Chiddingstone

Described in Glynne (1877): "The font is octagonal, late, and poor." Bond (1908) mentions a "notable Post-Reformation" font cover here, but does not mention the actual baptismal font. Newman (1980) notes: "Font. Bought in 1628 for £3 10s. Perp[endicular] in shape and in the decoration of alternate faces with roses and stylized flowers -- Font cover. Contemporary. With doors and a characteristic Jacobean crown, based, like so much else in this date here, on Gothic forms." Newman (ibid.) notes also a 19th-century font in the church of St. Luke, in nearby Chiddingstone Causewaychurch: "a sturdy and uncompromising piece, of alabaster and Cipollino marble from Euboea, octagonal with tulip-shaped bowl and an absurdly shallow basin. As the church itself, form and use are far apart." [NB: the latter font is not included in this Index on account of its late date]. Carol Harmond informs BSI [e-mail of 14 Sept 2006] that the font was made by master mason William Hollis, that the font is made of sandstone and the cover is made of oak. [NB: the fabric of the church goes back at least to the 13th century, but we have no information on the medieval font]