Itchenor / West Itchenor

Paley (1844) describes the font at Itchenor as predominantly Early English, "yet it is not far removed from the Norman period"; his illustration shows an octagonal basin adorned on each side with two Gothic arches, "the junction of the bowl with the capitals of the shafts and pillar is remarkable" (ibid.) The base consists of a broad central pillar and slender corner shafts, all with moulding capitals and bases. The plinth is square. Paley (ibid.) reports that "a new octagonal pyramidal cover, surmounted with a Maltese cross, gilded, has recently been added." (ibid.) In Harrison (1920) as "one of the few E[arly] English] fonts which are found in this county." The Victoria County History (Sussex, vol. 4, 1953) notes: "In about 1175 Hugh Esturmy obtained leave from the Bishop of Chichester and the prebendary of Wittering to build a chapel at Itchenor [...] The [present] church consists of a single chamber, without structural division between nave and chancel, built in the 13th century; a south porch and a bell-cote are modern additions. [...] The font (13th-century) has an octagonal bowl with a shallow arcading of pointed arches, carried on five shafts with moulded capitals and bases. " Described and illustrated in Whiteman (1994) as a baptismal font of the 13th century that is "octagonal with arcading of pointed arches and rests on five shafts with moulded capitals and bases". The cover that appears on this font in Whiteman's illustration is a plain, flat wooden lid, obviously modern. [NB: Paley uses the name Itchenor for this site; Whiteman uses West Itchenor, the current name; they both refer to the same church and font]. The Churches of West Wittering and Birham with Itchenor web site [www.wwbichurches.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25&Itemid=25] [accessed 20 September 2010] reports: "a solid oak portable font donated by Mr. MacKenzie in 1993", that is kept in the vestry. It appears that the quadrangular plinth on which the font was raised at the time of the drawing in Paley [cf. supra] has now been removed.