Upleatham / Up-Leatham / Upelider / Uplithum / Uplium

Whellan (1859) notes that in the interior of the new 1835 church is ''a remarkably fine Norman font (removed from the old church), the most interesting specimen of the kind in Cleveland. It exhibits much elaborate workmanship, the four sides being supported by elegantly carved pillars, and the squares curiously chiselled in the form of chequers, &c.'' Bulmer's Directory of 1890 for North Yorkshire informs: "The font is a piece of very fine Norman work, removed from the old church." [source: transcription by Colin Hinson © 1999 in www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/NRY/Upleatham/Upleatham90.html]. Listed in Bond (1908) simply as a fine example of a rectangular unmounted font. Although Bond does not date the font, it is probably Norman, like all the others in this group. [NB: Bond (ibid.) mentions another such font, "a sister" to the rectangular font at Reighton, at St Mark's Church in nearby Marske, where it was moved in 1820 from the church of St Germain]. Noted in the Victoria County History (North Riding, vol. 2, 1923): ''The only object of antiquarian interest is the unmounted rectangular font, which is a relic of the old church, of 12th-century date similar in type to that at Marske. It is 2 ft. 3 in. square by 2 ft. 1 in. high, and has a shaft at each angle with scalloped capital and moulded base, each of the four sides being carved with diaper or star ornament of various forms. The top edge is chamfered on the underside and the font stands on a modern plinth.'' [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=64682] [accessed 8 July 2008] Morris (1931) writes: "In the modern church is a square, richly carved, 12th-cent., unmounted font, resembling that at Marske" [i.e., Marske-by-the-Sea], and describes the carving as "a kind of 'chip-work' pattern, that are as interesting as unusual." Noted in Pevsner (1985): "Font. Norman, square, with corner columns. On the four sides carvings of stars and diapers." [NB: Information received on 19 January 2008 from Ms. Rita Wood, of York, places this baptismal font now "in Skelton Old Church (Churches Conservation Trust). Rather squeezed among the pews..."]