Tettenhall No. 2 / Tettenhall-Regis

Main image for Tettenhall No. 2 / Tettenhall-Regis

Image copyright © William Salt Library, [s.d.]

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Copyright Statement: Image copyright © William Salt Library, [s.d.]
Image Source: drawing by John Buckler, 1837 in the William Salt Library, Stafford
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

INFORMATION

Font ID: 05700TET
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 14th century [restored in 1844], Decorated [altered]
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Michael
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Michael
Church Notes: According to White (1851) the church of St. Michael "was a royal free chapel, and enjoyed all the privileges of such peculiars. It was anciently collegiate. The college was founded previous to the Norman Conquest, and had a dean and five prebendaries, till the period of its dissolution, in the reign of Henry VIII [...]. The font is curiously ornamented with Gothic sculpture[...]." [GENUKI cites William White's History, Gazetter and Directory of Staffordshire (Sheffield, 1851) as source]
Site Location: West Midlands, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located now in the northwestern suburbs of Wolverhampton
Historical Region: formerly Staffordshire
Font Notes:
Lewis' Dictionary of 1831 reports this font as one of the most remarkable fonts in the county. Tymms (1834) notes a "beautifully ornamented" font at Tettenhall, presumably referring to this one. Lewis' Dictionary of 1848 elaborates: "the font was restored in 1844, and is curiously ornamented with sculpture". Described in White (1851): "The font is curiously ornamented with Gothic sculpture". Listed in the CIVIC TRUST web page without further details as an early baptismal font. The catalogue of the William Salt Library, Stafford, lists item SV X.114a in its collection: "sepia drawing -- 'Font in Tettenhall Church, Staffordshire'. Showing an octagonal font with carved panels. 'J.B.,' [John Buckler.] 5.5. inches x 7.5 inches." The date of the drawing is 1837 according to this same catalogue. [NB: this drawing records the appearance of the font prior to its restoration]. [NB: there is a reference to Tettenhall St. Michael's [another?] font in the web site of Pendeford [www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/Pendeford/Present.htm] [accessed 12 March 2007], in the context of the description of St. Paul's Church Centre, Pendeford, opened in 1981: "The font in the Chapel is a link with Norman times. Having been moved from St Michael's in Tettenhall, it was placed in the new chapel in 1982." -- Tettenhall S. Michael's was a collegiate church prior to the 1066, according to Lewis' Dictionary of 1848, so a Norman font may have existed there -- is this the one now in Pendeford?]

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone
Number of Pieces: oc
Font Shape: octagonal, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round

REFERENCES

  • Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England, Comprising the Several Counties, Cities, Boroughs, Corporate and Market Towns, Parishes, Chapelries, and Townships, and the Islands of Guernsy, Jersey, and Man, with Historical and Statistical Descriptions [...], London: S. Lewis, 1831, [www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?=compid=51331] [accessed 12 March 2007]
  • Tymms, Samuel, Family Topographer, being a compendious account of the antient and present state of the counties of England: vol. IV, Oxford circuit, London: Nichols & Son, 1834, p. 235 / [http://books.google.com/books?id=qcouAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=kempsford+church+font&source=web&ots=h2yFXWCzVN&sig=wFjiUVbwBUazMXVSJwmmw5-jmlA] [accessed 23 September 2007]
  • White, William, History, Gazetter and Directory of Staffordshire [...], Sheffield: Printed for the author by R. Leader, 1851, [www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/STS/Tettenhall/index.html] [accessed 12 March 2007]