Barmston / Benestone

There is an entry for Barmston [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/TA1558/barmston/] [accessed 20 July 2014], but it mentions neither church nor cleric in it. A font here is illustrated in Prickett (1831), who notes its similarity to the font at Flamborough. Noted in Glynne's visit of 27 July 1867 (in Butler, 2007): "The font is Norman." Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a handsome example of Norman font with cable, diaper and arcading ornamentation. Described in Tyrrell-Green (1928) as a diapered font with "a very rich effect being produced by the insertion of small crosses or other figures and emblems within the trellis pattern" [NB: T-G must have been writing of another font; this one does not appear to have any such added elements of ornamentation within the diaper pattern]. This same source (ibid.) mentions that the fonts at Nafferton, Bainton, Rudston, Carnaby and Weaverthorpe, all in the East Riding of Yorkshire, have similar ornamentation. The tall bucket-shaped basin has a double rope motif at the upper rim, while the sides proper are covered in a deeply-carved diaper pattern; the basin is raised on a squat lower base slightly wider [probably the same as the circumference of the upper basin rim], decorated with a roll moulding at the top and a deeply-carved arcade of round arches at the bottom. The wooden cover is flat and plain except for the Latin cross finial/handle, and is modern. The inside well of the basin is not lined and has central drain hole. The outer surfaces of the font are covered in a hedious brown whitewash. The entry for this parish un the Victoria County History (York East Riding, vo. 7, 2002) notes: "The architectural evidence suggests that Barmston church was built in the earlier 12th century [...] The nave is 12th-century in origin, the thick, north wall being substantially of that period, as also may be a section of walling at the east end of the aisle arcade, which is pierced with a narrow, round-headed arch, possibly the entrance to a former porticus. The cylindrical font, decorated with diaper ornament, is also 12th-century." Described and illustrated in the CRSBI (2019): "The main feature of the large round font is its bowl, cut with a bold lozenge pattern. As approached from the S side, the lozenges appear raised by their being separated by a hollow roll. On the N side, the separating strip is of convex form. The boundary between the two areas is a diagonal, starting on diametrically opposite sides of the cylinder at the top, and sloping northwards in both cases. Thus the area having the positive roll is less that that with the hollow roll. The top of the cylinder is finished off with a double cable pattern of many narrow but rounded divisions. The upper cable acts as an angle roll since it continues onto the horizontal rim. The arcaded base shows some damage on the lower parts, but with little general wear on the angle roll. [...] Both font and base seem to have been coated with a dark reddish-brown render. This coating makes geological examination difficult."