Blofield / Blafelda

Standing permission by Jonathan Plunkett

Results: 21 records

Click to view images and/or subjects

B01: New Testament - Childhood and youth of Christ - Flight to Egypt

Scene Description: Joseph walks ahead carrying a bundle

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

B02: New Testament - Childhood and youth of Christ - Nativity - Christ Child in Mary's arms - Joseph seated

Scene Description: The Child is in Mary's arms in bed; Joseph seats on a chair, to the left, facing the bed on the right; two animal heads at back, one almost obliterated

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

B03: New Testament - events from Resurrection to Pentecost - Ascension

Scene Description: Apostles looking up to the clouds

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

B04: New Testament - events from Resurrection to Pentecost - Resurrection of Christ - Christ rises from the grave

Scene Description: [cf. Font notes]

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

B05: New Testament - Passion of Christ - Crucifixion

Scene Description: [cf. Font notes]

B06: New Testament - Passion of Christ - flagellation

Scene Description: [cf. Font notes]

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

B07: New Testament - Passion of Christ - Mocking of Christ

Scene Description: [cf. Font notes]

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

B08: New Testament - Passion of Christ - Ecce Homo

Scene Description: [cf. Font notes]

BBU01: design element - patterns - crocketed

Scene Description: around the upper rim side

Image Source: detail of a digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

BBU02: design element - motifs - floral - rosette

Scene Description: several, all around the upper basin side under the rim

Image Source: detail of a digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

BU01: human figure - head - 8

Scene Description: one at each angle of the chamfer

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

BU02: symbol - shield - blank - 8

Scene Description: blank or erased; one at each side of the chamfer

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

LB01: design element - architectural - window - cinquefoiled - 8

Scene Description: one on each side of the pedestal base

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

LB02: design element - motifs - floral - flower - 8

Scene Description: some Tudor roses, some square; a large one in each window of the pedestal base

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

view of church exterior - northwest view

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

view of font

Image Source: Tyrrell-Green (1928: fig. 75)

Copyright Instructions: PD

view of font - north side

Image Source: detail of a B&W photograph [3407] taken 11 May 1940 by George Plunkett

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission by Jonathan Plunkett

view of font and cover

Image Source: courtesy of The Blofield Parish Council [www.blofield.net/church.html]

Copyright Instructions: Permission received (e-mail of 2/4/2004)

view of font and cover in context

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

view of font cover

Image Source: digital photograph [December 2007] by Simon Knott [http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/blofield/blofield.htm] [accessed 24 March 2009]

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission

view of font in context

Image Source: B&W photograph [3407] taken 11 May 1940 by George Plunkett

Copyright Instructions: Standing permission by Jonathan Plunkett

INFORMATION

FontID: 01708BLO

Church/Chapel: Paris Church of St. Andrew and St. Peter

Church Patron Saints: St. Andrew & St. Peter

Church Location: Church Road, Blofield, Norfolk, NR13 4NA

Country Name: England

Location: Norfolk, East Anglia

Directions to Site: Located 11-12 km E of Norwich, just S of the A47

Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Norwich

Historical Region: Hundred of Blofield

Font Location in Church: Inside the church

Century and Period: 15th century / late-14th century, Perpendicular

Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Simon Knott, of Norfolk Churches, to Michael Tetlow and the Blofield Parish Council [www.blfield.net/church.html] for their photographs of this church and font. We are also grateful to Jonathan Plunkett for the photographs of this church, taken by his father, George Plunkett, in 1940

Font Notes: Click to view font notes

There are two entries for Blofield [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/TG3309/blofield/] [accessed 14 October 2015], neither of which mentions cleric or church in it. Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "In Domesday Book the town is wrote Blafelda [...] The Church is a rectory dedicated to St. Andrew [...] John Terri occurs rector about 1235." The present font is described and illustrated in Cautley (1949) as "the most interesting" of the late-14th century fonts in England, "which is unique as having scenes from the life of Our Lord. Starting west [clock-wise]:the Ascension, twelve apostles looking up to clouds, the Nativity with Virgin and Child in a bed, having Joseph at the foot of it and two oxen eating from a hay rack, the flight into Egypt, Joseph carrying a bundle and leading the ass, Ecce Homo (?), the Scourging, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection." [NB: Cautley's identification of the "two oxen" is questionable; one of the supposed oxen totally desfigured, the other, damaged; the animals would have likely been an ox and a mule or an ass]. Described and illustrated in Tyrrell-Green (1928); his description of the scenes was probably used by Cautley but the latter left out "the Mocking". Pevsner & Wilson (1997) make a comment about this font having "oddly enough all scenes from the Life of Christ, a cycle not in general connected with fonts: Nativity, Flight into Egypt, etc., to the Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. It looks C15." [NB: the authors were obviously not acquainted with the medieval fonts that have representations of the life of Christ] The upper rim of the basin shows a crocket-like pattern with rosettes below, all worn or damaged; the chamfer of the underbowl has human heads (damaged) at the angles and shields on the the sides. The octagonal pedestal of the base has Ogee widows with inner cinquefoil shape; below it, a band of large flowers (some Tudor rose, some square flowers), one on each side. Short moulded lower base and low plain plinth, both octagonal. The carving has been damaged but the scenes are still legible. The wooden cover consists of an octagonal base with Baroque scrolling ribs on top. Described and illustrated in Knott (2007).

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 52.63029, 1.448957

Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 52° 37′ 49.04″ N, 1° 26′ 56.24″ E

UTM: 31U 395025 5832274

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, type unknown

Font Shape: octagonal (mounted)

Basin Interior Shape: round

Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal

LID INFORMATION

Material: wood,

Notes: [cf. FontNotes]

REFERENCES

Blomefield, Francis, An essay towards a topographical history of Norfolk, 1805-1810

Cautley, Henry Munro, Norfolk Churches, Ipswich: Norman Adlard & Co., 1949

Knott, Simon, The Norfolk Churches Site, Simon Knott, 2004. [standing permission to reproduce images received from Simon (February 2005]. Accessed: 2009-03-26 00:00:00. URL: www.norfolkchurches.co.uk.

Pevsner, Nikolaus, Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East [2nd ed.], Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1997

Tyrrell-Green, E., Baptismal Fonts Classified and Illustrated, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge: The Macmillan Co., 1928