Wirksworth No. 2 / Werchesuorde / Werchesuuorde / Werchesvorde

There are two entries for Wirksworth [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SK2854/wirksworth/] [accessed 23 February 2015], one of which, in the lordship and tenancy of King William, mentions both a cleric and a church in it. Cox (1875-1877) notes the earlier font in this church, and adds: "Its successor, in the Restoration, stands in the opposite transept, and is of octagon design, and ornamented with patterns of unusual style, having more resemblance to Egyptian art, than anything that pertains to either Gothic or Renaissance. On one face is the date 1662, and on the remainder are the initials T.B., I.B., I.A., A.W., W.W., E.T., and T.B." Cox (ibid.) includes four entries relative to "the setting up of this font, in the Churchwardens' accounts for 1662:-- Pd ye Joyner for ye cover of ye funt ... £1 s.15 d.0 Pd John Ashmore And ye Carrier and Ashmore's man for settinge up ye funt and other worke ... £4 s.7 d.0 Pd Wm. Greene for painting ye funt ... £0 s.11 d.0 Pd Christopher Wall for dressinge the Church yard 6d. And for Ale at the hanginge up of ye funt cover 6d. ... £0 s.1 d.0 "A footnote in Cox (ibid.) adds: "The churchwardens for 1662, were, Thomas Bradshaw, John Ballerhous, William Wall, and Edward Toplis. Anthony Weston was also sidesman for the township of Cromford, in the same year, and the churchwardens' accounts also mention John Ashmore and Thomas Blackwall as office-bearers about that time." Described and illustrated in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a Restoration baptismal font dated 1662: "in this case, although the true principles of design are set at defiance by a medley of varied ornaments, the result is not unpleasant, for it is quite obvious that the sculptor did the very best of which he was capable to adorn the House of God." In his introduction to the new designs of the Renaissance-type of fonts, Bond (1908) writes: "How clearly the new design was intended to point to the other great sacrament [i.e., the Eucharist] appears well in the font at Wirksworth, where even the knopp or knob in the middle of the stalk of a chalice is carefully reproduced on the pedestal of the font [...]. This font bears the date 1662, and therefore probably replaces one removed in Commonwealth days." Noted in Pevsner (1978) as a font "of 1662 by John Ashmore, octagonal, with the usual style of carving of the 1662 fonts, and a series of florid initials." [cf. Index entry for Wirksworth No. 1 for the earlier font]. The font is topped with a conical cover, itself ending in an acorn finial. The basin has a band of geometric ornamentation under the rim and then eight (?) rectangular/ trapezoidal frames, one of which contains the 1662 date; the others contain foliage (?) motifs; the underbowl narrows down to meet the slender stem, in the middle of which is an ornamentation wich includes a heraldic shield; the lower base is octagonal and splayed; the whole is raised on a round plinth. Bunting (2001: 7) gives the following citation from the churchwarden's accounts for a new font in 1662: "'pd. John Ashmore And ye Carrier and Ashmore's man for settinge up ye funt... £4.70' to 'Ale at the hanginge up ye funt cover 6d'". [transcription in www.genuki.org.uk]