Escomb / Escombe

No individual entry found for Escomb in the Domesday survey. Mackenzie & Ross (1834) and in Fordyce (1857) after them report a font here: "The church is an ancient building […] The baptismal font is a low octagonal bason of freestone." Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a noteworthy example of Norman font. The 'Crossing the Millennia' web site [http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cj.tolley/ctm/ctm-escomb.htm] mentions this font more recently, as "both fairly plain and likely to have been added by the Romans". Illustrated in Britain Express [www.britainexpress.com] with the caption: "The 13th century font. There is speculation that this may have originally been part of a Roman pillar." [NB: of all the above the latter appears to be the most accurate: the font appears monolithic, which would account for the claim of having had a former life and function [besides the fact that there was a Roman fort at nearby Binchester] -- the basin is octagonal and very irregular, the upper basin sides badly damaged, especially at two opposite sides, which would be consistent with the forceful removal of old cover staples; curiously the basin is square on the inside, not a common feature in octagonal fonts, and may mean that the exterior of the basin may have been originally square as well; the broad stem has partly chamfered angles making it octagonal on the stem but square at the bottom, and the lower base is quatrangular and slightly splaying. An article on the church by B.J. Taylor Photographic Archive (2005) [www.qlhs.org.uk/oracle/escomb/escomb.htm] [accessed 4 Spetember 2009] notes: "The crude octagonal font, still used for baptism, is thought to be tenth or eleventh century, but may be earlier, especially as the shape allowed for the total immersion of infants. The grooves at the top were carved in the thirteenth century in response to an ordinance from the Archbishop of York that fonts should be lockable so as to protect the Holy water retained for baptism from various superstitious practices." [NB: claims of the font being Saxon and/or ealier appear to be unfounded exagerations]