Chaille-sous-les-Ormeaux / Chaillé-sous-les-Ormeaux

INFORMATION

FontID: 05592CHA
Church/Chapel: [orig. from the priory? - now in the presbitery]
Country Name: France
Location: Vendée, Pays de la Loire
Directions to Site: Located in the canton de La Roche-sur-Yon, in the arrondissement de La Roche-sur-Yon
Font Location in Church: [in the presbitery]
Century and Period: 8th - 11th century, Carolingian
Cognate Fonts: Another such object in nearby Le Tablier
Church Notes: A priory church is believed to have existed in this site; a Romanesque church was built on it later; this second church was demolished ca. 1855 and replaced by the new one inaugurated in 1863 (Le Patrimoine... de la Vendée (2001, v. 2: 840)
Described and illustrated in Le Patrimoine... de la Vendée (2001, v. 2: 838) as an octagonal granite "baptistère" belonging "vers l'époque carolingienne" [=towards the Carolingian period]; the lower 1/3 of the basin is indented and round, whereas the upper 2/3 are octagonal; the basin shows a large drain hole on one of the sides, towards the middle, which is a likely indication of its use in a farm at some point in its existence. It was found, according to the same source, by M. l'abbé Minaud, parish priest of this town between 1977 and 1997, under the grounds of the presbitery. The source (ibid.) "softens" the dating of the caption by adding that "pourrait être d'une époque antérieure au Moyen Âge" [NB: it is more likely that, if the object is indeed a font, it may have originated in the Romanesque church rather than from the earlier priory]

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, granite
Number of Pieces: one
Font Shape: octagonal (unmounted)
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal
Drainage Notes: [probably not original]
Diameter (includes rim): 80 cm
Basin Total Height: 45 cm
Notes on Measurements: Le Patrimoine... de la Vendée (2001, v. 2: 838)

REFERENCES

Le Patrimoine des communes de la Vendée, Paris: FLOHIC, 2001