Chipping No. 1

No individual entry found for this Chipping in the Domesday survey. Moule (1837) writes: "The font, supposed to have been very ancient, is comparatively modern, of about the date of Henry VIII" [i.e., 1509-1547]. Butterworth (1841) reports "a curious inscription, on the font". Noted in Lewis' Dictionary of 1848: "polygonal font, of ancient date, with a carved inscription". Raines 1845- annotation of the entry for Chipping in Gastrell's 1717 'Notitia cestiensis', reads: "There is a curious polygonal Font in the Church with some characters akin to Runic upon it, an account of which Whitaker states was inserted in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1772, p. 588; but no such account will be found there.-- History of Whattey, p. 465". Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a noteworthy example of 15th-century baptismal font; it bears the initial letters of the Latin version of the Angelic Salutation [AMGP? -- Ave Maria Gratia Plena Dominus Tecum] Noted in Pevsner (1969): "Font. Octagonal, with concave sides and very primitively carved motifs. Probably Late Perp[endicular]." Hartwell & Pevsner (2009) suggest the font at Stydd as cognate. Described and illustrated in the Lancashire Churches web site [www.lancashirechurches.co.uk/Chipping.htm]: "The font of 1520 is [...] rustic in its ornamentation. Its base is almost certainly an upturned capital of the type found on the north arcade, whilst the octagonal column and top appear to be original. It is said to be the gift of Bradley Hall, and the family initials are on the shields. Other shields have designs that are unreadable now, but elsewhere the instruments of the Passion can be seen -the scourge, nails, hammer and pincers. Despite the crudity of the carving the font has an endearing provincial quality. Nonetheless it has the overall feel of the late Perpendicular period." [cf. Index entry for Chipping No. 2 for another object listed for this church]