Snead

The RCAHM (Montgomery, 1911) notes: "The most ancient feature appertaining to the church is the font, whcih, however, is probably the original water basin or stoup. It is of an external diameter of 26 inches; and has four equidistant projections or handles, two being similar to solid cup-handle, and two with curve carried convexly to meet the sides of the bowl;. The lip of the bowl upon each of the convex sides is hollowed out into a little channel. The base is modern. The font at the neighbouring church of Chirbury (in England) is of similar character; as is also the remains of what is described as a font now preserved in the church of Llanmerewig. The latter is of precisely similar dimensions to that of Snead." Described in Tyrrell-Green (1928) as a common type of early baptismal font having a bowl with "four equidistant projections giving the appearance of rude handles"; he mentions the fonts at Pennant Melangell and Llanmerewig in Montgomeryshire [now Powys] and the one at Chirbury in Hereford [now Shropshire], as being of the same type. Described and illustrated by Lord, in Diwylliant... (1998-2003) as a 12th-century quern "a particularly large example [...] reused as a font in the church". The object appears cylindrical, with a roll moulding at the upper rim and four handle-like "ears" at 90-degree angles of the sides; the base is modern but has four human heads on the upper stem side [visible are: bishop, crowned head and female with head-cover] [cf. also Bond (1908) for mortars and other domestic objects used as fonts or stoups -- some querns are known to bear motifs or symbols, some of them being religious in character, such as a cross].