Whitchurch Canonicorum / Hwitan Cyrican / Whitechurch Canonicorum / Wrecerce [Domesday]

Main image for Whitchurch Canonicorum / Hwitan Cyrican / Whitechurch Canonicorum / Wrecerce [Domesday]

Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2019

Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 January 2020)

Results: 22 records

view of font and cover - southwesr side

Font image
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2019
Image Source: digital photograph taken 26 June 2019 by Colin Smith
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 January 2020)

view of font and cover in context

Font image
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Philip Pamkhurst, 2014
Image Source: digital photograph taken 14 July 2014 by Philip Pankhurst [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4102731] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of font and cover in context

Font image
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Basher Eyre, 2015
Image Source: digital photograph taken 3 September 2013 by Basher Eyre [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3905932] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of font and cover in context

Font image
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Michael Garlick, 2015
Image Source: digital photograph taken 20 September 2014 by Michael Garlick [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4301589] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of basin - detail

a detail of the carving in the re-tooled or replaced area of the basin, the southwest side, near the upper rim
Scene Description: a detail of the carving in the re-tooled or replaced area of the basin, the southwest side, near the upper rim
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2019
Image Source: digital photograph taken 26 June 2019 by Colin Smith
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 January 2020)

design element - motifs - rope

this southwest side of the basin has been repaired -- not clear whether the whole U-shaped piece is re-tooled or a new-stone insert
Scene Description: this southwest side of the basin has been repaired -- not clear whether the whole U-shaped piece is re-tooled or a new-stone insert
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2019
Image Source: digital photograph taken 26 June 2019 by Colin Smith
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 January 2020)

design element - architectural - arcade - blind - round arches - intersecting arches

covering most of the surface of the basin sides
Scene Description: covering most of the surface of the basin sides
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Philip Pamkhurst, 2014
Image Source: edited detail of a digital photograph taken 14 July 2014 by Philip Pankhurst [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4102731] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of basin

notice the iron staple on the upper right side and the large through crack showing where the basin was broken and repaired
Scene Description: notice the iron staple on the upper right side and the large through crack showing where the basin was broken and repaired
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Philip Pamkhurst, 2014
Image Source: edited detail of a digital photograph taken 14 July 2014 by Philip Pankhurst [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4102731] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

design element - patterns - diaper

a band all around the upper rim
Scene Description: a band all around the upper rim
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Philip Pamkhurst, 2014
Image Source: edited detail of a digital photograph taken 14 July 2014 by Philip Pankhurst [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4102731] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of church exterior - tower - southwest view

Font image
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2019
Image Source: digital photograph taken 26 June 2019 by Colin Smith
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 January 2020)

view of church exterior - south porch and portal

Source caption: "St Candida and Holy Cross, Whitchurch Canonicorum. The South porch, which shows the Norman origin of this fine building." [NB: the portal, inside, not the porch, is late-Norman]
Scene Description: Source caption: "St Candida and Holy Cross, Whitchurch Canonicorum. The South porch, which shows the Norman origin of this fine building." [NB: the portal, inside, not the porch, is late-Norman]
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Philip Pankhurst, 2014
Image Source: digital photograph taken 14 July 2014 by Philip Pankhurst [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4102666] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of church exterior - west portal

Source caption: "Whitchurch Canonicorum: Parish Church of St Candida and Holy Cross [west door detail] West door at the base of the tower with its heavily decorated surrounds.
Scene Description: Source caption: "Whitchurch Canonicorum: Parish Church of St Candida and Holy Cross [west door detail] West door at the base of the tower with its heavily decorated surrounds.
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Mike Searle, 2009
Image Source: digital photograph taken 3 June 2009 by Mike Searle [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1338348] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of church exterior - northwest view

Source caption: "Whitechurch Canonicorum: parish church of St. Candida and Holy Cross. This building represents two linguistic alternatives – firstly, the village name is Whitchurch Canonicorum (no 'e') while the parish is Whitechurch Canonicorum (with an 'e'); and secondly, the name derives not from the fact that the church is white (it isn't) but because St. Candida is also known as St. Wite. The church is mainly 13th century (the south doorway is 12th while some interior parts are 15th, including the tower), while it is particularly unusual in that it contains the shrine of the saint to whom it is dedicated. All shrines were ordered to be destroyed during the Reformation so this is indeed a rare survival. Because of its relative size it is known as the cathedral of Marshwood Vale."
Scene Description: Source caption: "Whitechurch Canonicorum: parish church of St. Candida and Holy Cross. This building represents two linguistic alternatives – firstly, the village name is Whitchurch Canonicorum (no 'e') while the parish is Whitechurch Canonicorum (with an 'e'); and secondly, the name derives not from the fact that the church is white (it isn't) but because St. Candida is also known as St. Wite. The church is mainly 13th century (the south doorway is 12th while some interior parts are 15th, including the tower), while it is particularly unusual in that it contains the shrine of the saint to whom it is dedicated. All shrines were ordered to be destroyed during the Reformation so this is indeed a rare survival. Because of its relative size it is known as the cathedral of Marshwood Vale."
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Chris Downer, 1992
Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken in September 1992 by Chris Downer [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/519406] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of church exterior - southwest view

Source caption: "Whitchurch Canonicorum: Parish Church of St Candida and Holy Cross. Dating from the C12, it incorporates much from later periods, principally the C13, C14 and C15. Its glory is the C15 west tower of four stages."
Scene Description: Source caption: "Whitchurch Canonicorum: Parish Church of St Candida and Holy Cross. Dating from the C12, it incorporates much from later periods, principally the C13, C14 and C15. Its glory is the C15 west tower of four stages."
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Mike Searle, 2009
Image Source: digital photograph taken 3 June 2009 by Mike Searle [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1338287] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of church exterior in context - south view

Source caption: "Church at Whitchurch Canonicorum. This church lying in the beautiful Marshwood Vale is said to house the relics of the female Saint Wite from the Viking era. The shrine in the north transept dates from the 13th century."
Scene Description: Source caption: "Church at Whitchurch Canonicorum. This church lying in the beautiful Marshwood Vale is said to house the relics of the female Saint Wite from the Viking era. The shrine in the north transept dates from the 13th century."
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Malcolm Etherington, 2007
Image Source: digital photograph taken 2 May 2007 by Malcolm Etherington [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/425466] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of font and cover in context - southwesr side

Font image
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2019
Image Source: digital photograph taken 26 June 2019 by Colin Smith
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 January 2020)

view of church interior - looking east

the font is visible by the south arcade
Scene Description: the font is visible by the south arcade
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2019
Image Source: digital photograph taken 26 June 2019 by Colin Smith
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 January 2020)

view of church interior - nave - arcade - detail

Font image
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © HARTLEPOOLMARINA2014, 2014
Image Source: digital photograph taken 20 September 2014 by HARTLEPOOLMARINA2014 [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ZIG_ZAG_CARVING_AROUND_THE_ENTIRE_ARCH.JPG] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-3.0

view of church interior - nave - arcade - detail

Source caption: "Whitchurch Canonicorum The Church of St Candida and Holy Cross. Unusual zig zag carving around one arch in the later north arcade."
Scene Description: Source caption: "Whitchurch Canonicorum The Church of St Candida and Holy Cross. Unusual zig zag carving around one arch in the later north arcade."
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Michael Garlick, 2015
Image Source: digital photograph taken 20 September 2014 by Michael Garlick [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4301595] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of church interior - nave - arcade - capital

Font image
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Michael Garlick, 2015
Image Source: digital photograph taken 20 September 2014 by Michael Garlick [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4301580] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

view of church interior - looking northeast

across the nave and the north aisle
Scene Description: across the nave and the north aisle
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Basher Eyre, 2014
Image Source: digital photograph taken 3 September 2013 by Basher Eyre [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3905897] [accessed 23 August 2018]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0

information

posted by the font
Scene Description: posted by the font
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Colin Smith, 2019
Image Source: digital photograph taken 26 June 2019 by Colin Smith
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received from the author (e-mail of 27 January 2020)

INFORMATION

Font ID: 04776WHI
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th century [basin], Medieval [composite]
Cognate Fonts: [cf. Index entry for Melplash for a copy of the broken font from this church]
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Candida (or St. Wite) and Holy Cross
Font Location in Church: Inside the church, in the SW of the nave, next to a pillar and the S door
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Candida** [St. Wite, St. Blanche of Brittany?] & The Holy Cross **[cf. Church notes re: this saint]
Church Notes: original Saxon (?) 9thC church rebuilt 12thC by Benedictine monks from Normandy; further re-built 13th, 14thC The partial dedication of the church is to St. Candida or St. Wite, whose shrine is located against the north wall of the north transept. Hutton (1957) explains that St. Wite's name, wrongly identified with "white", has been translated as "Candida"; there is, continues Hutton, a Saxon carved stone panel with "possibly the earliest representation of a ship in England", which may make reference to St. Wite, "who is usually identified with Ste. Blanche of Brittany", one of the nuns who went as missionary with St. Boniface of Wessex into Saxony and died a martyr there. Her body was brought back to England and buried "twelve miles from Chard", which Hutton identifies with the approximate location of this church. (Ibid., p. 41)
Church Address: Whitchurch Canonicorum, Bridport DT6 6RJ, UK
Site Location: Dorset, South West, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located off (N) the A35, about 6 km WNW of Bridport, 8 km NE of Lyme Regis, about 22 km W of Dorchester
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Salisbury
Historical Region: Hundred of Whitchurch [Canonicorum] [in Domesday]
Additional Comments: altered font (the present font has a modern replacement shaft; the southwest side of the basin is either re-tooled or a new-stone insert) -- disappeared font? (the one from the 9thC (?) church here)
Font Notes:
There is an entry for Whitchurch [Canonicorum] [variant spelling: Wrecerce] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/SY3995/whitchurch-canonicorum/] [accessed 23 August 2018]; it reports "3 churches. 4.0 church lands" in it. The 3rd ed. of Hutchins (1973 c1861-1874) notes: "The font is coeval with the oldest parts of the building [earlier in the text described as 'Transition Norman, circa 1170']. The circular bowl has arcade in low relief." Reported similarly in the Handbook for travellers… (1869). Described in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a late Norman baptismal font made of Purbeck marble. Noted in Long (1923) as a Norman basin raised on a modern shaft. In Mee (1939) as Norman. Described and illustrated in Hutton (1957) as a baptismal font of the Transitional period [i.e., 1150 to 1200 , a/p Hutton's guide]. In Betjeman (1958) as 12th-century. In Newman & Pevsner (1972): "Font. Small, Norman, cauldron-shaped, with intersecting arches." The entry for this church in Historic England [Listing NGR: SY3968095443] notes: "Font, late C12, stone bowl with intersecting arcading, chip-carved saltire band over, rope- moulded base. Purbeck marble stem." The font consists of four volumes: the basin is bucket-shaped and has a band of dog-tooth motif at the upper rim, and a blind arcade of crossing round arches all around the basin side; the lower edge of the basin is ornamented with a rope moulding; the stem of the base is cylindrical and plain; the lower base is conical but very flat and also plain; the lowest volume is the square plinth. The font appears to be in fair shape without any visible damage. The flat wooden cover with metal reinforcements looks modern.
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Colin Smith for his photographs of this church and font

COORDINATES

UTM: 30U 510122 5622624
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 50.7553, -2.8565
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 50° 45′ 19.08″ N, 2° 51′ 23.4″ W

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, marble (Purbeck)
Number of Pieces: four?
Font Shape: bucket-shaped, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round

LID INFORMATION

Material: wood (and metal)
Apparatus: no
Notes: [cf. Font notes]

REFERENCES

  • Victoria County History [online], University of London, 1993-. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk.
  • Betjeman, John, An American's Guide to English Parish Churches (including the Isle of Man), New York: McDowell, Obolensky, 1958, p. 151
  • Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907, p. 197
  • Hutchins, John, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset, Wakefield: E.P. Pub. Ltd., 1973, vol. 2: 267
  • Hutton, Graham, English Parish Churches, London: Thames & Hudson, 1976, p. 43
  • Long, E.T., "Dorset church fonts", 44, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, 1923, pp. 62-76; p. 67, 75
  • Mee, Arthur, The King's England. Dorset: Thomas Hardy's Country, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1939, p. 285
  • Murray, John, A handbook for travellers in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and Somersetshire, London: John Murray, 1869, p. 211
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, Dorset, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972, p. 460