Bradbourne No. 2 / Bradborne / Bradeburn

Described and illustrated, with an engraving of a drawing by Orlando Jewitt, as a baptismal font of the Early English period in Paley (1844). The font appears in it as consisting of a square basin, its sides carved with ornamentation, each with a quatrefoil in a circle inscribing a motif (wheel, floral); the angles of the basin sides are partly chamfered, with spurs at top and bottom of the chamfer; there is no base proper, but the basin appears to have an extension down made of smaller blocks. In Paley's words (ibid.), "plainness and simplicity characterise this Font". Cox (1875-1877) notes: "The font, immediately on the right as we enter the south door, is of unusual shape and construction. It is formed of a single square block of stone, beeing two feet four inches square. The basin, which is circular and lined with lead, measures about a foot in depth. The sides are ornamented with circles enclosing quatrefoils. Square fonts on plain square bases are very uncommon, except in a few instances of rude Norman work. It is not easy to give the date of this font, good authorities consider it to be Early English in style, but we are more inclined to attribute it to the commencement of the Decorated period, about the years 1280-1300." Cox refers to Paley's entry [cf. supra] and to its dating in the Early English period there. Noted in Kelly's directory of 1891: "the font is formed of a single large square block of stone, ornamented on the sides with circles inclosing quatrefoils". As indicated in Cox ibid.) above, this font has been dated by some in the Early English period, but those quatrefoils on it became a staple decoration of fonts sides later in the Decorated and Perpendicular periods; the overall shape of the font harks back to an earlier period and design, but the decoration on its sides are more representative of a later time; was it re-carved?. The font has certainly been altered since Jewitt's drawing ca. 1844; it is now [ca. 2010?] mounted on a quadrangular base slightly wider than the basin and made of two reddish sandstone(?) blockes; the whole is raised on a modern quadrangular plinth. The wooden cover is square and flat; date unknown.