Bebington / Lower Bebington

Ellis (1902) notes: "the font that is still in use, and which stands at the west end of the nave, is coeval with the Norman work of the south wall and nave arcade. It is in excellent preservation, and the bowl is very unusual, if not unique, in its ornamentation. It is circular, of white stone, with a fillet below the rim, bearing a row of small oval depressions, and the remainder of the circumference occupied by six panels of unequal size. It is not lined with lead, but has a water drain. The bowl is supported on a conical eight-sided pedestal, which is compressed by a plain fillet a few inches below the attachment to the bowl. I think it probablr that this support and the octagonal plinth upon which it stands, are of somewhat more recent date than the bowl itself." Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font consisting of a Norman basin and a base of a later period. Pevsner (1971) notes his suspicion on its pedigree: "Font. Circular, just with moulded framing of panels. Is it really medieval?" Described and illustrated in Richards (1973): "The font [...] is coeval [i.e., 12th-century], cut in a white stone, circular in shape with a cornice of chequering below which are six panels of unequal size. It stands upon a rough octagonal base, spreading out as it reaches the step."