Sutton-in-Ashfield / Sutton in Ashfield / Sutton Saint Mary

Wlakerdine & Buxton (1907) write: "In the Vicarage garden are to be seen the oldest remnants of Sutton's Norman Church —a truly strange place for such archaeological treasures. There one may see a circular font of Norman date, and several pieces of stone carving of the same period. That they have been lying there for some years is proved by mention of the font being in the garden, by the Rev. Charles Bellairs, in the little pamphlet he wrote on the history of Sutton during his incumbency of the place. The present vicar (the Rev. F. J. Adams) will not, we anticipate, from opinions he expressed to the writers, permit these memorials of the ancient church to long remain in their present resting place […] Underneath the tower is a modern font presented by Dr. Jephson, of Leamington, a native of Sutton, at the time of the restoration mentioned. It is highly probable that the Norman font was thrown into the Vicarage garden at this time." Lindley (1907) writes that this church "in 1868 underwent a thorough restoration", and introduced a new "font given by Dr. Jephson, of Leamington"; it also informs: "There is a very ancient circular font of Norman date, and large enough for immersion, which for many years has been in the vicarage garden, having probably been placed there when the present font was presented by Dr. Jephson, but it is now lying disused in the belfry." Cox & Harvey (1907) list a font at 'Sutton St Mary' as a noteworthy example of 14th-century font. Writing a few years later, Cox (1912) remarks that the "drastic restoration of 1868 obliterated or confused the architectural history of fabric […] This restoration was responsible for ejection of old Norm[an] font into vicarage garden in favour of modern successor, but it has been recently replaced." This 'replacement' refers probably to the movement of the old Norman font back into the church, as note in Bonser (1912): "The ancient font is unused but it is preserved in the tower. It is quite plain but has a large basin, and is probably coeval with the piscina" [dated in this same source ca. 1120]. Guilford (1927) lists a fragment of a Norman font in his introductory grouping, but mentions just "the old font" in the body of his text. The Southwell Churches website [http://southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/nuthall/hhistory.php] [accessed 9 December 2009] notes in its entry for Nuthall, Notts.: "It is known that the pre-1887 font was given to the church of St Michael and All Angels at Sutton in Ashfield". Pevsner & Williamson (1979) do not mention a font in this church.