Thames Ditton / Ditone / Ditton-on-Thames
Image copyright © Bob Parkes, 2007
CC-BY-SA-2.0
Results: 9 records
view of font and cover
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Bob Parkes, 2007
Image Source: detail of a digital photograph taken 4 December 2007 by Bob Parkes [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/630527] [accessed 5 April 2009]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0
Christ - Agnus Dei - passant - with cross - in a circle
Scene Description: on the east side of the basin
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Poliphilo, 2007
Image Source: detail of a digital photograph taken 4 January 2007 by Poliphilo [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_font,_St_Nicholas,_Thames_Ditton.JPG] [accessed 16 October 2015]
Copyright Instructions: CC-Zero
human figure - head - 4
Scene Description: only two of the original heads, badly disfugured, remain; the other two are re-constructions -- the upper right corner of the basin has been re-constructed showing the human face on it; the left corner is original and still shows the contours of a human face
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Poliphilo, 2007
Image Source: digital photograph taken 4 January 2007 by Poliphilo [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_font,_St_Nicholas,_Thames_Ditton.JPG] [accessed 16 October 2015]
Copyright Instructions: CC-Zero
animal - mammal - goat - upside-down
![[cf. Font notes] -- on the north side of the basin](/static-50478a99ec6f36a15d6234548c59f63da52304e5/compressed/1151016021_compressed.png)
Scene Description: [cf. Font notes] -- on the north side of the basin
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Poliphilo, 2007
Image Source: detail of a digital photograph taken 4 January 2007 by Poliphilo [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_font,_St_Nicholas,_Thames_Ditton_2.JPG] [accessed 16 October 2015]
Copyright Instructions: CC-Zero
design element - motifs - rope
Scene Description: framing the rounded contours of the cushion-capital shape of the basin sides -- the upper left corner of the basin has been re-constructed showing the human face on it; the right corner is original and, unfortunately, is not much of a face anymore
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Poliphilo, 2007
Image Source: digital photograph taken 4 January 2007 by Poliphilo [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_font,_St_Nicholas,_Thames_Ditton_2.JPG] [accessed 16 October 2015]
Copyright Instructions: CC-Zero
symbol - cross - Latin - on a mound
Scene Description: on the south side of the basin
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © [in the public domain]
Image Source: B&W photograph in Druce (1908)
Copyright Instructions: PD
symbol - star - 6-point - in a circle
Scene Description: the Sun or a flower? -- on the west side of the font
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Bob Parkes, 2007
Image Source: detail of a digital photograph taken 4 December 2007 by Bob Parkes [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/630527] [accessed 5 April 2009]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0
view of font and cover in context
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Bob Parkes, 2007
Image Source: digital photograph taken 4 December 2007 by Bob Parkes [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/630527] [accessed 5 April 2009]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-2.0
view of basin - detail
Scene Description: shows the six-pointed star inscribed in a circle and having two concentric circles in its core
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Kotomiqd, 2009
Image Source: detail of a digital collage by kotomiqd, with photographs taken 1 April 2009 (?) [http://www.flickr.com/photos/kotomi-jewelry/3404219525/in/set-72157607311910481/] [accessed 5 April 2009]
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
INFORMATION
Font ID: 06406THA
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Date: ca. 1120?
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th century (early?), Norman
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Nicholas [aka St. Nicolas]
Font Location in Church: Inside the church, at the W end of the nave, by the S entrance
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Nicholas of Myra
Church Address: Church Lane, Thames Ditton, Surrey, KT7 0QQ
Site Location: Surrey, South East, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located just S of the Hampton Court Palace, 5 km SW of Kingston upon Thames, about 30 km SW of London
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Guildford
Historical Region: Hundred of Kingston
Font Notes:
Click to view
There is an entry for [Thames] Ditton [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [http://opendomesday.org/place/TQ1567/thames-ditton/] [accessed 16 October 2015], but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. Hassell (1817) writes: "The font, near the southern entrance, bears mark of high antiquity". In Allen (1831): "The font is extremely ancient, being cut out of a solid block of stone." Described by Arthur J. Style in Surrey Archaeological Colllections (vol. VII, 1880: 223): "Probably the oldest work in the church is the Norman font, which has rude carvings of the 'Agnus Dei', a goat falling down on its back, a star of six points, and a cross.At the angles there were carved heads, two of which have been broken off, and a cable ornament below. The base of the font is modern." Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) as a baptismal font of the Norman period. Druce (1908) identifies the basin motifs as: "on the south side an ornamental cross, with four equal splayed arms upor a short-footed stem; on the west a six-rayed star, sun or flower; on the east the Agnus Dei; and on the north another animal resembling a goat, the last three being in circular medallions or panels, about seven inches diameter"; Druce's essay concentrates on the symbolism of the upside-down goat, which he associates with the Ibex and the Caper in traditional bestiaries, though he resolves "to regard the Thames Ditton Goat as independent." The Victoria County History (Surrey, vol. 3, 1911) notes: "The font is of early 12th-century date and is in the form of a modified cushion capital. The inverted lunettes of the faces are edged with a cable mould and have panels, in one of which occurs an Agnus Dei and in another a goat. The third has a star, and the fourth a cross with expanded arms and stem. At the angles are small projecting heads, two of which have been defaced. The circular stem has been recut and the base is modern." [NB: the damaged corners have been repaired and show newly-carved heads on them; the heads at the two original corners are hardly discernible at all. Listed in Tyrrell-Green (1928) as a baptismal font ornamented with an Agnus Dei motif.
COORDINATES
UTM: 30U 685564 5696881
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 51.39278, -0.332694
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 51° 23′ 34.01″ N, 0° 19′ 57.7″ W
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material: stone
Font Shape: cushion-capital shape, square, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: cushion-capital
Trapezoidal Basin: 60 x 60 cm*
Notes on Measurements: * [Druce (1908): "a bowl about two feet square"]
LID INFORMATION
Date: modern?
Material: wood, oak?
Apparatus: no
Notes: round and flat, with metal decoration and ring handle; appears modern
REFERENCES
- Victoria County History [online], University of London, 1993-. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk.
- Allen, Thomas, A History of the County of Surrey ; comprising every object of topographical, geological, or historical interest, London: Isaac Taylor Hinton, 1831, vol. 2: 42
- Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907, p. 221
- Druce, George Claridge, "The symbolism of the goat on the Norman font at Thames Ditton", 21 (1908), Surrey Archaeological Collections, relating to the history and antiquities of the county, 1908, pp. [1-6]; p. [1-6]
- Hassell, J., Picturesque rides and walks, with excursions by water, thirty miles around the British metropolis [...], London: Printed for J. Hassell [...], 1817-, vol. 1: 45
- Tyrrell-Green, E., Baptismal Fonts Classified and Illustrated, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge: The Macmillan Co., 1928, p. 61