Haltwhistle No. 1

Image copyright © Holy Cross Parish, 2010
PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
Results: 7 records
B01: symbol - cross - Greek - pattée
B02: Christ - monogram - IS - in s floral or foliage motif
![[cf. Font notes]](/static-50478a99ec6f36a15d6234548c59f63da52304e5/others/image_not_available.jpg)
Scene Description: [cf. Font notes]
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Holy Cross Parish, 2010
Image Source: photograph in the Parish website [http://www.holycrosschurchhaltwhistle.com/page9.html] [accessed 21 January 2010]
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
view of font and cover
view of font and cover - northeast view
view of font and cover - southwest side
INFORMATION
FontID: 05295HAL
Church/Chapel: Parish Church of the Holy Cross [aka St. Aidan]
Church Patron Saints: The Holy Cross [St. Aidan?]
Country Name: England
Location: Northumberland, North East
Directions to Site: Located 55-60 km W of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on the A69, 25-30 km E of Carlysle, just S of Hadrian's Wall
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Date: ca. 1676 [restoration]
Century and Period: 14th - 16th century, Medieval
Font Notes: Click to view font notes
Described in Cox & Harvey (1907): "On the upper edge of the hexagon bowl is cut 'R. P. July the 27th 1676'. Robert Priestman was vicar at that date; but the font is pre-Reformation, and the inscription can only refer to its restoration." Described in Bond (1908) as "a Pre-Reformation font with the date 1676 cut on the bowl." [NB: Bond cites Cox & Harvey as source]. Pevsner (1957), too, gives the date 1676 on the font, but adds: "The date refers only to the exceedingly rustic carvings or incisings". Noted and illustrated in the Parish website [http://www.holycrosschurchhaltwhistle.com/page9.html] [accessed 21 January 2010]: "On entering the church through the south door the font stands ahead and slightly to your left. The hexagonal bowl of the font belongs to the 17th century. The carving, although interesting, is of poor quality. On the first side there is a face surrounded by rays, followed on the second by an intricate knot, then a Maltese Cross, after that a fleur-de-lys with the letters IS (the first and last letters of the Greek word for Jesus), and finally another complicated knot. Around the rim of the bowl there are holes showing that at some time the font had a fixed cover. Near the upper edge appear the letters RP July 26 1676: this probably refers to the vicar at that time, Robert Priestman. The interior of the bowl is in marked contrast to the exterior, being carefully and accurately worked, and shows signs of considerable wear and tear."
Pevsner (ibid) describes the font as 'circular", and mentions a round stoup in this church [cf. Index entry for Haltwhistle No. 2]
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material:
stone
Font Shape: hexagonal (mounted)
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: hexagonal
INSCRIPTION
Inscription Language: numbers
Inscription Notes: The date of the restoration of this pre-Reformation font and the initials of the then vicar, Robert Priestman.
Inscription Location: on the basin
Inscription Text: "R. P. July the 27th 1676"
Inscription Source: Cox & Harvey (1907: 181); Bond (1908: 267), after C&H; Pevsner (1957: 162)
REFERENCES
Bond, Francis, Fonts and Font Covers, London: Waterstone, 1985 c1908
Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907
Pevsner, Nikolaus, Northumberland, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1957