Willisham / Willesham

Described in Parker (1855): "Font, D[ecorated]; an octagon, with angels and shields in the panels of the bowl, and animals round the pedestal." Dowsing (1885) reports on his visit to this church in 1643/1644 "An Holy Water Font in the Chancel", but does not say whether they destroyed or defaced it or not. Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a noteworthy example of 14th-century fonts. Knott (1999, 2008) informs that the 19th-century church "retains the medieval font of the former church on this site inside". The Offton & Willisham Parish web site [http://www.offtonandwillisham.org.uk/StMarysChurch.aspx] [accessed 16 April 2009] notes: "All that remains of the old church is the beautiful octagonal font [...] The 15th century carved stone, octagonal font includes in its fine carvings the crown and arrow arms of St Edmund, who was King of the East Angles and who was martyred by Danish invaders in 869 AD". The font, of the East Anglia type, has large shields alternating with angels holding smaller shields on the sides of the basin, some shields blank now, with the exception of the large one carved with St. Edmund's arms; there are cherub heads at the angles of the underbowl chanfer, with rosettes (Tudor roses?] on the lower part of the chamfer; the octagonal pedestal has figures (?) on the panels. The wooden cover is octagonal and flat, with metal decoration and ring handle.