Brixham / Upper Brixham

Results: 3 records

INFORMATION

Font ID: 05163BRI
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Date: ca. 1377?
Font Century and Period/Style: 14th century, Medieval
Workshop/Group/Artisan: heraldic font
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Mary
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Mary the Virgin
Site Location: Devon, South West, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located about 12 kms S of Torquay
Additional Comments: NB: The text in Stabb refers to '35b' as a illustration of the font, but the available transcription has a different image
Font Notes:
Described in White's Directory of 1850: "rudely carved font of the 14th century." The National Gazetteer of 1868 describes it as "a richly-carved font of the 14th century". Described in Bond (1908) as belonging to a type of font that rest on animals, the one at Brixham being one of the "curious examples of the fourteenth century". Stabb (1908) writes: "The font [...] ranks amongst the finest in Devonshire. It is octagonal in shape, the sides carved with rich arches springing from angels holding shields; at the corners of the base are grotesque animals." Noted in Pevsner (1952): "Font. Early C14, which is a rare date in fonts. Square base with dogs at the corners, octagonal pillar leading into the bowl by mans of nodding ogee canopies on angel brackets -- an original, very pretty design."

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Font Shape: octagonal, mounted
Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal

REFERENCES

  • The National Gazetteer: a Topographical Dictionary of the British Isles, London: Virtue & Co., 1868, cited in [http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/BrixhamAllSaints/Gaz1868.html] [accessed 8 January 2009]
  • Bond, Francis, Fonts and Font Covers, London: Waterstone, 1985 c1908, p. 185
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus, South Devon, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1952, p. 64
  • Stabb, John, Some old Devon churches, their roods, pulpits, fonts, etc., London: Simkin, [et al.], 1908-1916, p. 35 [pl. 35b is a wrong reference]
  • White, William, History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Devonshire, [s.l.]: [Printed for the author], 1850, [page reference not available]