.org.uk/show_pdf.php?item=1901_107.pdf] [accessed 7 December 2012] notes: "Though portions of the present church date from the twelfth century, the font, which stands beneath the tower, is a characteristic specimen of the fifteenth century. It is of light-colured stone, octagonal, each face of the bowl consisting of a plain sunk panel. It is lead-lined and has a water drain. The bowl is supported at each of its angles by a rudely carved angel with outstretched wings, and the neck of the bowl is separated from the stem by a strong moulding. Four sides of the stem have shields, sculptured in high relief, bearing emblems of the Passion, viz., a flagellum, cross and crown of thorns, pincers and nail, and a mallet head (?), while the intervening sides have two roses, a fleur-de-lis, and a cross fleury. The base is formed by a gradual expansion of the supporting column. [...] This font, the only one of its kind in the Hundred, scarcely deserves the praise bestowed upon it by Mortimer, who remarks --'It is considerd that there are no more than two in the kingdom of greater antiquity or more exquisite design.' (Hundred of Wirral, p. 121)". Described in Cox & Harvey (1907): "good octagonal font of Perpendicular style, having four shields with the symbols of the Passion". Noted in Pevsner (1971): "Font. C15. Octagonal. Bowl with angel corbels. Emblems of the Passion on the stem." Richards (1973) writes: "Grouped around the octagonal late fifteenth century font bowl are eight quaintly carved angels, arranged at each corner, whilst the supporting column is sculptured with incidents from the Passion."