Bosham

Described in Hussey (1852): "The font is octagon with plain round arches slightly sunk in the sides, and four E[arly]. E[nglish]. shafts arranged around the stem, the whole of Petwrth marble." Harrison (1920) reports a font of ca. 1200 here. Listed in Tyrrell-Green (1928) as an octagonal baptismal font of the Norman period ornamented with a blind arcade. The Victoria County History (Sussex, vol. 4, 1953) notes: "Bosham can claim to be the most ancient site in Sussex with a continuous tradition of Christianity. When St. Wilfrid came to convert the South Saxons in 681 there was already, according to Bede, a small Celtic monastery at Bosham [...] it is also mentioned in Domesday Book [...] The font (late-12th-century) is an octagonal block with plain sunk round-headed panels; it rests on five shafts, one thick, the rest slender, which have no capitals but a moulded base." Described and illustrated in the local church guide: a late Norman octagonal mounted font; the basin is octagonal with a blind low-relief arcade, two arches per side; the base consists of a central cylindrical column and four corner colonnettes, also rounded; the lower base is made up of the bases of these columns and their extensions, all mounted on a short square plinth. The brief church guide "A Walk round a Saxon Church" identifies the stone as partly Purbeck, partly Sussex marble and gives the date as early 13th century. Described in Whiteman (1998): "The font, c. 1200, is an octagonal bowl with shallow arcading". Described and illustrated in the CRSBI (2008): "This is an octagonal, Sussex marble font. The sides, each carved with two shallow, irregularly formed arches, taper towards the base of the bowl which is chamfered. The interior of the basin is circular. The font stands on a thick central shaft (for the drain) and four slender angle shafts. The latter slope inwards to fit water-holding bases. There are numerous repairs and infills on the bowl and angle shafts, but not on the bases, which may be replaced, or simply heavily recut."