Clovelly

Illustrated in Geldart (1899). Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as having a baptismal font of the Norman period. Hussell (1910) claims the font to be "Early-Norman , if not Saxon", and notes that "the west face of the basin has been cut to its full depth, not upright, but sloping inwards towards the pedestal." [cf. Clark's suggestion below]. Hussell (ibid.) further notes, and illustrates, "the basin o an old font [...] found a few years ago at a farmyard in Hartland parish, and being purchased by Mrs. Hamlyn, of Clovelly Court, was brought to the church to save it from further desecration. It is much weather-beaten, and measures one foot in height by one foot eight inches across the top, and is probably of the same date as the font in use." [NB: the object referred to by Hussell looks very much, not a font, but a medieval grain measure or mortar; Bond's warning about misguidingly adscribing sacramental uses to domestic objects should be remembered]. Described and illustrated in Clarke (1919): "This font has not only a cushion bowl but an inverted cushion for base. It has suffered in the same way as Hockworthy. On the western and southern sides both bowl and base have been cut away; on the western side the base is brought flush with the shaft; no doubt at some time it was sacrificed to make room for a pew. The font stands clear at present. There is a round moulding at the foot of the bowl, a striking feature which I have not found in any other cushion-bowl font, though it occurs in some of those with scalloped bowls. On the eastern face is an incised Greek cross measuring 1 1/2 inches each way. The font is made of local stone of a reddish colour, but is cream-washed, so that the actual stone is only revealed where a slice has been taken off on the north side." Described in Tyrrell-Green (1928) as a baptismal font of the Norman period consisting of a square basin shaped like a scalloped capital mounted on a circular stem. In Pevsner (1952): "Font. Norman, of undecorated block capital shape." Noted in Hoskins' Devon (1954) as Norman font. Described in Thurlby (2006) as a baptismal font of the Norman period in the cushion-capital style. The British Listed Buildings database [www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-91149-church-of-all-saints-clovelly] [accessed 19 December 2011] describes the additional object noted in Hussell above as "Detached font bowl to the north-west corner, possibly C13, tub with ribs at the corners".