Graffham / Grafham
Image copyright © Basher Eyre, 2010
CC-BY-SA-3.0
Results: 3 records
view of font - upper view
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Basher Eyre, 2010
Image Source: digital photograph taken 14 April 2010 by Basher Eyre [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1805573] [accessed 16 January 2013]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-3.0
view of church exterior - southeast view
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Christine Hasman, 2005
Image Source: digital photograph taken 1 August 2005 by Christine Hasman [www.geograph.org.uk/photo/52698] [accessed 16 January 2013]
Copyright Instructions: CC-BY-SA-3.0
view of font - west side
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © CRSBI, 2008
Image Source: B&W photograph in the CRSBI (2008) [www.crsbi.ac.uk/search/county/site/ed-sx-graff.html] [accessed 1 August 2012]
Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE
INFORMATION
Font ID: 06510GRA
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 11th - 12th century, Norman
Cognate Fonts: The fonts at: Didling, Selham and Woolbeding, all in West Sussex [cf. FontNotes]
Church / Chapel Name: Parish Church of St. Giles
Font Location in Church: Inside the church, in the 3rd bay of the N arcade
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Giles [aka Aegidus, Egidus, Gilles]
Church Address: Graffham, West Sussex, GU28 0NJ
Site Location: West Sussex, South East, England, United Kingdom
Directions to Site: Located off the A272, 10 km SE of Midhurst
Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese of Chichester
Historical Region: Hundred of Easebourne -- formerly Sussex
Additional Comments: painted font: traces on it [cf. FontNotes]
Font Notes:
Click to view
A church in Grafham is reported in the Domesday Survey [http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SU9217/graffham/] [accessed 1 August 2012]. Listed in Cox & Harvey (1907) and Harrison (1920) as a baptismal font of the Norman period. The Victoria County History (Sussex, vol. 4, 1953) notes: "he church is mentioned in Domesday Book; [...] in the late 12th century it consisted of chancel, nave, and north and south aisles shorter than the present; a tower was added in the 13th; the whole, with the exception of the nave arcades and the tower, was rebuilt [...] and was reconsecrated in 1875 [...] The font is cylindrical, probably of the 12th century". Described in Whiteman (1994): "Of early Norman date is the plain tub-shaped font, similar in pattern and material to several others in W Sussex (e.g. Didling, Selham, Woolbeding)". Described and illustrated in the CRSBI (2008): "A plain, lead-lined tub (cylindrical) on two plinths, the upper one cylindrical and the lower one rectangular. There are traces of red and white paint and diagonal tooling on the surface of the bowl, and some repairs on the W side of the rim." The Church of England web site [www.achurchnearyou.com/graffham-st-giles/history-of-graffham.html] [accessed 1 August 2012] notes: "The font [...] is cylindrical, probably of the 12[th] century, and of plain and ordinary character. Made from hard freshwater Chara limestone, of Eocene age, this font was made of a stone no longer dug or quarried in Sussex. It is presumed that this stone was brought originally by sea from the Isle of Wight or Purbeck, and is all but unique to West Sussex churches of pre-Conquest date and foundation. They are, for instance, at Cocking, Didling, Lodsworth, Graffham, Selham and Up Waltham. It would appear that the early Norrnans in these parts ordered a cargo of fonts, and distributed them to various churches in the surrounding area." There are some repairs to the upper rim area of the basin, damage probably related to the cover hardware.
COORDINATES
UTM: 30U 662906 5646814
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 50.94989, -0.68077
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 50° 56′ 59.6″ N, 0° 40′ 50.77″ W
MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS
Material: stone, limestone (Purbeck marble?)
Font Shape: cylindrical, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
Drainage Notes: lead-lined
Rim Thickness: 6.25 [calculated]
Diameter (inside rim): 50 cm*
Diameter (includes rim): 62.5 cm*
Basin Total Height: 48.5 cm*
Font Height (less Plinth): 65 cm* [includes lower base but not the plinth proper]
Notes on Measurements: * [CRSBI (2008)]
REFERENCES
- Victoria County History [online], University of London, 1993-. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk.
- Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland. URL: http://www.crsbi.ac.uk.
- Cox, John Charles, English Church Furniture, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1907, p. 223
- Harrison, Frederick, Notes on Sussex churches, Hove: Combridges, 1920, p. 116
- Walker, A.K., An introduction to the study of English fonts, with details of those in Sussex, 1908, p. 48-49
- Whiteman, Ken, Ancient Churches of Suffolk, Seaford, East Sussex: S.B. Publications, 1998, p. 75